Winning at What?

How do independent schools define "winning" for their student-athletes? Is "winning" associated with a strong, balanced life based on diversified athletic, creative, and scholastic aptitude? Or is it more a matter of excellence in one sport to the exclusion of other sports — and other valued activities? For an athletic program, does the number of championships and athletic scholarships define "winning"? These questions lie at the heart of the struggle for many independent schools to embrace the core values of their missions while managing the increasing pressures of sports specialization and competitive college admissions.

In November 2006, at an athletic directors' conference sponsored by the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), Dr. John Adler, a graduate of Suffield Academy (Connecticut), was honored for his achievement as a model student-athlete, extraordinary professional, and valued citizen. A former football, wrestling, and track athlete, Dr. Adler received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard in his journey to become a neurosurgeon at Stanford University, where he invented the CyberKnife, a breakthrough intervention in brain tumor surgery.

Despite his impressive accomplishments, Dr. Adler was humble and appreciative in accepting the honor. In his speech, he deemphasized his athletic achievements, instead praising his coaches for teaching him discipline and perseverance, and indicating that such skills were instrumental to his professional success. For Dr. Adler, "winning" was defined by what sports taught him about life, not how they influenced his college admissions.

While it is clear that not all multiple-sport athletes from independent schools will attend Harvard and become world-renowned brain surgeons, the balanced student-athlete model integral to the overall education in most independent schools offers tremendous opportunity for personal growth. There are thousands of stories of young children transformed by their athletic experiences at independent schools, illustrating the value of strong athletic programs in small, supportive, and highly academic communities.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) claims that specialization in one sport can jeopardize the physical and emotional health of young athletes by exposing them to over-use injury, burnout, and stress, while undermining the benefits of varied physical activity.

In contemporary culture, however, independent school athletics remain one of the few arenas where students of all ages and abilities participate in a variety of sports if they so choose — and there is growing pressure within independent schools to accommodate this rising tide of specialization. Driven by evidence that athletic prowess enhances the chance of college admissions,¹ and that collegiate sports are becoming increasingly competitive,² more and more young people are specializing in one sport to better impress college recruiters. To the dismay of many independent schools, nurturing a single talent, regardless of the imbalance it may cause in the lives of young athletes (and their parents), is taking precedence over cultivating the versatile student-athlete. The burdens of specialization also draw student-athletes away from other valued activities, including academics, the arts, and community involvement. Consequently, the desire to specialize at an early age often comes in direct conflict with the stated missions of many independent schools.

In short, the youth sports world has changed considerably in the past two decades, and schools preferring not to let the tail wag the dog need to come to terms with specialization and its impact on school programs and mission.

The Overscheduled Student-Athlete
As many administrators well know, scheduling conflicts often emerge from specialization. Here's a typical scenario: A senior and 12-year student at an independent school in the Midwest, Tom is the best player on the varsity soccer team. At the recommendation of his select team coach and parents, Tom requests permission to miss a few school practices, a game, and a full day of classes to attend a crucial weekend tournament in Florida where college recruiters will be selecting players. Tom's school must manage his request and anticipate similar demands by future student-athletes. The school must also respond to Tom's teammates who may feel robbed by his absence or resentful of his entitlement in light of their commitment to the team. At the same time, Tom's travel schedule leaves little time for homework or rest, placing pressure on him to catch up upon his return to school.

Overscheduled student-athletes like Tom are becoming increasingly common, raising questions about how schools can establish reasonable limits on student demands and activities. Sport psychologists suggest that, to become expert in a sport, one must devote approximately 10,000 hours to training.³ Over a 10-year period, this schedule would require a student-athlete to train about three hours a day while studying another three hours just to keep up with academics. This excessive schedule is in direct conflict with the advice of adolescent research experts that adolescents need up to nine hours of sleep per evening during this extraordinary period of brain development.⁴ As many independent school teachers and coaches know, few students are getting this type of rest.

GREATER PROGRAM DEMANDS
To meet the needs of a broad range of students, some athletic departments have increased the number of varsity sports teams they offer by up to 50 percent over the past two decades, even while overall enrollment has remained level. With a growing number of students choosing to specialize in one sport or participate in non-sport activities, athletic departments are spread thin, vulnerable to lower win-loss records and the opprobrium of parents and alumnae upset by such unexpectedly poor outcomes.

As programs expand, needing more specialized faculty in the classroom as well as on the athletic field, many schools are struggling to hire teacher-coaches. While specialized faculty and staff can promote exceptional excellence in one endeavor, they may be disconnected from other aspects of student life. The potential lack of communication between coaches and teachers can cause friction among school staff and fragment understanding of overall student needs and demands.

IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE
As young athletes specialize to improve their odds of college acceptance, the pressure to perform is further multiplied by a win-at-all-cost culture that regularly broadcasts messages of individual glory on ESPN and other powerful media platforms. Ironically, the more winning becomes the focus, the greater the likelihood of stress and suboptimal performance. This outcome mentality violates the central tenet in current sport psychology, namely that good performance lies in the focus on the present, not in past occurrences or future hopes.

While this generation of athletes may become highly competent in a certain range of skills, a growing number will lack the balance that diverse exposure to sports and other activities have traditionally offered.

Consequently, coaches and administrators are challenged to alleviate anxiety and pressure so their athletes and teams can perform to their best ability. On the upside, coaches who emphasize values such as discipline and perseverance over the scoreboard can effectively reduce the anxiety provoking influence of an outcome mentality. Such efforts serve student-athletes well in improving performance while enhancing character, a truly winning combination. However, with great pressures to be exceptional in order to impress college coaches, this task can be particularly challenging.

ROLE OF PARENTS
The challenges of specialization are further complicated by increased parental involvement. In contrast to past generations when parent involvement with sports was limited, many parents now attend practices (mostly at day schools), travel with their children for weekend tournaments, and frequently express their suggestions to their children, coaches, and others. While administrators indicate that only five percent of parents present problems for independent school athletic programs, the intensity of this five percent has created significant stress. Perhaps driven by over-identification with their children or a certain lack of fulfillment in the parents' own lives, their reactions to their children's athletic experiences can range anywhere from somewhat intrusive to overtly disruptive, unfortunately to the detriment of their children.⁵

SPECIALIZATION BENEFITS
Although the number of high school athletes who receive college scholarships to Division I college programs is less than one percent and the number who play on Division I teams for four years is less than two percent,⁶ specialized athletes from independent schools remain attractive candidates to top-tier colleges. Because top-tier schools have high index score requirements for admissions, a strong independent school athlete with outstanding academic credentials and board scores is highly attractive to college recruiters who have limited capacity to enroll athletes. Since the passing of Title IX in 1972, which requires equal opportunities for women at the college level, more scholarship and admission opportunities have also emerged for female athletes.

While national competition for scarce spots makes it unlikely that the specialized athlete gets into college because of athletic achievement, there are still some potential benefits of developing a unique talent. Hard work, discipline, and dedication learned through specialization can be useful assets later in life. Furthermore, if specialized athletes are motivated to pursue training by love of their sport and benefit from supportive coaches and valued teammates, they may have a personally gratifying and edifying experience while exploring the full potential of their ability.

SPECIALIZATION HEALTH LIABILITIES
Unfortunately, the movement toward specialization, while securing college acceptance for a small number of student-athletes, has significant liabilities. Here's another scenario: Amanda, a senior and nationally recognized lacrosse player from an independent school in the mid-Atlantic, is excited to learn that she has secured early admission to a Division I-A college through her athletic prowess and solid academic standing. Amanda and her family feel that her hard work in school and years of specialization, weight training, and commitment since she was nine years old have paid off. Thrilled to extend her training and prepare for her final high school season and upcoming college career, Amanda begins indoor lacrosse only to discover that she has a serious bone fracture in her right leg. The doctors believe she will be able to return to some form of running eventually, but her injury may recur and possibly prevent her from playing any sport, even recreationally.

Stories about injured specialized athletes like Amanda are becoming more common, causing the medical community to take stronger positions with regard to overtraining and specialization. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) claims that specialization in one sport can jeopardize the physical and emotional health of young athletes by exposing them to over-use injury, burnout, and stress, while undermining the benefits of varied physical activity.⁷ Reports from orthopedic clinics and hospitals across the country indicate that the number of over-use injuries in young athletes has increased dramatically over the past two decades.⁸ Tommy John surgery, initially conducted on a professional pitcher over 30 years ago, is being done on children 12 years old and younger. Eating disorders, shin splints, and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament) injuries are also part of this picture. For these reasons, the AAP and many other experts strongly discourage specialization before puberty.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPECIALIZATION LIABILITIES
Elementary schoolchildren risk compromising their developmental need to build multiple competencies and relationships when embarking on highly specialized and intensively competitive sport experiences. While children may begin to understand competition by the time they reach six or seven years old,⁹ their brains are incapable of abstract thinking until they are 11 or 12 years old. This is why most elementary school kids care more about getting ice cream after the game than they do about the score. When winning becomes a premature goal, the joy of play, an absolute requirement for children to continue to participate in sports, is undermined. Such an approach interferes with a child's natural fearlessness in making mistakes, a crucial component to learning. In such circumstances, specialization stunts the acquisition of fundamental skills.

If these pressured kids are practicing intensely and traveling on weekends, other hazards emerge. The fundamental need of building relationships can be compromised by the frequent flux of elite team rosters. While some kids are able to play with the same group of players for an extended period of time, often there is movement from one team to the next, either by choice or by cuts. The social fragmentation caused by cuts, changes, and lack of free time can make fourth graders feel like they are living the lives of professional athletes. They have less time to relax, hang out with friends, and benefit from a stable family routine. In effect, kids become free agents, jerked from one group to the next to nurture their talent. Disrupted relationships at this young age undermine the capacity to form healthy bonds as children progress toward adolescence and adulthood.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPECIALIZATION LIABILITIES
Some athletic directors and school heads argue that specialization creates the greatest problems at the middle school level. Much of the drive for specialized, travel-team participation is inspired by parents' fear that their children will be alienated and bored on weekends if they are not playing on an organized team. This is particularly true in the last decade as the trend toward structured activities has led to the decline of neighborhood play. But parents may believe that specialized travel teams are a must if their children are to be aligned to receive needed exposure to college recruiters, even though such exposure may not occur for up to several years or more.

Because the talent level of middle school students is so broad and undeveloped at this level, many children and their parents still live with the hope of playing at the high school and college levels. This notion engenders a larger pool of over-optimistic parents and students with greater expectations and pressures than ever before. Anecdotal reports from administrators across the country reveal that a vocal minority of parents makes requests and comments related to playing time, coach strategy, practice schedules, and special allowances. Middle school students, who are balancing more homework on top of sport specialization demands, become vulnerable to the same risks experienced by elementary school students, and at times the overall climate around middle school sports becomes frenzied.

UPPER SCHOOL SPECIALIZATION LIABILITIES
Specialization at the upper school level presents a different range of risks. As their athletic talent defines itself more clearly, upper school students begin to recognize their potential and limitations. This process of learning about themselves and establishing a stronger sense of identity as they separate from their parents is a crucial part of adolescence. Problems emerge when their interpretation of their talent and athletic identity is inaccurate, leading to complaints about making teams and playing time. More often than not, it is the parent who fails to grasp reality, often placing the student in a difficult spot between their parental demands and the suspicion that the coach's decision is probably right.

Perhaps most significant, however, is the overall pressure on the college-bound, upper school student-athlete due to increased academic and training expectations. Students are compelled to be both diverse and exceptional, and they are at risk of driving themselves harder than ever. Because of this, it is not a surprise that many colleges are increasing their mental health services to treat a growing number of overwhelmed incoming students.¹⁰

SPECIALIZATION BURNOUT AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL
When successful, specialized high school athletes enter college, they may become mentally overwhelmed. Many have never struggled in their sport or their academics. They have always been the best. Some of these athletes lack the capacity to process setbacks or compete with equally talented athletes. Collegiate athletics, particularly at the Division I level, requires that athletes use a broad range of physical and psychological skills to manage the challenges of elite play. Those specialized student-athletes who have always been the star in the precollegiate world may not know how to recover from setbacks in college and work well with teammates and coaches to overcome adversity. This highlights a crucial developmental need for adolescents, who need to experience humility, learn to be empathetic toward the challenges and struggles of others, and use a broad range of resources to overcome obstacles. The nurturing of talent without humility or ties to others lays the seeds for a narcissistic, inflexible young adult. At the college level, talent is rarely enough. Those athletes unable to rely on their experiences and character may not make it through their first season.

FINDING THE BALANCE
Independent school athletes are exposed to an increasingly specialized form of intensive sport experiences. While this generation of athletes may become highly competent in a certain range of skills, a growing number will lack the balance that diverse exposure to sports and other activities have traditionally offered. Perhaps most troubling is that this specialized generation is so structured that their creative and leadership capacities are underdeveloped. For these reasons, the pursuit of specialized training may appear effective in the short-run, but incomplete in the overall development of the balanced adult.

Students are compelled to be both diverse and exceptional, and they are at risk of driving themselves harder than ever. Because of this, it is not a surprise that many colleges are increasing their mental health services to treat a growing number of overwhelmed incoming students.

Because the rising tide of specialization is so strong and embedded in our culture, independent schools must develop ways to deal with a difficult reality while adhering to their stated missions. The following steps are offered to serve this purpose.

1 Revisit Fundamental Questions. Given the impact of specialization on independent schools, schools need to revisit key questions. What are independent schools preparing their kids for beyond getting them into college? What do independent schools want their graduates to look like when they are 21 and 31 years old, and how do sports play a role in their development? If only a small fraction of student-athletes continue to play sports at the college level, what are the remaining 98 percent of students gaining from athletic participation? How are the core values, espoused by school mission statements, being incorporated into the athletic program and applied to the handling of specialization demands? If diversity of skills and community involvement are central to the school mission, how does that influence school policy on specialization?

2 Schedule Annual Leadership Meetings. Conflicts can emerge in independent school athletic programs when philosophical differences among school leaders are unresolved. An annual meeting involving members of the board of trustees, the school head, the athletic director, and a representative from the parent council may be beneficial in setting clear expectations about school policies for student-athletes, their specialization needs and limitations, and the conduct expected from coaches, athletes, and parents. Such steps may prevent fragmentation caused by the unreasonable requests of an influential parent, among other challenging forces.

3 Increase Coach Support. Because coaches are on the frontline and are often isolated, there is a need for seasonal coach meetings where they can review how to incorporate the school mission into their work with athletes and parents, clarify their team policies, identify challenges from previous seasons, and support each other in managing recent conflicts. Even informal gatherings of coaches can offer a more supportive environment. When coaches feel supported by the athletic director, school head, and the board, they are more effective with students and their parents.

4 Protect the Teacher-Coach Model. As the number of sports teams and extracurricular programs rise, schools are challenged to maintain a strong level of excellence as their faculty expands. Part-time or specialist teachers and coaches are hired to meet the school's needs. The advantage of the teacher-coach model is to create a greater opportunity for educators to recognize student strengths and vulnerabilities in the classroom and on the field.

5 Attend to Developmental Needs. Unrealistic expectation of a child's ability is often the source of problems with parents. Presenting the overall picture of developmental needs and limitations of student-athletes throughout their elementary, middle, and upper school years in the school handbook or parent letter may be helpful in supporting the philosophy of the athletic program and school mission. A six-year-old is not able to drive a car. An 11-year-old is not capable of understanding complex plays. Such information can be useful in communicating with parents and supporting coaches.

6 Clarify Readiness for Competition Policy. Middle schools are under increasing pressure to start interscholastic competition in sixth grade. It is merely a matter of time before these requests enter elementary school. Returning to knowledge of healthy development and the school mission help clarify the extent to which the school is managing competition as well as playing time and the issue of skill development vs. an outcome mentality. Because skill development is crucial at this age and physical growth is quite varied, greater opportunities for participation is warranted for all student-athletes, despite the ambition for competitive play.

7 Schedule Preseason Parent Meetings. Mandatory meetings and information sessions with parents to review school policies can address the following areas: the pros and cons of specialization; percentages of scholarships given and athletic-driven admissions to college; approaches to playing time and level of competition; developmental needs of the particular age-group; and expectations for player, parent, and coach conduct. Particular focus can be on how student-athletes handle their own conflicts with coaches starting at the middle school level and resort to parent involvement only if such steps are unsuccessful. Expectations about communication with coaches should also be clarified. While it may seem obvious, some parents will not know to wait until the game is over to share their impressions. Such meetings are most effective when policies are described in a positive rather than punitive manner.

8 Assign a Parent Liaison. A growing number of schools are finding that a parent liaison serves a valuable role in reducing the number of phone calls and e-mails to the athletic director or school head, as well as helping to articulate some of the parent concerns before they begin to fester.

9 Gather Data. As many students engage in activities in and outside of school, it would be useful to gather data on hours spent doing homework, playing school sports, and playing outside-of-school sports. When tallying up these numbers, are they reasonable for the typical student? Time devoted to weekend travel and daily homework may be greater than desirable. Such information can inform future policies or support school preferences about balanced schedules.

10 Encourage Multiple-Sport Participation. Given the risks of specialization, schools may benefit from a more concerted effort to promote multiple-sport participation, regardless of talent or ability (see article elsewhere in this issue). Such an approach leads to greater school involvement and often protects against overuse injury common in specialized athletes. Diverse experiences also create opportunities for student-athletes to develop rich relationships with varied groups of teammates and coaches.

11 Establish Leadership Training for Captains. Some upper school athletic programs are beginning to incorporate leadership training for their varsity captains. In a culture where everything is scheduled and organized, serving as a team captain is one of the few opportunities for student-athletes to develop leadership skills. Such programs not only serve captains but also become a paradigm of leadership for the whole school community.

Without question, experiences in sports can be both positive and negative for student-athletes. For this reason, lessons of character and personal growth are essential to a healthy athletic program, and independent schools are well suited for this type of learning. Unfortunately, there is a cultural trend toward achievement at all costs in the business and sports world epitomized by selfish and immoral behavior. In reaction to recent examples of decaying character — think of the greed in the Enron and Tyco cases, or the myriad steroid scandals and cases of violence on and off the athletic fields — it behooves independent school athletic programs to recognize that the teaching of character is never a waste of money or time. In fact, athletes who are trained and developed in a character-driven environment are in a much better position to be great performers and honorable, contributing adults, capturing the spirit of school missions.

Dr. Richard D. Ginsburg is co-author of Whose Game Is It, Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage, and is co-director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Performance and Character Excellence in Sports (PACES) Institute. A faculty member of the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, he offers a broad range of services to adolescents and adults, serves as a sport psychology consultant to Harvard's men's lacrosse and women's soccer teams, and provides clinical services and consultations to independent schools nationally.

Notes

1. Bowen, W. G., & Levin, S. A. 2003. Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
2. Shulman, J. L., & Bowen, W. G. 2001. The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
3. Charness, N. (2004). "Expert performance: Its structure and acquisition." American Psychologist, 49, 725–747.
4. Foster, R (2003). Adolescence: A time of vulnerability and opportunity. New York Academy of Sciences Magazine, Nov/Dec p. 2–5.
5. Tofler, J. R., Knapp, P. K., & Drell, M. J. (1999). "The achievement by proxy spectrum: Recognition and clinical response to the pressured and high achieving children and adolescents," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38 (2), 213–216. See also Ginsburg, R. D., Durant, S., Baltzell, A. 2006. Whose Game Is It, Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
6. Data from the National Alliance of Youth Sports.
7. American Academy of Pediatrics: Committee on Sports Medicine: "Intensive training and sports specialization in young athletes," Pediatrics, Vol. 106 No. 1, 154–157.
8. Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School: Sports Injury Statistics, copyright 2005–2006. See also Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford: Orthopedics: Sports Injury Statistics, copyright 2006.
9. Festinger, L. (1954). "A theory of social comparison processes," Human Relations 7, 117–140.
10. Mowbray, C. T., Megivern, D., Mandiberg, J. M., Strauss, S., Stein, C.H., Collins, K., Kopels, S., Curlin, C., & Lett, R. (2006). Campus mental health services: Recommendations for change, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76 (2), 226–237.