SWAGƵ’s Michele LaBotz joins national panel on youth sport specialization
The media briefing was held as part of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association's Youth Sport Specialization Awareness Week
Michele LaBotz, M.D., medical director of the Master of Science in Athletic Training (M.S.A.T.) degree program at the SWAGƵ, recently participated in a national media briefing hosted by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) discussing sports specialization in youth.
The panel, “The Year in Youth Sport Specialization: Emerging Trends and Recap in Research — A Total Body Health Approach,” was held virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and featured interdisciplinary pediatric medical experts, hosted by NATA President AJ Duffy III, M.S., ATC, PT.
The event concluded NATA’s Youth Sport Specialization Awareness Week (Oct. 21-25).
Sport specialization at an early age has been associated with an increased risk of burnout and injury. Waiting to specialize as long as possible and playing multiple sports during childhood is linked to more elite achievement and lower injury risk across most sports.
LaBotz and her colleagues discussed the benefits of playing a varied roster of sports, compared to focusing on any one sport, during adolescence. Topics explored include the benefits of sport sampling and physical literacy, ways to address overuse injuries and prevent burnout, and the importance of mental health in youth sports, among others.
“Today’s forum presented an excellent opportunity to bring together some of the country’s leading youth sport specialization experts and discuss what we can collaboratively do to provide the best recommendations, scientific rigor, and overall education to ensure the safety of today’s youth sport athletes,” Duffy remarked after the event.
LaBotz said it is important for parents and athletes to be informed about the risks of early sport specialization, such as burnout and injury, and to seek information from reliable sources, such as NATA, versus strictly from coaches and sports administrators who may want to ensure their programs are sustainable in numbers.
“The goals of a lot of these people that are informing parents and athletes aren’t necessarily the same as the goals of the parents and the athletes, themselves,” she said. “Ideally, the goals for athletes and families should be for longer-term success for the athlete and their optimal development.”
A resident of Yarmouth, Maine, LaBotz received her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and additionally holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine.
As medical director, LaBotz works to strengthen the curriculum of SWAGƵ’s M.S.A.T. degree program by ensuring students are receiving the most up-to-date training in accordance with current trends in sports medicine while providing expert instruction to students in support of their clinical education.