How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Nirav Pandya, University of California, San Francisco
From football to baseball, gymnastics to tennis, more young athletes are becoming sports specialists. They join expensive sports clubs or youth leagues and devote themselves to a single sport all year long. But Nirav Pandya, a professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at the University of California San Francisco, says there are risks when kids specialize, including an increased possibility of injury and a high burnout rate.
The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, which have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What trends do you see related to kids and sports participation?
Nirav Pandya: We’re seeing a tremendous number of kids who are participating in sports outside of the school setting.
And kids are specializing in sports at younger ages. Six-, 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds are playing one sport year-round to the exclusion of other sports.
What are the outcomes for kids who specialize?
Nirav Pandya: When kids specialize, they have a significantly increased risk of injury.
We also know 70% of kids will drop out of sports by age 13 if they specialize.
Also, in the long term, kids who specialize in a single sport perform less well in that sport and in all sports in general than kids who play more than one. So once again, we’re really hurting kids from multiple different levels if they’re specializing.
What is the relationship between sports specialization and injuries?
Nirav Pandya: There’s a tremendous increase in traumatic injuries. ACL tears used to be something we’d see in 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds. Now, 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds get them. The rate of ACL injuries has gone up 12% over the last decade in this adolescent age group.
Based on my experience as a clinician, kids are also getting overuse injuries like knee pain and shoulder pain from doing too much of the same activity again and again.
Are clubs and leagues costly?
Nirav Pandya: The Aspen Institute has shown that families will spend, on average, about $1,000 per year for these travel or private club sports. That’s a big financial burden for a lot of families.
In addition, the reason why a lot of families are doing this is because they want their kids to get a college scholarship. Colleges are very expensive, and parents think if their child specializes in a sport and plays on these club teams, they can get to that level.
What families don’t understand is that the average four-year college scholarship amount is only $14,000. And of all the kids playing sports, only 2% of them are actually going to get a college scholarship.
Is this mainly a problem for the rich?
Nirav Pandya: You have one group of kids who have access to sports because their families have the money and those kids are getting injured. And then you have another group of kids whose families don’t have the money to participate, and therefore there isn’t really an outlet for them to be physically active because school funding is going down. Recreational programs don’t exist. So then those kids get the problems of diabetes, obesity and hypertension, and they carry that into adulthood.
What can parents do to ensure their kids have a healthy relationship with sports?
Nirav Pandya: It’s important for parents to understand the data. And that’s our role as physical therapists, athletic trainers and coaches – to understand that data and give it to parents.
I think the second thing is also not to feel the pressure to enter the youth sports complex, a US$15.3 billion industry. Instead, donate to a community organization that is funding recreational sports, or try to push for your school to have those opportunities for your kids.
And finally, if your child is going to be playing travel sports or year-round sports, the parents should look at the websites of the club. Are they promoting kids to be healthy and active in a safe environment, or are they promoting kids to get a scholarship?
Watch the full interview to hear more.
SciLine is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.
Nirav Pandya, Associate Professor, Pediatric Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, for a closed session for a performance evaluation of City Manager Alan Flora and discussion of a claim against the city before the regular meeting starts at 6 p.m.
The agenda can be found here.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel.
Community members also can participate via Zoom. The pass code is 064363. One tap mobile is available at +16694449171,,84845472024#, or join by phone at 669-444-9171 or 253-205-0468.
Under business, council members will consider a resolution supporting the application of Chelsea Investment for the HOME Investment Partnerships Grant Program for development of affordable housing at 15837 18th Ave.
The project in question is on a property the county of Lake traded to the state in exchange for the former Lakeport Armory, which is slated to become the new headquarters of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Chelsea Investments, the developer the state selected for the project, wants to build an 80-unit project but the staff report said the developer has “struggled to complete the funding stack needed to begin construction and is looking to apply for $10 million in HOME funds to fill part of
the gap. The City would be the applicant for the funds on behalf of the project and Chelsea Investment.”
Also on Thursday, the council will hold a public hearing to consider Clearlake Municipal Code section updates to modify Lake County Fire Protection District fire mitigation fees and set the first reading on April 4.
The council also will receive presentations on March's Adoptable Dogs and the annual report from the Lake County Public, Education, and Government Channel, or PEG TV.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants, minutes of the Feb. 14 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting, authorization for the police chief to dispose of three vehicles through a
dismantler, sell one vehicle at auction and adopt Resolution No. 2024-12, the Clearlake Waste Solutions 2022 Annual Solid Waste and Recycling Report and adoption of Resolution 2024-13 approving an amendment to the standard agreement issued under the 2020 Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The National Weather Service is predicting the dry and “unseasonably mild weather” will continue during the first half of the week.
Rain is then forecast to arrive on Friday and continue with chances of showers into Monday.
Temperatures will drop to the high 40s during the day and into the high 30s at night during that time, according to the forecast.
Throughout the North Coast region, there also will be chances of snow in the higher elevations, beginning at between 5,000 and 6,000 feet on Thursday and dropping to the range of 3,500 to 4,500 feet.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
El Centro Latino Del Lago is an ongoing business advising program, and its inaugural six-week training program launches March 27.
The training will include two networking events and six classroom training workshops and will be delivered exclusively in Spanish.
Program participants who successfully complete the courses, along with their families, will be invited to attend a graduation celebration on May 30th.
The first mixer will be March 27 at 6 p.m. at La Chilanguita in Clearlake. This free event will allow business owners to learn more about the program, meet the consultants from the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, or CAHCC, that will lead the workshops, and network with other Lake County Latino business owners. Refreshments will be provided.
Workshop topics include how to start a business, business planning, marketing, cost analysis and strategies for success.
For more information, and to sign up, visit: https://lakecountycaedc.org/centro-latino-del-lago/.
This program is supported by the FHL of San Francisco, in partnership with Vocality Credit Union.
Funded in part through a Grant or cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
La Corporación de Desarrollo Económico del Condado de Lake (Lake EDC), en asociación con la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Lake (LCCC) y la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de California (CAHCC), se complace en anunciar el lanzamiento de un nuevo programa para ayudar a los propietarios y potenciales empresarios latinos.
El Centro Latino Del Lago es un programa continuo de asesoramiento empresarial y su programa inaugural de capacitación de seis semanas se lanza el 27 de marzo. La capacitación incluirá dos eventos de networking y seis talleres de capacitación presenciales que se impartirán exclusivamente en español. Los participantes del programa que completen exitosamente los cursos, junto con sus familias, serán invitados a asistir a una celebración de graduación el 30 de mayo.
La primera reunión será el 27 de marzo a las 6:00 de la tarde, en La Chilanguita en Clearlake. Este evento gratuito permitirá a los dueños de negocios aprender más sobre el programa, conocer a los consultores de CAHCC que dirigirán los talleres y establecer contactos con otros dueños de negocios latinos del condado de Lake. Se proporcionarán refrigerios.
Los temas del taller incluyen cómo iniciar un negocio, planificación empresarial, marketing, análisis de costos y estrategias para el éxito. Para obtener más información y registrarse, visite: https://lakecountycaedc.org/centro-latino-del-lago/.
Este programa cuenta con el apoyo de FHL de San Francisco, en asociación con Vocality Credit Union.
Financiado en parte a través de una subvención o acuerdo cooperativo con la Administración de Pequeñas Empresas de EE. UU. y la Oficina de Desarrollo Económico y Empresarial del Gobernador.
