Another comment on playing multiple sports

I love reading this, thanks for sharing. Am new to the board, and have been reading many college recruiting-oriented posts and getting up to speed. My 2017 RHP & 1B also plays basketball. He is 6'8" and everyone assumes he plays and is good at basketball, but he loves baseball and especially pitching, even more. He played school JV basketball and baseball last year and had to manage basketball practice with winter training at club and HS baseball at same time, but he was in the best shape ever for the start of the baseball season. This year he was on the fence about trying out for Varsity basketball, (last year did not get much play time and was thinking he wanted to put all his eggs in the baseball basket)  but has decided to try out. He is also on a competitive baseball club team plus Eagle scout project is getting underway and fitting in church choir and acolyting when he is able to. But loves it all. He waited until 13U to play club baseball, until then, it was little league, challenge, etc. but all local, to allow time and space for other activities and not "specialize" too early. We keep hearing from college coaches and club coaches that playing more than one sport is a great thing, if they can handle it. Good for their athleticism, time management skills, and less burnout, I hope. Thanks again for posting this, I will share it with my son.  

My son, 2020, is basically playing only baseball now, played tennis for many years but stopped last year on his own accord and we didn't force him.  He is taller for his age, at 6', but hasn't really taken much to basketball, likes to shoot hoops is about it.  He's never really played anything else, was tennis, then baseball at age 10, a year of organized basketball at 11 and that was it.  He has dabbled in wrestling, and has asked about football, but that's it.  I guess my point being, it's not always a parental choice of specializing, or a conscious choice to play only one sport, just how it turns out perhaps.

 

 

 

 

 

I like hearing this too. My 2020 plays soccer, hockey, golf and is running cross country for the first time (but he hates it lol).  Football is out of the question though he would like to play (my husband took a stand against it due to the head trauma issue and I supported it b/c there are tons of other sports to play). Baseball is his first love but he chose soccer over fall ball this year.

 

I love baseball but I'm not ready for him to play that exclusively.  He's not ready either but he's a natural athlete and is always getting recruited for the next level up (be it travel team or tournament team) in the team sports like soccer or hockey. I think they learn a lot from playing the other games and from being coached in different sports -- especially in terms of alternative strategies or techniques that can be adapted for baseball.

 

I wish there was less pressure to specialize early.

Did you know that Cal Ripken play soccer and received scholarships. On our MSU World Series team, we had the three Rose Bowl QB and. hockey player. When I selected players for the Area Code games the pro scouts and I preferred the multi sport athletics. Bob

My daughter plays varsity field hockey in the fall and varsity softball in the spring at her high school and has since her freshman year.  Her travel sport is softball and this fall her travel team coach has made comments about athletes on the team who play another fall sport aren't able to commit as much, practice as much, etc. and really making it a negative thing.  I have been tempted to forward him numerous articles supporting multiple sports and supporting the fact that this is frequently viewed as a positive thing by college coaches/recruiters.  I decided against it but boy have his comments irritated me.  At the games there is definitely no stand-out difference in performance on the field between the multi-sport athletes and the single sport athletes.

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