College softball coaches like to see kids who play more than one sport however it is increasingly more difficult to do with the demands placed on the athlete. In this day and age three sports is almost impossible to do but can be done depending on the size of school and the philosophies of the HS and travel ball coaches. Both my sons played three sports in HS at the Division II level because they were able to handle it and all of their coaches supported it. They played local travel in baseball and basketball and conditioned for football at the same time. We did not travel all over the country for them to get seen and both had the opportunity to play in college.
If an athlete enjoys playing two sports and can handle the time demands she should do it because she loves it. Playing in HS with your friends is creating memories that will last an entire life. I think it is a shame when girls have to choose between Homecoming and going to a fall travel tournament. The problem is not playing two sports but having the time to handle all of the demands of what coaches expect you do outside of your main season.
I believe one of the biggest problems in softball today is that teams at all ages, play too many games and do not spend enough time on skill development during the summer, fall, and winter.
Playing in tournaments and indoor softball without focused quality practice is not improving skill. College coaches are looking for softball players who are athletic and skilled. Playing indoor games where you get 2 or 3 at bats and 2 or 3 ground balls is not improving your athleticism or refining your skills. It takes reps and reps and reps of quality hitting off a tee, soft toss, and front toss to improve your swing. It takes focused work on improving your throwing mechanics, on increasing your range, on on working on your footwork to improve your skill level. Playing in games with poor mechanics is practicing poor mechanics. I will agree there is value to seeing live quality pitching if you also put the work in on skill development too. Just playing games on the weekend is not necessarily making better athletes.
If we would go back to kids practicing more on skill instead of playing so many games in the fall and winter off season, it would afford a softball athlete the ability to play volleyball, soccer, or yes maybe even basketball. I feel bad for the HS kid who has choose between playing basketball or softball because of the expectation to play winter softball with either her travel or HS team.
As a college coach I looked for well rounded athletes first. Playing another sport afforded athletes more of a growth experience physically, mentally, and socially. That is what HS is about. Today's athlete should be able to play more than one sport in HS. Playing competitive travel ball in two sports may difficult but if an athlete wants to play two sports in HS she should absolutely do it.
I encourage youth coaches and parents to spend more time practicing and getting better at being more athletic to improve your footwork in throwing, fielding, running, hitting, bunting, and baserunning. Play less and practice more. College coaches are looking for the athlete that is strong, quick, powerful, confident, and has good fundamental skills with a great work ethic. In the recruiting process I never asked a kid how many games she had played in her life time nor did I put a ton of stock in her stats. I recruited her because of her grades and the athleticism, skill level, mental toughness, work ethic, maturity, leadership, attitude, and ability to come through in the clutch she demonstrated. Playing more than one sport gives her the opportunity to develop all of those things.
