In last week’s newsletter our poll question asked at what age do you think kids should focus on one sport. I was happily surprised that nearly half of the responses came in at never. I say that because in my line of work I see more and more kids deciding at a young age to only play a single sport and I believe that it is a mistake.
Growing up in both Michigan (until 13) and Arizona (13-18) I was surrounded by a different group of athletes. In my area of the Mid-West hockey took the place of soccer and baseball was only played in the spring and summer. Sports were more seasonal and the climate change typically ushered in the next sport to be played. In the South-West the sun shines year round just like the sporting events. It allows players to not be hamstrung by bad weather and play whatever they want, whenever they want, which is not completely a bad thing. My biggest issue is when players decide to focus on single sports.
Part of the blame does fall on some high school coaches. There are individuals who want full access to their players at all times and don’t like sharing them with other sports. This may stem from a fear of injury to the athlete or possibly thier own selfish desires to win. The high school I attended in Glendale, AZ, was Cactus High. We were well known for our athletics and dominated in many sports. For the most part our coaches didn’t mind “sharing” players and from what I remember the best guys on every team usually played at least 2 sports.
Some blame does exsist with the parents. Instead of standing up to the coach and telling them their son or daughter will participate in whichever sports they want, they fear the ramification of that decision. Trust me, if the player is talented enough no coach in his or her right mind is going to keep them off the field. Last time I checked very few schools across the nation charge you to be on a team and unless you attend a private institution, you don’t have to pay to attend high school either. Children should take advantage of the opportunity to play for free while they have a chance.
Overuse injuries are big topic of discussion nowadays. There are doctors who believe that many of today’s sports related injuries stem from playing only one sport at a young age. Baseball seems to be the biggest culprit because of the amount of throwing that young players do in a year round environment. Thankfully many leagues have instituted pitch counts for their players, but it’s hard to monitor when your son is playing in 2 or 3 baseball leagues in a single season, and on top of that play year round. Keeping your coaches informed on what your child is doing is imperative as well as the coach remembering it’s about the kids, not winning some weekend tournament so your state power rankings go up.
In my opinion it boils down to this. I don’t believe that I would have been as good of a baseball player that I turned out to be without my experience on the high school football team or the city parks that I played pick-up basketball in throughout my college years. Sure you risk the chance of getting injured by playing other sports, but you can tear a ligament just as easy running the bases as you can on a soccer field or court. You learn so many more team dynamics is certain sports and more individual ones in others. You also work different muscles more in different sports. While their is nothing wrong with falling in love with one sport at a young age and focusing all your time and energy on it, just don’t feel pressured to play that one because you feel it’s the only way you will be successful.
