High School Sport Specialization and Injury in Collegiate Club-Sport Athletes
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Updated: Oct 10, 2025
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Published on: May 26, 2020
Kevin M Biese1, Madeline Winans1, Amanda N Fenton1
1Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Context:
Sport specialization during adolescence may affect future injury risk. This association has been demonstrated in some professional sport athletes.
Objective:
To determine the association between adolescent sport specialization levels in high school and injuries sustained during collegiate club sports.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Paper and online surveys.
Patients Or Other Participants:
Collegiate club-sport athletes.
Main Outcome Measures(S):
An anonymous survey was administered from September 2019 to May 2020. The survey included sport specialization classification via a commonly used 3-point scale (low, moderate, high) for each high school year (9th-12th), high school sports participation, and collegiate club-sport injury history. The number of years (0-4) an individual was highly specialized in high school was calculated. Individuals who participated in the same sport in high school and college were compared with individuals who played a different sport in college than in high school. An injury related to sport club activities was classified as arising from a contact, noncontact, or overuse mechanism required and the individual to seek medical treatment or diagnosis. Injuries were classified into overuse and acute mechanisms for the upper extremity, lower extremity (LE), and head/neck.
Results:
Single-sport participation and the number of years highly specialized in high school sport were not associated with college club-sport injuries (P > .1). Individuals who played a different collegiate club sport than their high school sport were more likely to report an LE or head/neck acute injury compared with athletes who played the same collegiate and high school sport (LE = 20% versus 8%, χ2 = 7.4, P = .006; head/neck = 16% versus 3%, χ2 = 19.4, P < .001).
Conclusions:
Adolescent sport specialization was not associated with reported injuries in collegiate club-sport athletes. Collegiate club-sport athletic trainers should be aware that incoming students exploring a new sport may be at risk for LE and head/neck acute injuries.
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