If you ask many parents how to help youth athlete become a better athlete, they’ll often assume the answer is simple: play one sport year-round. However, the research tells a different story.

The strongest, healthiest, and most resilient athletes often have two things in common:

• They participate in multiple sports during childhood and adolescence.
• They follow a properly supervised strength training program.

As a registered dietitian and certified sports nutritionist, I work with athletes every day who want to improve performance while staying healthy enough to compete. Long-term athletic development isn’t about doing more—it’s about training smarter and consuming the proper meals and snacks at the right time! 

Why Playing Multiple Sports Matters

Youth sports have become increasingly specialized, yet injury rates continue to rise.

Research from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health evaluated more than 1,500 high school athletes and found athletes who specialized in a single sport were twice as likely to report lower-extremity injuries compared with athletes who participated in multiple sports. Specialized athletes also experienced significantly more lower-body injuries. Teen baseball athletes often under-eat in protein, carbs and calories. Grab the baseball fueling guide HERE.

Additional research published in the Journal of Sports Sciences found boys ages 10–12 who participated in multiple sports demonstrated better standing broad jump performance and superior gross motor coordination than athletes specializing in just one sport.

Playing multiple sports helps young athletes develop:

• Better coordination
• Improved balance
• Greater athleticism
• Enhanced movement skills
• Reduced overuse injuries

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine also reported that approximately 88% of collegiate athletes played more than one sport growing up. Grab the football student athlete fueling guide HERE. Many legendary athletes were multisport competitors, including Bo Jackson, Danny Ainge, Tom Glavine, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Bob Gibson.

Why Every Youth Athlete Should Strength Train

Strength training is one of the most researched methods for improving athletic performance and reducing injury risk. When supervised by qualified professionals using age-appropriate exercises, resistance training has been shown to:

• Increase muscular strength by 30–50% through neuromuscular adaptations
• Reduce sports-related injuries by approximately 30–50%
• Improve bone mineral density during critical growth years
• Increase speed, power, agility, and athletic performance
• Enhance movement quality and coordination
• Improve lean muscle mass and metabolic health
• Increase confidence and psychological well-being

Perhaps most importantly, research consistently shows there is no evidence that properly supervised resistance training stunts growth or damages growth plates. Youth athletes should be avoiding pre-workouts and energy drinks that are dangerous for their health!

Get a copy of my athlete meal and snack guide optimal health and performance!

Female Athletes and ACL Injury Prevention

Female soccer players face a substantially greater risk of ACL injuries than males, with studies reporting they are two to six times more likely to experience these devastating knee injuries.

Several factors contribute to this increased risk, including:

• Anatomical differences
• Hormonal fluctuations
• Low iron and ferritin
• Poor nutritional intake
• Neuromuscular control
• Landing mechanics
• Hip and knee stability
• Inadequate sleep *How much sleep do athletes need?

The good news? Neuromuscular training programs have been shown to reduce ACL injury rates by up to 50%.

Exercises that should become part of every female athlete’s strength program include:

• Single-leg deadlifts
• BOSU balance drills
• Lateral band walks
• Box jumps with controlled landings
• Walking lunges
• Single-leg squats
• Agility ladder drills
• Plyometric training emphasizing proper landing mechanics

These exercises strengthen the hips, glutes, hamstrings, and core while improving balance, coordination, and knee stability.

Don’t Forget Proper Nutrition

Strength training alone isn’t enough. Young athletes need adequate calories, carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, hydration, vitamins, and minerals to recover, build muscle, and support normal growth and development.

Under-fueling can increase fatigue, delay recovery, reduce performance, and elevate injury risk. Click here to learn more about what to eat before and after training and games! Smart supplementation with creatine monohydrate and vitamin D3 can also help reduce the risk of injury and illness. Avoid over-consuming ultra-processed foods.

That’s why nutrition should be developed alongside strength and conditioning—not treated as an afterthought. Nutrition tips for recovering from an injury or post-surgery. Check out my tasty high-protein weight gain smoothies!

Help Your Athlete Build a Strong Foundation

Whether your athlete plays football, XC,  baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, track and field, or another sport, building athleticism early pays dividends for years to come. Most athletes skip breakfast and often do not consume a balanced three to four daily mails required to meet fueling demands.

At Nutrition With Wendi, I’ve created resources designed to help athletes fuel properly and train smarter, including:

• 12-Week Fueling the Elite Student-Athlete Program
• Sport-specific Fueling Guides
• Evidence-based education designed for long-term athletic development

The goal isn’t simply creating a better athlete for next season. It’s developing healthier, stronger, more confident athletes who can compete for years to come.

Ready to help your athlete reach the next level?