Read the article and I agree with the argument to a point. However, I kind of think it’s a little too simplistic. Year round basketball in some form has been around as long as I can remember, whether it’s a sponsored sanctioned league or on the blacktop. Let’s not pretend that kids who grew up in the 70s 80s and 90s weren’t out there pounding the blacktop all summer long. If anything you could argue that the rise of AAU and summer tournaments is actually good in a way because at least it’s monitored how much kids are playing.
Not really buying the argument that playing multiple sports is somehow better for your body in the long-term than focusing on one. I mean, I don’t think kids should start out just focusing on one sport but if by the time you get to a certain point if you have made the decision that you want to pursue a future in basketball and are willing to put the effort into it, what sense does it really make to waste time and risk injury playing another sport? And aren’t you just as if not more likely to get injured playing football, baseball, soccer, etc. as basketball. I agree that there is a point when it can get to be too much, and there needs to be enough periods of rest for the body to recover, but I don’t buy the argument that focusing on one sport is bad long-term.
What I do agree with is that the main reason guys are getting seriously injured more at young ages has to do with advanced timeline. Players are entering the league younger and younger, and training in a way that there body isn’t necessarily physically developed enough to handle yet at a young age.
