Richard Alexander: Brits specialise in sport too soon

In an interview with the Telegraph, Richard Alexander, the Sports Show ambassador and former hockey player for Britain, claimed that people “specialise too early nowadays” when it comes to sport. In the interview Alexander cited his own mixed sports career as an indication that people should have the luxury of trying multiple sports until they find one they are good at.

Not content with merely being an Olympian hockey player, Alexander has also tried his hand at swimming, tennis, golf and more. “I was always immersed in sport, whether that was hockey, or tennis, or rugby. Both Mum and Dad were very sporty, as well as my older brother and sister, so we were always at swimming galas, swimming competitions, golf competitions – everything and anything.

“I got dragged along to all these events but one thing I now know is that until you try a sport, you won’t know how good you are at it,” he said.

This seems to be a largely self motivated pursuit by Alexander, who tried his hand at a huge number of activities and says that he “played lots of sports at county level - such as tennis, cricket and athletics”. He does however give his sport-focused parents some of the credit for taking him down to their local sports club in Suffolk when he was younger.

There has been lots written about sports specialisations, specifically on whether it is best to specialise early, or try your hand at a number of different sports early on. Whereas Alexander experimented with sports until he became a seasoned hockey player, athletes like endurance athletes typically have found their success through a single-minded focus on that one particular activity.

There has been a number of athletes in recent years that have found professional acclamation in multiple sports. Some examples include Dan Fox, who plays hockey for GB but has also had success with cricket, playing for Oxford University and its academy. Jordan Spieth became the sixth golfer in history to win the Masters and The US Open in the same year, despite also having work as a quarterback, pitcher and point guard.

Alexander even goes as far as to say that specialising early is “one of the biggest wastes we have.” He continues that “someone could compete on a world level at sailing for example but until they try it, they just don't know.”