Specialization occurs when an athlete chooses to train & compete in one or two sports exclusively. Specialization is inevitable & necessary for athletes who want to become high performers in their sport, but it must occur at the right age for the athlete to be successful. 

Sports can be classified as either early or late specialization. Early specialization sports include artistic & acrobatic sports such as gymnastics, diving, & figure skating. These differ from late specialization sports in that very complex skills are learned before puberty since they cannot be fully mastered if taught after puberty. Most other sports are late specialization sports. Specializing before the age of 10 in late specialization sports contributes to numerous negative outcomes such as lack of basic movement skills, overuse injuries, early burnout & dropout from sport & physical activity.

A number of early specialization sports attract young female athletes due to their characteristics (e.g. involving music, costumes & elements of dance) or their social perception as “appropriate” pursuits for women & girls. These include gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming. Sport organizations need to plan for & create transition opportunities for female athletes, whether from an early specialization sport to other sports (e.g. from gymnastics to freestyle skiing), to other roles within the sport (e.g., as coaches or officials), or to the “Active for Life” stage. It is also important that young female athletes have exposure to a full range of activities & early involvement in the FUNdamentals stage to fully benefit from opportunities in late specialization sports.