When adults display an overt need to WIN vicariously through their children no matter what the circumstances, something must be said. They are fashioning children who will likely do the same. Great -- a whole new generation of cheaters awaits.

In my practice I see 12-year-old AAA hockey players with chronic injuries, most often related to muscle imbalances and weakness. These cases further emphasize the idea that children at young ages should be working on developing as many movement experiences as possible.

I don't want to see eight-year-olds with shin splints and 10-year-olds with rotator cuff injuries, which can result from intensive training, but most of all, I want kids to have childhoods filled with physical play of all kinds, play that builds and develops the body in multiple ways so that it stays strong and healthy.