Study: Single-Sport Athletes Injured More
November 3, 2016
A study conducted by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and funded by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Foundation revealed that high school athletes who specialize in a single sport sustain lower-extremity injuries at significantly higher rates than athletes who do not specialize in one sport.
The study was conducted throughout the 2015-16 school year at 29 high schools in Wisconsin involving more than 1,500 student-athletes equally divided between male and female participants. The schools involved in the study represented a mixture of rural (14), suburban (12) and urban (3) areas, and enrollments were equally diverse with 10 small schools (less than 500 students), 10 medium schools (501-1,000 students) and nine large schools (more than 1,000 students).
Athletes who specialized in one sport were twice as likely to report previously sustaining a lower-extremity injury while participating in sports (46%) than athletes who did not specialize (24%). In addition, specialized athletes sustained 60 percent more new lower-extremity injuries during the study than athletes who did not specialize. Lower-extremity injuries were defined as any acute, gradual, recurrent or repetitive-use injury to the lower musculoskeletal system.
“While we have long believed that sport specialization by high school athletes leads to an increased risk of overuse injury, this study confirms those beliefs about the potential risks of sport specialization,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Coaches, parents and student-athletes need to be aware of the injury risks involved with an overemphasis in a single sport.”
Among those who reported previously sustaining a lower-extremity injury, the areas of the body injured most often were the ankle (43%) and knee (23%). The most common types of previous injuries were ligament sprains (51%) and muscle/tendon strains (20%).
New injuries during the year-long study occurred most often to the ankle (34%), knee (25%) and upper leg (13%), with the most common injuries being ligament sprains (41%), muscle/tendon strains (25%) and tendonitis (20%).
In addition, specialized athletes were twice as likely to sustain a gradual onset/repetitive-use injury than athletes who did not specialize, and those who specialized were more likely to sustain an injury even when controlling for gender, grade, previous injury status and sport.
Thirty-four (34) percent of the student-athletes involved in the Wisconsin study specialized in one sport, with females (41%) more likely to specialize than males (28%). Soccer had the highest level of specialization for both males (45%) and females (49%). After soccer, the rate of specialization for females was highest for softball (45%), volleyball (43%) and basketball (37%). The top specialization sports for males after soccer were basketball (37%), tennis (33%) and wrestling (29%).
The study, which was directed by Timothy McGuine, Ph.D., ATC, of the University of Wisconsin, also documented the effects of concurrent sport participation (participating in an interscholastic sport while simultaneously participating in an out-of-school club sport), which indicated further risk of athletes sustaining lower-extremity injuries.
Almost 50 percent of the student-athletes involved in the survey indicated they participated on a club team outside the school setting, and 15 percent of those individuals did so while simultaneously competing in a different sport within the school. Seventeen (17) percent of the student-athletes indicated that they took part in 60 or more primary sport competitions (school and club) in a single year. Among those student-athletes in this group who sustained new lower-extremity injuries during the year, 27 percent were athletes who specialized in one sport.
The student-athletes involved in the study were deemed “specialized” if they answered “yes” to at least four of the following six questions: 1) Do you train more than 75 percent of the time in your primary sport?; 2) Do you train to improve skill and miss time with friends as a result?; 3) Have you quit another sport to focus on one sport?; 4) Do you consider your primary sport more important than your other sports?; 5) Do you regularly travel out of state for your primary sport?; 6) Do you train more than eight months a year in your primary sport?
Although some sports (field hockey, lacrosse) are not offered in Wisconsin and were not included in the study, the study concluded that since specialization increased the risk of lower-extremity injuries in sports involved in the survey it would also likely increase the risk of injuries in sports that were not a part of the study.
2022-23 School Year Classifications Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 28, 2022
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2022-23 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 9. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to September 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2022-23, there are 750 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (March 28). MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures are higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
Several MHSAA Finals champions awarded so far during the 2021-22 school year are assigned to different divisions for 2022-23. In 11-player football, Detroit Martin Luther King will move to Division 4 after winning Division 3 in the fall, with Hudson moving to Division 7 after winning Division 8 this past November. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian won the Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls cross country championship in the fall but will compete in LP Division 3 next season. Dearborn Divine Child’s girls golf team, winner of the LP Division 2 title in the fall, will move to LP Division 3 next season. The East Grand Rapids girls swimming & diving team will move back into LP Division 2 after winning LP Division 3 in the fall.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s baseball, the reigning Division 2 champion but playing in Division 1 this upcoming season, will move back into Division 2 for 2023. Richmond softball, which won Division 3 last season and remains in that division for this spring, will move to Division 2 for 2023.
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website at https://www.mhsaa.com/sports to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2022-23, there are 187 member schools in Class A and Class C and 188 member schools in Class B and Class D.
Effective with the 2022-23 school year, schools with 814 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 388-813, Class C is 183-387, and schools with enrollments of 182 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 21 students from 2021-22, the break between Classes B and C decreased 11 students, and the break between Classes C and D is six students fewer than for the 2021-22 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 32 schools move up in Class for 2022-23 while 24 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Cadillac
Detroit Henry Ford
New Boston Huron
Owosso
Plainwell
Sault Ste. Marie
Sparta
Spring Lake
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Dearborn Divine Child
Detroit East English
Detroit Martin Luther King
Fowlerville
Garden City
Marysville
Pinckney
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Adrian Madison
Blissfield
Brooklyn Columbia Central
Buchanan
Canton Prep
Clinton Township Clintondale
Dearborn Heights Star International
Detroit Voyageur College Prep
Elk Rapids
Grayling
Hart
Quincy
Sanford Meridian
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Benzie Central
Coloma
Comstock
Detroit Communication Media Arts
Ecorse
Jonesville
Michigan Center
Otisville LakeVille Memorial
Shelby
Watervliet
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Bellevue
Plymouth Christian Academy
Eau Claire
Fowler
Indian River Inland Lakes
Ironwood
Jackson Prep
Muskegon Heights Academy
New Buffalo
Ubly
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Adrian Lenawee Christian
Breckenridge
Detroit Benjamin Carson Science & Medicine
Grand Traverse Academy
Lawrence
Rogers City
Warren Michigan Math & Science
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2022-23
Escanaba Holy Name Catholic
Farmington Hills Huda School
Center Line Prep
Battle Creek Academy
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2022-23
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 814 and above (187 schools)
Class B: 388 – 813 (188)
Class C: 183 – 387 (187)
Class D: 182 and below (188)
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.