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What is the pediatric sport framework, and how can it be applied in professional practice?

Breno Guilherme de Araújo Tinôco Cabral, Gilmara Gomes de Assis, Jason R. Jaggers, Adam Baxter‐Jones, Eugenia Murawska‐Ciałowicz, Vanessa Carla Monteiro Pinto et al. · Sport Sciences for Health · 2026

This is a concept paper, not an experiment: it proposes a framework called "Pediatric Sport" for guiding youth athletic development in both able-bodied and para-sport settings. The framework argues that training for kids and teens should be built around health first, combining biological maturation, psychological, environmental, nutritional, and training factors, with strategies to manage workload, track athletes over time, and avoid the overuse injuries, burnout, and dropout linked to early specialization.
Takeaway: Delay early single-sport specialization in young athletes and manage their training load with long-term health and maturation in mind.
Abstract (source)

Abstract Youth sport development during childhood and adolescence requires models that integrate multidimensional domains of knowledge and respect biological maturation across both conventional sports and para-sports. However, contemporary environments prioritizing immediate performance often drive early specialization, magnifying the risks of overuse injuries, psychological burnout, and premature sports dropout. To address these structural challenges, this paper proposes " Pediatric Sport " as a health-centered, holistic, and conceptual framework that incorporates biological, psycho-emotional, environmental, nutritional, and training-related components. This framework introduces strategies geared toward reducing athletic workload strain, maximizing longitudinal tracking, and securing safe sports longevity. Furthermore, it conceptualizes a cohesive interaction between athletic performance and health preservation for young individuals with and without physical or cognitive impairments. Registration: The present study was preregistered and publicly made available on the Open Science Framework platform (Under DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/M2VTW ).

Primary studyOpen accessRecovery & Sleep
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