Mulit-Sport Athletes vs Specialized Athletes that focus on 1 sport ???

wpaguy · Jan 27, 2017

So, last night my 10 year old son tells me one of his coaches told him he has to pick a sport sooner or later. I thought that was odd because everything I have read from Professional to college coaches is saying just the opposite. Burn-out was the main issue but also by not playing other sports , other skill sets were not being developed. My son does play Baseball, Football, Basketball and takes Martial arts. He is not pushed in any and maintains straight A's in school. He just loves to play. My question is at what age or grade do you think kids should narrow sports down to 1 or 2 ? You all have Daughters out there playing Basketball, Volley ball , Swimming along with Softball...at what point do have to pick one or do you ? I kind of think you should play multiple sports until at least age 12 or 13 and then start to decide what your love is ? Am I wrong ?

longball00 · Jan 27, 2017

My 14yo DD decided to stop with Volleyball after trying to stay prepared for the Fall Softball Tournament Season, while playing High School Volleyball. Although VB was fun for her, and a great workout, she realized just that. It was fun, and she will never play it in College. She doesn't regret it one bit, as she needs to now prepare for playing College Ball. I think 14 for the right kid is acceptable.

Chardon Storm · Jan 27, 2017

I saw an interview with Pat Summitt (legendary UT women's basketball coach) on ESPN several years ago. She said that when she was recruiting, one of the first things she would ask a potential scholarship player was "what else do you besides basketball?" Didn't matter if it was softball, trumpet, chess club, etc. but she was very cautious of girls who were a single sport athlete and/or had no other outside interests. Coach Summitt feared not only "burnout" of the player but also physical problems that arise out of using the same muscles over and over again at a young age. For me, it was a much needed shot of reality as I too had been hearing that youth athletes needed to choose a sport early and focus on it. If your daughter is passionate about multiple sports and other activities, encourage her to pursue those things and eventually she will realize on her own what is the best fit for her. JMO

Erie · Jan 27, 2017

I think this is a pretty simple answer: If/When the child decides!

FastBat · Jan 27, 2017

Agree! I think keep trying everything and something will stick. The main objective is to gain valuable life lessons.

The one thing I have noticed from when I went through school, especially high school, the 3 sport athlete was common. Now, I don't see it as much. Or it seems those are the kids who do play 3 sports get injured and then stop playing their off sport because they enjoy their main sport and don't want to screw that up. Or stuff happens like longball's dd.

I also think there are more extra's besides sports, that many kids also enjoy. There is definitely more competition for time now with students, then a few years ago, when I went to school.

FastBat · Jan 27, 2017

wpaguy said:
So, last night my 10 year old son tells me one of his coaches told him he has to pick a sport sooner or later.

BTW, 10 years old is pretty young; they are just figuring things out.

My son is 10 and most Saturday's in the winter he plays basketball, baseball and soccer (I dread Saturdays, lol!). Plus, he enjoys downhill skiing in the winter, in the summer he attends US Kids golf tournaments, and because we want him to be well rounded we try to fit in some horseback riding when we can. When you are 10 years old the sky is the limit! Might be because of his personality, but he likes an active lifestyle! My dd was never like that and wouldn't have tolerated it well.

Maxx · Jan 27, 2017

I did a survey of over 500 college coaches at all divisions in all sports for my new website, www.maxxrecruiting.com. Only 10% percent said they prefer an athlete who specializes in 1 sport. Tell your son's coach they are an idiot and they should educate themselves......there are tons of articles out there lamenting sport specialization for a variety of reasons.

gatorcoach · Jan 27, 2017

Play multiple sports as long as you want to. Mine is a Soph and decided to go to 2 sports instead of 3. Softball is still #1 and she makes sure she gets her work in, but still loves and succeeds at volleyball.

Bottom line is there is no 1 correct answer. It will be different for everyone and there are many many different opinions. Lucky for my daughter her future college coach loves the fact she plays multiple sports.

Miller · Jan 27, 2017

I agree that multiple sports are good for kids. Most high schools are dependent on kids playing multiple sports. The key is having a school coach who is understanding of where a kids desire for college sports lie. Too many school coaches punish kids for playing multiple sports. There has to be a balance between coaches. My oldest plays softball in college. She lettered freshman and sophomore year in basketball. Junior year coach told my daughter she had to be at all summer league stuff. Made her choice easy. Full ride for softball or play school basketball. With flexibility between coaches it didn't have to come to that point.

FastBat · Jan 28, 2017

So, if she's a stud would they turn her away for playing one sport? I would guess not, or maybe just not a good fit, if it is a big deal.

Or maybe if a player only plays one sport, softball, she just quit now? Why bother? Maybe there is no reason for her to continue to play if she doesn't play multi-sports?

IMHO, I think it's really not that big a deal. I just don't remember this being mentioned when I played, just recently this has become an issue. I've heard discussion about this twice in a few weeks. One, two, or ten...who cares? What kind of person is she? Is she a hard worker? And the list goes on...not on my list is whether she played multiple sports. I don't get it???

FastBat · Jan 28, 2017

Maxx said:
I did a survey of over 500 college coaches at all divisions in all sports for my new website, www.maxxrecruiting.com. [/IMG]

Why does it force me to sign up every time I click a link on your page?

CARDS · Jan 28, 2017

Yes, some athletes (male or female) need to focus on one sport in order to stay competitive but, in my opinion this is a small percentage with the exception of Pitchers because of the amount of training especially at the college level.

At 10U my dd played Basketball, softball, football when she got to HS Bowling, golf and softball...As a two sport athlete in college my DD actually received additional benefits. If a 10U coach is telling his players they need to be limiting their athletic options I would not walk... run away from them...

I know of many ladies that continued to play multiple sports while in high school and college. Now some may not have done traditional sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer. Their second or third sport was golf, tennis, bowling, or swimming but these activities also required practice and commitment now these ladies also played at small D1 or smaller schools. The big D1 programs tend to be structured different...

I think males tend to be able to have more success or participate in multiple sports than females because they are not discouraged to do so.

coachjwb · Jan 28, 2017

While I also agree that kids should generally play as many sports as they want for as long as they want, here's the thing. Not all athletes are "studs". My DD was an example. She was a good athlete ... she enjoyed both volleyball and basketball, but she loved softball, wanted to play in college, and knew that she would have to work really hard to make that happen. She didn't think she could continue to play those other sports and achieve her goal, so she gave them up after 8th grade.

The other thing that's changed in the last 20 years is that year-round opportunities abound in most sports. There are lots more indoor facilities and there are lots more skill instructors (e.g., hitting and pitching and fielding coaches). If you're not a stud, it can be hard to compete with those who do play all year long. But 10 is definitely way too young to even think about specializing, and I think the chance of burnout increases greatly when you do specialize.

Maxx · Jan 28, 2017

FastBat said:
Why does it force me to sign up every time I click a link on your page?

We're in the process of uploading all of the information from the survey as well as 40 informational videos. It's been a long, tedious process. All of the pages will be available once we complete that process.

gatorcoach · Jan 29, 2017

coachjwb said:
While I also agree that kids should generally play as many sports as they want for as long as they want, here's the thing. Not all athletes are "studs". My DD was an example. She was a good athlete ... she enjoyed both volleyball and basketball, but she loved softball, wanted to play in college, and knew that she would have to work really hard to make that happen. She didn't think she could continue to play those other sports and achieve her goal, so she gave them up after 8th grade.

The other thing that's changed in the last 20 years is that year-round opportunities abound in most sports. There are lots more indoor facilities and there are lots more skill instructors (e.g., hitting and pitching and fielding coaches). If you're not a stud, it can be hard to compete with those who do play all year long. But 10 is definitely way too young to even think about specializing, and I think the chance of burnout increases greatly when you do specialize.

I understand and agree with what you are saying, but many "multi-sport girls still play softball all year long and attend weekly lessons all year long while playing volleyball, basketball, soccer, etc..

Davemy · Jan 29, 2017

Its been kind of quiet on here lately, Great to see a Topic other than Softball Tournament updates or Needing a Player.

FastBat · Jan 29, 2017

Here's my complaint about this subject. IMHO, there are adults, who have children that don't have the interest to practice year round or can't fit it in their schedules with multi-sports. So, they make other parents feel bad if their child practices year round and only plays one sport. I have said before my goal for my dd is to have her play her freshmen year of HS, if she likes it, she can decide what she wants to do. This research is for college and beyond. I feel like I'm somehow hurting my child, but from what? I have tried other sports, but no other sports suit her like softball.

One sport athletes can happen for many reasons: my child likes to travel (we have been known to leave her sport playing brother at home while we travel), participate in other activities other than sports like clubs and philanthropy, she golfs in the summer and skies in the winter and most don't consider those sports because it's not a team sport. Our district doesn't have a golf team until ninth grade. I don't think they have a ski club any more; that would start in ninth grade, as well.

I have heard so much lately about not making fun of children, but I view this exactly the same, when an adult says it's either multi-sports or it's wrong.

FastBat · Jan 29, 2017

gatorcoach said:
I understand and agree with what you are saying, but many "multi-sport girls still play softball all year long and attend weekly lessons all year long while playing volleyball, basketball, soccer, etc..

I don't generally see this or at least this is the excuse I hear from parents who have multi sport athletes and don't practice year round.

I have seen many pitchers who don't practice for a good 4-6 months a year, or very minimal (like 2-4days/month) for those months. I don't agree, if your dd is a pitcher, catcher, or plays on a competitive team, she should be practicing much more than that in the off season.

gatorcoach · Jan 29, 2017

FastBat said:
I don't generally see this or at least this is the excuse I hear from parents who have multi sport athletes and don't practice year round.

I have seen many pitchers who don't practice for a good 4-6 months a year, or very minimal (like 2-4days/month) for those months. I don't agree, if your dd is a pitcher, catcher, or plays on a competitive team, she should be practicing much more than that in the off season.

The real problem is that most parents worry about what other kids are doing instead of what their daughter is/wants to do. I know of many multi-sport kids (all different positions) who practice/play all year at the highest level. I also know many who do not and many single sport athletes both ways.

As I said before, find what is best for your kid and take that path. There is no 1 correct answer for everyone. My only issue is when people say you cannot be a multi-sport athlete and play at the highest level, or be as good as single sport kids. It is absolutely false, period!

maddball44 · Jan 30, 2017

Funny this came up because last night I was talking to one of our coaches and asked her how her daughter was doing in basketball this year. She said she gave it up because her h.s. softball coach held it against the girls when they would miss conditioning for other sports, cheer, ect.

Of course college coaches love muti-sport athletes because it doesn't effect them, but they must choose a sport to attend their college (except on very few occasions). Well it seems some h.s. coaches want the same dedication and are also making the girls choose.

Mulit-Sport Athletes vs Specialized Athletes that focus on 1 sport ???

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