My son loves baseball and football, esp the camaraderie in the football locker room in his school. He also belongs to a select group of singers in his HS. Several stories with this.
Going into this junior year, he decided to sit out football and focus on fall baseball hoping to get the recruiting process out of the way going into summer ball. Well, that plan went out the window when he watched the first football varsity game. He can't resist the itch and signed up to play after that game (I'm sure the football coaches kept trying to talk him into it contributed also). He asked me about it and I told him that it's his decision, but he needs to understand the pro/con, and worst case scenario (he gets hurt), and that he needs to be able to live with that. But I also told him that it's important to not let his life revolve just around baseball and I would support whatever he decides. His baseball travel coach and varsity baseball coach is also supportive (thankfully) so we went ahead and joined the varsity team. A week later, he dislocated his finger during a football practice and was in a case for 4 weeks. He was still able to play some while in a cast and playing a lot towards the end of the football season. But that totally sank his fall baseball (missed Ft Myers, Jupiter and several of the college workouts he's signed up for). I asked him if he regretted his decision. He said totally no regrets as he is enjoying playing football a lot. I told him that at the end of the day, that's what's important. I don't know till 6 to 12 months from now how big an impact his decision is to play football (and getting injured). I don't know if there's any long lasting harm to his throwing hand. But he learned an important lesson that baseball isn't everything in his life.
Second story is that during spring, his school sends this select group of singers to Nashville for vocal master coaching. Last spring, the event conflicted with his varsity baseball games but I can tell he really wished he could have gone. The coaching session was on a Fri morning. After his baseball game Thu night, I told him that I'll drive him to Nashville that night, and drive right back home Fri afternoon in time for his game. He called his baseball varsity coach and he was on board. It was tight but we got back in time. He sat the first inning but played well the rest of the game.
I don't have any proof to back this up but I think having all these other passions and activities helps makes him more balanced, it helps him understand that baseball doesn't define him (esp during slumps in baseball), and he doesn't burn out. He is just as excited about baseball right now (along with football and singing). He went through a slump midway through the summer travel season and killed it in WWBA. I have several other stories that showed his character when I least expect it, and I can point to his experience in all these other activities (and church) that shaped him. Of course, one could argue the hypothetical that he may have ended up in the same place if he just focused on baseball.