Dropout rate for kid athletes is very high

Dr. Jay Noffsinger

Seventy per cent of young athletes will quit playing sports by the time they are just 15 years old. Many of them start dropping out by age 11.

Dr. Jay Noffsinger of St. Louis said many kids quit because "sports aren't fun anymore." He added the effects of sports injuries can determine whether a kid is still having "fun."

Noffsinger is a pediatrics sports medicine expert. He's the director of the Pediatric Center for Sports Medicine at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.

In that position, he gives lots of advice to both kids and parents about health problems in sports. He urges kids not to put too much early stress on their still-growing bodies.

Noffsinger, who lettered in four different sports in high school, also encourages kids to play more than one sport.

He said one reason the joy goes out of sports is that kids specialize on a single sport too soon. "Doing the same thing over and over can take the fun out of sports," he said.

Each year, 3.2 million kids 15 and under suffer sports injuries. That's one in 10 every year from among the 30 million young athletes. Also, 775,000 kids are hurt bad enough to require a trip to hospital emergency rooms.

The national study also said that about half of those injuries could be prevented.

Noffsinger said it's important that kids to plan their conditioning carefully. He urges kids to contact their coaches well before the season starts to find out about practices.

He said young athlete need to start conditioning before formal practice starts. And you should build your conditioning gradually to work and intensity levels of formal practices.

"You don't want to go to the first day of practice and have it be a surprise," he said.

For instance, kid might begin pre-conditioning for cross country with a series of 9 minute miles. But, when practice starts, he finds the coach expects them to run 7.5 minute miles.

Another part of conditioning is getting use to hot weather. Young athletes "have increased propensity to heat-related illnesses," he said.

"That's because they have little hearts, little lungs, little sweat glands that aren't as efficient as those in adults," Noffsinger said.

Noffsinger said conditioning rules are the same for boys and girls.

When it comes to injuries, he said there are two types. One is an "acute injury" like a broken leg that happens all at once. The other is the "chronic injury" that comes from "wear and tear" of a series of small injuries.

Acute injuries happen often in "collision" sports such as football, martial arts and wrestling. Chronic injuries can happen in a wide variety of sports.

But, Noffsinger said injuries don't happen too often among football players 10 and under. "They are covered with equipment and, at that age, they don't hit very hard," he said. .

But, he added, football injuries often peak in middle school grades when players are bigger and more aggressive but their bodies aren't fully developed.

Severe injuries can occur if a player is struck in joints when the bones are still growing. "At that time, the muscles, ligaments and tendons are stronger than the bones," he said.

An injury that occurs at a soft bone "growth center" near a joint can cause lasting damage.

Noffsinger mentioned former University of Missouri and pro all-star Kellen Winslow as an example of the benefit of starting football late. Winslow's father didn't let Kellen go out for football until he was in high school, after his body matured.

Noffsinger describes swimming as an "excellent" sport. For one thing, there aren't any collisions. Also, buoyancy of the water relieves strain on the body.

But, he said even swimmers can suffer over-use injuries. A common one is sore shoulders, especially in those who concentrate on one stroke, such as free-style. The muscles can be over-developed and squeeze the still developing shoulder structure, he said.

Noffsinger said it's important for all young athletes need to "listen to their bodies." When an area hurts, the kid should rest and give the body time to heal, he said.

For a swimmer with sore shoulders, the rest might be as simple as concentrating on other strokes for awhile, he said.

Noffsinger said many young athletes are involved with team sports. But, he said, for most, individual sports such as running, golf, swimming and tennis are likely to be of most use in later life.