In the past few days, I've read a number of articles and blog posts regarding why college football/basketball coaches like to see young athletes pursue more than one sport. The reasons are numerous, but they really come down to better conditioned, more versatile and more engaged. I'd add to that less jaded, more energetic about sport, and in general better rounded as people and students. And I'll add my voice to the hum of coaches who firmly believe that single sport athletes are being led down the wrong path for life.
I just left a strength training workout for my kayak racing team - athletes ages 12-18. These kids/athletes are all there solely because *they* want to be there, to get stronger for kayak racing, but also to be stronger in general and for their other sports. All participate in multiple sports, including gymnastics, rock climbing, track and cross-country running and volleyball. I'll add the Nordic skiers in a couple of weeks as their seasons end.
The challenge facing a coach in this kind of environment really isn't getting the athletes to take part, it's crafting a program that is complimentary - and respectful of - their current in-season sport. That means that the volleyball player who had a tournament today and still wanted to come may not do her normal weights, or maybe skips out on something that engage overused muscles. It also means programming around the rock climber who had a meet (yep, competitive climbing is a club sport outside the high school) might not do the same lifts. It's all about working with the individual programs that are currently 'in season'. I know the volleyball player's coach is happy with her progress - stronger, more leap, harder serve.
It requires being aware of the individual athletes, expecting them to communicate about their off-season activities, and as a sport outside the high school system, sometimes meeting with their AD to develop an understanding of what your sport is providing that's not available inside the system.
And it requires a *lot* of parents who may, or may not have grown up playing sports. It's often easier to deal with the parent who didn't grow up playing sports through high school. They have fewer preconceived notions about athlete development, and usually more concern about the roundness of their particular athlete. Parents who grew up playing sports, particularly those who 'made varsity' are much more difficult to convince that the path [they've often forgotten] to success leads through being a well rounded athlete and person, not just a great sophomore playing football/soccer/hockey/whatever year around.
The 'year around sport' phenomenon is a recent one. Most varsity athletes in past generations played 2 or 3 sports - linemen were often the 'field' part of track and field, and the 'skill' positions doubled down on the running events. A lot depends on the region and sports at a particular school or region. There certainly have been specific coaches who pushed the 'only my sport or the highway' mantra, but they were certainly fewer and farther apart.
There's a great blog post making the rounds right now about Urban Meyer's preference to recruit multi-sport athletes. Since coming to Ohio State, Coach Meyer has shown a nearly 10-1 preference for multi-sport athletes. Is it possible this has something to do with winning a National Championship?
So the message for parents is simple - if your child wants to play several sports, please encourage them. If they are committed to doing only one, still encourage them, but try to suggest other sports activities as a break, cross training, for injury prevention, or any other reason you can find (except perhaps that they should play it just because *you* did).
And in the end, what we really want to see are young athletes who are well-rounded, energized, and on a path to be fit for life.
~marsh
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