At Salt Lake Academy, we offer a wide variety of sports because, although we are a "soccer school", we don’t believe in sport specialization.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine has found that “kids who had higher levels of specialization were at about a 50 percent greater risk of having an injury”.
In addition to this finding, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded “that delaying sport specialization for the majority of sports until after puberty (late adolescence—around 15 or 16 years of age) will minimize the risks and lead to a higher likelihood of athletic success."
We believe in this as well, having seen the trajectory of injuries skyrocket as sport specialization has become popular.
Further proof on the ability of athletes to succeed while playing multiple sports...
...was found when a survey of the women’s national team in 2015 found that members of the team played at least 14 different sports competitively while growing up, as well as soccer.
We like to believe that this exposure to different sports enhances an athlete in many different ways.
The similarities in sport are beneficial and we have dedicated ourselves to adhering to modern medical advice and encourage all of our athletes to join one of the many other sports we have to offer.
