Oct. 20, 2016 | Support continues to increase for the idea of children playing multiple sports and taking an offseason break from hockey. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) recently released a consensus statement on early sport specialization in The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. In that statement, the organization published the following result from its think-tank study: "There is no evidence that young children will benefit from early sport specialization in the majority of sports. They are subject to overuse injury and burnout from concentrated activity. Early multi-sport participation will not deter young athletes from long-term competitive athletic success." To review the entire study PDF, click here. It also contains the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine consensus statement that a variety of physical and mental heath concerns can be attributed to early sport specialization.