Distinctions between Late-Specialization Sports (Istvan Balyi)
In “Specialization is a Tricky Business”, I briefly discussed how sports were categorized as early or late specialization sports, and I talked a little about some of the risks associated with premature specialization in late specialization sports.
I want to talk briefly here about the further distinctions that can be made within late specialization sports (Balyi, 2011).
At present, we further categorize late specialization sports as follows:
- Late specialization – Early Engagement – Kinesthetic
- Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Team
- Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Visual
- Common Late Specialization Sports
- Late Specialization – Very Late or Transfer
Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Kinesthetic
The kinesthetic sports include Alpine Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboard, Luge, and Cross-Country Skiing. While these are late specialization sports, athletes need to develop a high level of kinesthetic feel for the surface they are moving on (snow or ice) at an early age; they need to engage early with snow or ice to be successful in the long term.
| Sport | Learn to Train Age | # of years | Train to Compete Age |
| Alpine Ski | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Freestyle Ski | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Snowboard: Giant Slalom/Boardercross | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Luge | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| Cross-Country Ski | 9 | 11 | 20 |
Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Team
Basketball, Ice Hockey, Netball, Soccer, Water Polo, and Field Hockey are late specialization sports where athletes need to develop a high level of feel for a ball or puck, with a bat or stick, in order to be successful. To develop this feel, they need to engage early in these sports to be successful in the long-term. However, since general movement skills and athletic ability are so important, early specialization in these sports is still not encouraged, as this can have a negative impact on the athlete.
| Sport | Learn to Train Age | # of years | Train to Compete Age |
| Basketball | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Ice Hockey | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Netball | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Soccer | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Water Polo | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Field Hockey | 9 | 7 | 16 |
Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Visual
Tennis, Badminton, Fencing, Racquetball, and Squash are late specialization sports where athletes need to develop acute visual tracking of an object to a hand-held implement to be successful in the long term. Again, early engagement in these sports will significantly help to develop their visual tracking skills, but early specialization should still be avoided in favour of well-rounded development of movement skills and general athleticism.
| Sport | Learn to Train Age | # of years | Train to Compete Age |
| Tennis | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Badminton | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Fencing | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| Racquetball | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Squash | 9 | 8 | 17 |
Common Late Specialization Sports
There are about two-dozen sports that fall into the “common” category of late specialization, where the athlete benefits from first developing general athleticism through a variety of sports. These include:
| Sport | Learn to Train Age | # of years | Train to Compete Age |
| Athletics (varies depending on event group) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Baseball (early engagement of visual tracking sports) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Biathlon (early engagement in skiing) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Bowling | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Boxing | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Canoe | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Cricket | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Curling | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Football (large variation depending on position) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Gaelic football | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Judo | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Karate | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Lacrosse (early engagement in visual tracking sports) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Ringette (early engagement in skating) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Rugby (large variation depending on position) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Sailing | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Softball (early engagement in visual tracking sports) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Speed Skating (early engagement in skating) | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Taekwondo | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Wheelchair Rugby | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Weightlifting | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
| Wrestling | 9 | 6 or 7 | 15 or 16 |
Late Specialization – Very Late or Transfer
Sports that are suitable to very late specialization or transfer from other sports include Bobsleigh, Cycling, Golf, Rowing, Triathlon, Volleyball (indoor and beach), Wakeboard and Water Ski. Athletes in these sports require high degrees of physical power to be successful; therefore, they need to be physically mature to achieve long-term success. Since these are very late specialization sports, athletes can transfer late from other sports and still find success.
| Sport | Learn to Train Age | # of years | Train to Compete Age |
| Bobsleigh (power to move sled) | 16 | 9 | 25 |
| Cycling (power and endurance to move bike) | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| Golf (power to hit for distance) | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| Rowing (power and endurance to move boat) | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Triathlon (power and endurance) | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| Volleyball - Beach (power in relation to net) | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| Volleyball - Indoor (power in relation to net) | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| Wakeboard (power to maneuver behind boat) | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| Water Ski (power to maneuver behind boat) | 10 | 9 | 19 |
Remember!
Specializing early in a late-specialization sport – and doing only a single sport at an early age – contributes to one-sided physical preparation, one-sided technical-tactical preparation, overuse injuries, and drop-out from sport and activity.
Istvan Balyi
Istvan Balyi is a member of the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team and a world renowned coaching educator; his series on Long-term Athlete Development (LTAD) and periodization have been published in numerous countries. He has worked with 16 Canadian National Teams as high performance advisor and planning and periodization consultant for Major Games.
Istvan is currently LTAD advisor for The Kingdom of Bahrain, South Africa and Sport Canada. He worked with 19 sports in the UK on LTAD, and presently works with 21 Canadian sports to develop sport-specific LTAD models, including Athletics Canada, Basketball Canada, CanoeKayak Canada, Rowing and Speed Skating Canada. He has authored 3 books, published over 75 chapters and articles and delivered over 400 presentations at national and international conferences on LTAD and Planning and Periodization.
Suggested Further Reading
- Baker, J. (2003) Early specialization in youth sport: A requirement for adult expertise? High Ability Studies, 14, 85-94.
- Baker, J., Cobley, S., & Fraser-Thomas, J. (2009). What do we know about early sport specialization? Not much! High Ability Studies, 20(1), 77-89. doi:10.1080/13598130902860507
- Balyi, I. Specialization 2010 Summit Power Point, CS4L Website
- Hill, G. (1988) Celebrate diversity (not specialization) in school sports. Executive Educator, 10. 24-32.
- Hill, G. (1993). Youth sport participation of professional baseball players. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10(1), 107-114.
- Hill, G. M., & Simons, J. (1989). A Study of the Sport Specialization on High School Athletics. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 13(1), 1 -13. doi:10.1177 /019372358901300101
- Hill, G. (2009). Sport specialization: Causes and concerns [PowerPoint slides]. Presented at the Long-Term Athlete Development Conference of the Utah Athletic Foundation, Salt Lake City, UT.
- Wiersma, L.D. (2000) Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric Exercise Science, 12, 13-22.
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