Quantifying Parental Influence on Youth Athlete Specialization: A Survey of Athletes' Parents

Background: Youth athlete specialization has been linked to decreased enjoyment, burnout, and increased injury risk, although the impact of specialization on athletic success is unknown. The extent to which parents exert extrinsic influence on this phenomenon remains unclear.

Purpose/hypothesis: The goal of this study was to assess parental influences placed on young athletes to specialize. It was hypothesized that parents generate both direct and indirect pressures on specialized athletes.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: A survey tool was designed by an interdisciplinary medical team to evaluate parental influence on youth specialization. Surveys were administered to parents of the senior author's orthopaedic pediatric patients.

Results: Of the 211 parents approached, 201 (95.3%) completed the assessment tool. One-third of parents stated that their children played a single sport only, 53.2% had children who played multiple sports but had a favorite sport, and 13.4% had children who balanced their multiple sports equally. Overall, 115 (57.2%) parents hoped for their children to play collegiately or professionally, and 100 (49.7%) parents encouraged their children to specialize in a single sport. Parents of highly specialized and moderately specialized athletes were more likely to report directly influencing their children's specialization ( = .038) and to expect their children to play collegiately or professionally ( = .014). Finally, parents who hired personal trainers for their children were more likely to believe that their children held collegiate or professional aspirations ( = .009).

Conclusion: Parents influence youth athlete specialization both directly and by investment in elite coaching and personal instruction. Parents of more specialized athletes exert more influence than parents of unspecialized athletes.