Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / BIG Concerns Around More Kids Getting Sport Surgeries Today

BIG Concerns Around More Kids Getting Sport Surgeries Today

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | May 15, 2014

No Comments

surgery-baseball-4

Tommy John surgery is a procedure previously only done with elite-level/professional baseball players in an attempt to repair damage done stemming from pitching.  The surgery, once seen as radical, eventually became almost commonplace for MLB pitchers, with Dr. James Andrews becoming the poster-surgeon for the procedure.  The benefits of the surgery were quite noteworthy, with most players being able to return to full strength and extend a career that otherwise would have ended.

Today, Tommy John surgery is still routinely performed with professional and college-level players, but the surgery is also being done on an alarming number of kids, too (and sometimes even before needed – as in an attempt to prepare for the inevitable).  The thinking by some parents is that the surgery is a way to best prepare their youngster to play his or her best, and hopefully by doing so have a better shot at a college DI scholarship.  Unfortunately this is very short-sighted thinking for a number of reasons:

  • Kids bodies are still growing, and if a kid needs Tommy John surgery at age 10, you might be better off more closely examining how you got to that point in the first place (i.e. year-round training with few breaks?)
  • Most surgeons will also talk about the caution needed when performing surgery on bodies still not completely through puberty – and the consequences of having a serious sport-performance surgery so young
  • Even if your child has a surgery performed it in no way guarantees a future scholarship.  With less than 5% of all high school athletes being able to compete at the college level, you can see the odds are long no matter what you do
  • Parents need to check their own unfinished business — in all of my years of working with student athletes I have never once heard a kid want to get a surgery, but have heard many parents talk about the idea.  Sometimes, but not always, this suggests the parents has his or her own unfinished business when it comes to sports.

In my opinion it should be only in rare and extreme instances where kids should be considered candidates for these kinds of surgeries.  In fact, by keeping a normal, healthy, balanced sports schedule for your child you shouldn’t even need to consider these kinds of procedures. 

www.drstankovich.com

Help your child reach his FULL potential – pick up our popular sport performance e-book today!

Coaching, john, kids, psychology, sociology, sport, sports, surgery, tommy, youth

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • May 6, 2025 Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • April 21, 2025 Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • April 17, 2025 Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • April 16, 2025 Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • April 8, 2025 Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Making Sense of the Latest Sport Psychology Research Regarding Parent Involvement

NEXT POST

Steve Nash says “Sport Retirement like a Death”

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Coaching , College , Communicating with Coach , Parent Training , Performance Enhancement , Prep , Psychology of Injury , Quitting , Sport Philosophy , Sport Psychology , Sport Sociology , Sport Specialization , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Media , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Sports Safety , Training and Development , Travel Leagues , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sport Burnout , Youth Sports

Tags

Coaching, john, kids, psychology, sociology, sport, sports, surgery, tommy, youth

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success
  • The Importance of Passion & Purpose for Sport Success
  • How Human Arousal Impacts Sport Performance
  • Bouncing Back: How Coaches Can Help Kids Learn from a Tough Loss
  • Learn Sports Fear Reduction with these 5 Psychology Tips
  • Why Does Your Kid Play Great in Practice, but Not in Games?
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2025 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓