This Week’s QuestionThere seems to be more athletes who only play one sport, and fewer multi-sport athletes. What are your thoughts on the value of playing only one sport vs. value of playing multi-sports? How can coaches help the athletes who are playing multi-sports?
Greg King- Sterling (Football Coach/Athletic Director)As a guy who grew up in a small town, we played everything. What ball you used depended on the season it was. I had coaches in HS that believed that as well. When I became a teacher and coach, I had that same philosophy. Sports are hard enough without trying to do multiple things at the same time. Now if someone was not out for a sport, I would want them doing something, like hitting the weight room.
The big question and fight was always the summer. As a head football coach, I left it up to the kids. I would never say, you must be here if you want to play. If a student-athlete’s 1st love is say baseball, and they want to go to a game…tourney or whatever, go. Couple things I wanted them to understand was that someone else was going to get those reps as we have to have someone fill that. Also when you are with us, please give our coaches your full attention.
Later in my career when I became an Athletic Director, I took this philosophy with me. Sharing of athletes in schools is a must. Coaches must work together, especially in the summer. Kids still need to be kids. If a student is doing basketball, and misses a volleyball workout, let’s say, who cares! They are doing something. Now if they are at home doing nothing, that is another thing. As long as kids are competing , it has benefits. Coaches must also have a weight room plan in and out of season. If you share athletes, and do not make athletes, stronger and more athletic, you are doing a disservice to everyone involved. One thing I did not like was during the summer, playing only basketball in June let’s say and volleyball in July. Or with guys Basketball in June and Football in July. To me what happens is a basketball athlete, shoots the hell out of the ball in June, but does not pick it up until fall sports are done. Coaches need to sit down with other coaches to help plan. They also must talk to their athletes and their parents. Make it so it is not overwhelming for either of them. As an AD, I had coaches schedule nothing over the 4th of July week. It was a vacation for athletes and coaches.
Now I see there is a bill in the Illinois House of Reps that will allow athletes to play club/travel ball at the same time. That is CRAZY! One of the things you notice today is that adults organize all the activities for kids these days. Long gone are the days when you would drive through a town and see multiple pick up games of any sport.
Maybe it is semantics, but I think there is a huge difference between an athlete “specializing” and an athlete “focusing” on a particular sport. I view the athlete who drops everything because a club team or a parent tells them they need to start working as a freshman to get a scholarship- that’s specialization and seldom healthy. The athlete who plays multiple sports but they can still be “focused” on one sport.
I had a great golfer, who was also a great basketball player. She was hoping to get a scholarship to play college golf. She kept playing both sports, but in summer her priority was golf. She still played basketball in the summer but if there was a conflict, she always went with golf. I believe this “focusing” is healthy.
Sadly, often specialization by high school athletes is initiated by club coaches, AAU coaches, or travel team coaches. Clear back in grade school or junior, they convince parents that their son/daughter is “college prospect” and that their ONLY way to get there is to play the sport year around. Parents are excited to hear an “expert” has identified their 10 year old child as a “college prospect” so as parents, they are going to do everything they can to make the dream come true. The club, AAU, or travel coaches put the name “elite” or “national” into their teams name, and the kid is off driving all over America as 6th grader to play 150 games.
I have a perspective as a parent. My daughter Haley only played volleyball after junior high, but that was by choice. She enjoyed being committed to specializing in volleyball and ended up earning a Division II scholarship. However, when she was growing she also tried basketball, tennis, track, and some golf.
Our two boys were different and each played three sports. Trey played football, basketball, and baseball. There were days in the summer where he would have something in all three sports. It kept him busy, but he was all for it. Colton played golf, basketball, and baseball. He also was able to play basketball and golf at Carthage until it just got to be too much after two years. It is interesting to talk to each of them about their experiences. Trey played basketball at Platteville, but always said how much he missed football. And Colton says how much he missed playing baseball. I have always felt that was healthy, and it makes me feel good that they had the opportunity to play sports they loved to play.
With both of the boys, and other multi-sport athletes, I believe it helped them develop as competitors and all-around athletes because of the experiences in each sport in three ways. (1) Each sport puts players in different situations that help develop a variety of skills. A couple of examples would be football making them more aggressive and reacting quickly, while golf teaches concentration and the pressure of having to rely on yourself. Other sports have specific examples as well. (2) I think the more situations players have to be a part of a team and work with teammates is beneficial. Playing in other sports also puts them in pressure situations and makes them better competitors in big moments. (3) Playing other sports means they will play for other coaches. Going through a season with another coach and being exposed to different coachings styles helps them grow.
The problem we have all dealt with in recent years is having to deal with the outside "coaches" who don't have a loyalty to schools and pressure athletes into missing their high school games or even quitting in order to chase scholarships that most times don't even pan out!! But this has already gotten longer than I expected, so I will stop on that note.
Antonia Kisler- Galesburg, SandburgTT is not an “old school coach,” but she was a multi-sport athlete at Galesburg HS- playing volleyball, basketball, and running track. She just finished her freshman year at Carl Sandburg where she played basketball. I asked Antonia her feelings about playing three sports in high school.
Growing up, I had to play a sport every season, otherwise, there wouldn’t be a team at the school I went to. Every girl on the basketball team, played on the volleyball team, and ran track too. We did not have enough to fill teams, so we just did all of it to have fun. Overall, it made us better athletes.
Playing more than one sport in high school helped improve my overall athleticism. You get to work on different skills and movements that help improve your coordination and agility.
By doing different movements, it helps athletes not overuse certain muscles and joints, which was very beneficial for me because I never took a break from playing any sport. It also kept me in shape and working out everyday.
Lifting year round helped me in every sport I did, as well as helping prevent injuries. I would recommend playing more than one sport to every athlete, it makes you a more versatile athlete and stronger overall.
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