Coaches in practically every sport say that it's important for young athletes to participate in a variety of activities from an early age. But what we see more and more are young athletes specializing in one sport and then later, as they get older, trying various other sports. The trend of early specialization to later generalization is exactly the opposite of what’s needed for sound athlete development.
This video from USA Hockey highlights what it takes to become an athlete, not necessarily a hockey player, but the athlete that the hockey player will emerge from later on. It takes riding a bike, playing Frisbee, climbing trees, and a host of other activities that have little outward signs of having anything to do with hockey. What the video is showing—though it never says this explicitly—is that physical literacy is the key to good athlete development. Physical literacy includes both fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills. It allows youngsters to become “athletes” in whichever sports they choose. Early specialization in one sport actually hinders the development of physical literacy. Much like language, physical skills are much easier to learn at early ages. Children who specialize early never quite master the full set of fundamental skills, thus limiting future potential.
The goal of all youth sports programs should be to lay the foundation of physical literacy; giving young athletes the movement background they need to succeed in whatever sports they choose, or to simply lead an active and healthy life if sport is not their thing. The key thing to keep in mind is that physical literacy needs to be developed early, between 6 and 11 years of age. Children who have not developed fundamental skills by that time are unlikely to ever develop them. While this may not be a scientific finding (yet) it seems like common sense that children without fundamental movement abilities probably won’t seek out sport opportunities or even fitness activities because they simply don’t have the skills of their peers.