Northern Kentucky doctors and coaches are pushing back against a growing trend they say is hurting young athletes: year-round, single-sport specialization.

Dr. Jon Divine, a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and head team physician for UC Athletics, said the problem is well-documented but not improving. "The rate of overuse injuries really hasn't declined yet in that subgroup or adolescent population," Divine told LINK nky in a feature published July 15, 2026.

Divine defines sport specialization as intensive training in one sport for more than eight months a year, quitting all other sports, and starting young. He wrote in a January 2026 article for the National Federation of State High School Associations that early specialization "results in more harm than good to younger athletes."

The injuries aren't dramatic collisions. They're repetitive micro-trauma to bones, tendons, and joints without enough recovery time, Divine said. Once or twice a year, he sees a patient under 16 whose overuse injury won't respond to treatment. About half of those athletes, when asked if they really want to return to their sport, say they don't.

Research backs the warning

A March 2026 study in Pediatrics in Review found that 50% of sports medicine visits involve overuse injuries in pediatric populations. Seventy percent of youth quit their organized sport by age 13, with overtraining and burnout among the causes, according to Dr. Nailah Jepera Coleman of the George Washington University School of Medicine.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends young athletes delay specializing, play no single sport more than eight months per year, limit weekly organized-sport hours to their age in years, rest two days per week, and recover after each season.

Coaches see it on the field

Holy Cross junior Alyssa Arlinghaus plays both basketball and soccer. She suffered Achilles tendonitis this past year and hip problems in the two years before, all soccer-related, but has had no basketball injuries. She knows a basketball-only athlete who has battled multiple ACL tears.

Jordan Wilt, a St. Elizabeth Healthcare athletic trainer who has worked with Simon Kenton athletes for more than three years, said year-round play with little rest is a primary cause of injuries in young athletes.

Highlands head football coach Bob Sphire said athletes shouldn't feel forced to choose before they're ready. "A lot of these kids feel like they have to make a decision way before they probably should," Sphire told LINK nky. "Probably those decisions shouldn't be made 'til after their sophomore years."

Boone County recognizes multi-sport athletes

The message resonates locally. Boone County High School's athletic department congratulated its three-sport varsity athletes on May 29 for earning the KHSAA Triple Threat Award, given to students who compete at the varsity level in all three seasons of the school year. Ryle's Anthony Coppola was cited in the LINK nky report as a multi-sport athlete who plays both baseball and basketball for the Raiders.

Fall sports practices begin across Northern Kentucky in August.