What do an Olympic decathlete, Paralympic swimmer, hockey Hall of Famer and pro baseball player all have in common?
In this case, they all agree on one thing: multi-sport experience in youth sports is better for your child than funneling them into a sport specialization path at an early age.
Members of GIVE AND GO Sport Education and the Canadian Mental Health Association at the launch of a new documentary at St. Clair College's SportsPlex on Oct. 29, 2024. (Rich Garton/St. Clair College)
That's the focus of a new documentary being released by GIVE AND GO Sport Education, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
St. Clair College hosted a media event Wednesday morning ( Oct 30) at the SportsPlex in Windsor, Ont. featuring representatives from GIVE AND GO Sport Education, the Canadian Mental Health Association, athletes featured in the documentary, College Senior Vice President of Communications John Fairley, and Saints Student Athletic Association Executive Director Christian Seguin.
"We want to make a difference in the lives of kids in sport," said Mark McGuire, the executive director of GIVE AND GO Sport Education.
McGuire is a former professional European athlete and coach, and graduate of St. Clair College, who for more than 35 years has certified coaches and instructed skills to thousands of learners in four countries.
The film examines the rise of one-sport specialization in youth sports, highlighting its dangers and disadvantages, and offering solutions to the problems it has created.
McGuire strongly believes the subject of sport specialization and resulting impacts is not being talked about enough, and the conversation around promoting multi-sport experiences needs more amplification.
"We think it's about time someone stands up and says something, does something to advocate for the kids," McGuire said. "And not just the sport piece, it's the emotional and the mental piece, which is equally as important as the physical piece."
"The people in documentary, by the way, are top shelf," said McGuire, pointing to those lending their voices to the documentary like Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner, Paralympic swimmer and Windsor native Danielle Campo, Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros, and Windsor area former pro athletes like Joe Siddall and Frank Renaud.
The anecdotal commentary is supported by experts in the fields of medical and mental health, who offer quantitative data displaying that not only won't sport specialization improve a child's chances of gaining a college scholarship or even to play professionally in a sport, but it will also actually hurt their chances of advancement.
"The message in the documentary is important for every parent, coach, activity leader, and sport leader to understand and embrace," said Marco Di Buono, president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. "Children need a variety of experiences to leverage the benefits of sport over the long-term."
Medical experts such as Dr. Robert Litchfield of the world-famous Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic speak to the inherent dangers of growing children overusing the same muscles by playing the same sport 12 months a year.
Mental health professionals discuss how the increased stress created by the pressures they feel to succeed creates a very harmful and toxic environment that can impact children beyond the playing field in their social lives and schoolwork.
Lorraine Lafrenière, CEO of the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), discusses the developmental benefits to children of learning from a variety of coaches in a number of different sports. Wayne McNeil, co-founder of the Respect Group, expresses the potential pitfalls that can come to children from following one path in their youth sport experience.
"This documentary is a tremendous resource for sport volunteers, administrators, educators and even grandparents," McNeil said. "Together we can all make amateur sport more safe, enjoyable and engaging for kids of all ages."
McGuire notes the "Netflix quality" documentary is only 34 minutes, making it very quick to watch and learn from.
"We believe that there's something engaging about a documentary that sort of brings you in," he said. "And also, it's just going to get the critical mass more quickly."
The film was produced by Mark McGuire, Robert Duff and directed by Ken Amlin.
The GIVE AND GO Sport Education documentary is available for download at giveandgosport.ca.
