When young kids, even teenagers in high school, decide on one sport and one sport only, it could affect them in negative ways. Carl Palma, an athletic trainer with Community Health Network, says he believes children and teenagers should have a diverse palette when it comes to sports and academics.

“We have kids that find something that they love and the view is more is better,” said Palma, in an interview on WISH-TV.

He said some of the kids don’t seem to get an off season. They go straight from high school to to travel season to club season, then back to high school season. And, that comes with issues.

“The issue is singlizing (sic) in this one sport, you’re constantly using the same muscle groups all the time and that puts us at a higher risk for injury and that also puts us at a higher risk for mental health and burnout issues,” he said.

Palma said a good solution is getting kids involved in many sports and activities and encouraging them that if they like a certain sport they can also play another sport that helps with the one they like.

“When colleges are coming and recruiting athletes, they don’t want to see them in their normal sport. They want to see what else they’re doing, ’cause they can see the game film and the practice film and all that stuff anytime they want,” said Palma. “They want to see the college football player that’s also playing basketball and running track. They want to see the swimmer who’s running cross-country. They want to see all those aspects and how they’re good teammates…and even academic stuff.”