Characterizing Sport Specialization Patterns in Professional Women's Ice Hockey Players

Early year-round training in a single sport has been associated with high rates of overuse injuries. Despite this increasingly well-known risk of early sport specialization, many young athletes elect to specialize in a single sport due to the perception that this practice gives them the best chance of attaining elite athletic status. However, early specialization in women's ice hockey has not previously been shown to be reliably associated with attainment of elite levels of performance. We hypothesized that professional women's ice hockey players specialize in mid-adolescence, at an age comparable to their male counterparts.

An anonymous survey was given to members of two National Women's Hockey League teams. The athletes were asked how many years they have been playing hockey, at what age they began playing only hockey on a year-round basis, how many sports they played in addition to hockey, and if they felt that playing multiple sports while growing up positively affected their hockey careers.

Fifty-four players completed the survey. The players reported playing hockey for an average of 19.4 ± 3.4 years. They began specializing in ice hockey at an average of 16.1 ± 3.3 years of age, 2 years later than previously reported in male NHL and NCAA athletes. Before specializing in hockey, players played an average of 3.5 ± 1.4 other sports. Ninetyone percent of players reported feeling as though playing other sports positively affected their hockey career.