At what age should I specialise in a certain sport?
Author: Danny Burton, PE Teacher (The Thetford Academy)
We are all aware of the positive association between levels of physical activity (sport, exercise, or play) and young peoples’ mental wellbeing, resilience and reduced loneliness (Sport England, 2022) – but is this association affected by the types of activities that are available to you?
As teachers, we are aware that some of our students believe in specialising in a certain sport – as a way of becoming more successful within this activity – but there is lots of research which suggests the opposite, particularly a negative effect on our mental health and increased stress.
The reality is that very few young athletes achieve elite or professional levels in their sport (less than 1% of 6-17 year olds).
For some young people, the only physical activity they take part in, is within their timetabled Physical Education (P.E.) lessons. So, maximising the impact we can have within P.E. has never been more important. However, if you reflect on the activities (or sports) you are taught – do you believe you are getting a wide-enough variety of different activities?
What are P.E. teachers doing to help provide a wider range of sports/activities?
At my current school, we have a high focus on participation – ensuring that all of our young people acquire the necessary skills to be more active, more often.
With some support from Sport England, and suggestions from students – our department has transformed the activities we offer our classes, with the goal of creating more confident and competent young people.
New activities introduced within the last year include Boxercise, Spikeball, Yoga and introducing a new fitness room to help young people learn how to stay healthier and more active. All our students change to new activities more often (at least every 3 weeks) and we often focus on important skills that can transfer across activities. For example, how can your knowledge of playing Football or Netball be transferred to a net-based sport, such as Volleyball?
What does this mean for you?
You should approach all lessons with a positive attitude, you will get more out of them that way
Try to be open-minded about trying new things
Most sports and activities involve skills that transfer to other sports – what are these skills? And why are they important?
How can the activity and knowledge you are learning within P.E. relate to you?
