Athletic activity in youth offers many benefits, including the development of fitness, motor skills and social skills, as well as learning structure and teamwork, and fostering a lifelong appreciation for physical activity.

With all sports, there is some inherent risk involved, but by understanding factors which are known to increase injury and by following certain guidelines, the injury risk can be minimized and enjoyment maximized. As a sports medicine specialist who happens to be an athlete and a parent of an athlete, my goal in this article is to help educate parents, grandparents, coaches and athletes about making sports a bit safer while encouraging healthy participation and maximum performance.