Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports
 
Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports
Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports

My child plays organized sports. Would they still benefit from unstructured free play or would that be too much activity?

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Unstructured free play is valuable for all children, especially those in organized sports, where it serves a complementary role to structured activity. Young athletes should take breaks from structured sports at least 1-2 days per week and at least 1-2 months per year. This allows for rebuilding of bone and muscle, reduces injury risk, and provides a mental break to reduce the chances of burnout. These breaks from structured sports activity are an ideal time to reap the benefits of free play:

  • Free play focuses on fun and child-centered goals, fostering enjoyment for lifelong recreational physical activity.
  • Child-driven games promote creativity, problem solving, conflict resolution and social skills such as communication, leadership and teamwork.
  • Free play provides a low pressure setting for practicing and learning new skills or a new sport.
  • Free play provides opportunities to interact and bond with peers, form new friendships, and expand and diversify one’s peer group.
  • Studies show that young competitive athletes who regularly engage in free play are at lower risk for overuse injury than those who do not spend as much time in unstructured play.
References:
Jayanthi NA, LaBella CR, Fischer D, Pasulka J, Dugas LR. Sports-specialized intensive training and the risk of injury in young athletes: a clinical case-control study. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(4):794-801.
Jayanthi, N., Kleithermes, S., Dugas, L., Pasulka, J., Iqbal, S., & LaBella, C. (2020). Risk of injuries associated with sports specialization and intense training patters in young athletes: A longitudinal clinical case-control study. The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 8(6). 2325967120922764 doi: 10.1177/2325967120922764
Visek, A. J., Achrati, S. M., Manning, H., McDonnell, K., Harris, B. S., & DiPietro, L. (2015). The fun integration theory: Towards sustaining children and adolescents’ sport participation. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(3), 424-233. doi:10.1123/jpah.2013-0180
Bowers, M.T., & Green, B.C. (2013). Reconstructing the youth sport experience: How children derive meaning from unstructured and organized settings. Journal of Sport Management, 27, 422-438.
Bowers, M.T., Green, B.C., Hemme, F., & Chalip, L. (2014). Assessing the relationship between youth sport participation settings and creativity in adulthood. Creativity Research Journal, 26, 314-327.