Baseball/Football

Will playing football hurt his opportunities because he plays football?

It's not an easy question to answer because it all depends.  In one sense, yes because in the late summer early fall he will not be attending a place, a showcase, a college camp or a tournament that he could be seen at.  That is obvious and probably why you ask.   I have had teams that I coached at the PG Kernels Tournament and had players recruited out of that tournament as we had many coaches attend our games and that is during the football time of the year.  The other aspect is always, how talented is your son.  How hard will he have to work to be recruited.

Having said that, if your son likes to play football, let him play. If he is a football player that contributes on the football team and has a desire to be a part of that experience, its hard to take that away.   Those are times on the football field that he will cherish.  Just make sure you do your due diligence in the summer and maximize the baseball time he has to exposure.  Don't make it a baseball crap shoot.  If he has an idea of where he would like to go, try your best to get in front of the coaches in a tournament, camp or showcase and get your answers.  Have your son stay in contact before and after he has been seen by the schools he targeted.   There may be a good chance he gets his answers on where he will end up before football season gets going and he would be set for college baseball and not have to worry about missing fall baseball stuff.

How do college baseball coaches look upon a kid who plays 2 sports as opposed to just baseball???

Positively, if they are good and could help their team.  Some coaches go out of their way to say they love multiple sport athletes.  Some are indifferent.  But  I have never heard a coach say they dislike a player who is a multiple sport athlete. 

In the end if he could swing both let him do both.  I have recruited baseball/football players and we understand if we have an interest in a baseball/football player we get out to see them during HS season or summer season.  In the past I have coached players who were multiple sport athletes that were highly recruited and it worked out for them without a hitch.

As a side note the most frustrating portion of doing both for players and parents that I know that play football and baseball is when the football coach in HS makes it mandatory to attend summer football camp and or 7 on 7 when the player has a baseball camp, showcase or tournament they need to attend and the football coach doesn't understand or care for the importance for that player to maximize that baseball opportunity and miss summer football practice.  At times I have heard football coaches that give ultimatums of be here at football or else, and they are surprised when the player picks or else and is no longer playing football because the coach made him choose. Hopefully that will not be the case for your son.  Good Luck!

"As a side note the most frustrating portion of doing both for players and parents that I know that play football and baseball is when the football coach in HS makes it mandatory to attend summer football camp and or 7 on 7 when the player has a baseball camp, showcase or tournament they need to attend and the football coach doesn't understand or care for the importance for that player to maximize that baseball opportunity and miss summer football practice.  At times I have heard football coaches that give ultimatums of be here at football or else, and they are surprised when the player picks or else and is no longer playing football because the coach made him choose."

Our coach tried this with my son....who NEVER missed a thing for 3 years. I as a parent NEVER get involved with the coaches, except to tell them work him harder!!! lol But i did say something on this one......I told the coach...."Unless your willing to match the money these college baseball coaches are offering my son....you better re-think that ultimatum !!"  Last time he ever said anything like that to my son....who became a captain of football and baseball and helped lead both teams to the states! 

So, in other words, you're okay with ultimatums as long as it fits what you want?

Vikingboy,

Difficult dilema.  If your son was high on a few schools radar, then the critical nature of being available for baseball showcase, tournaments, or camps may not be as critical since he would have already been seen.  If you finish this summer without any offers, then to me, the decision for your son to make would be - would you want to not play football, so you could attend Fall baseball events, in an effort to secure a place to play after HS is over?  If he (and you) believe the potential of playing after HS is high, then it will be a tough decision to make, and he may prefer to not miss playing his last season of HS football, for the opportunity to play baseball beyond HS....only he knows that answer.

As for JustaBBmom's comments regarding pressure from HS football coaches to not play summer baseball so they can attend summer conditioning, and play 7 vs 7, I have experience with that as well, and I fall on the same side of the fence as you do.  Unless the coach is certain that football will give the player the same opportunity beyond HS that baseball will, I find it disturbing.

Coaches like multi sport athletes. But more importantly they like players who excel at the sport they coach. Whether or not your son plays football isn't all that relevant in his quest for finding a spot in college baseball. What's important is spending the correct time and being in the right places to be seen by the right college baseball people. How football affects or doesn't affect the situation is up to the player.

My son decided this year to not play football (to the dismay of the coach), he weighed his options and decided that the risk /reward of playing was not something he was interested in. Will play soccer probably for the last time this upcoming season. 

Everybody is different, personally i would have liked him to play FB again (led league in tackles and sacks at OLB last year) but he did get beat up pretty good throughout the season. As an incoming junior he has a busy year ahead of him academic wise so i understand the reasoning.

When he told mom and dad he phrased it that basically everything comes to an end sometime, and its footballs time now. Mentally im not sure ill be able to handle it when its baseballs time.

I want to thank all of you who weighed in on this topic.My son can relate to the pressure of playing football. While my son is in no way getting a scholarship in football, he is still a starter as both a runningback and defensive back.In our town with a population of 5,000,football is king,period!!!! Baseball is looked on as a secondary sport you play when not playing football,lool. I agree with the people who say,if my son has a prospect camp in the middle of the week or has to attend 7-7 drills,hes going to the prospect camp.The coach will get over it

what i'm not ok with is a coach who isn't supportive of a kid who has put in everything for the team and coach. It may be naive of me but i wish more coaches supported players like this....straight a's,never a discipline issue, total dedication and would do anything for his team and coaches. By the way....he did not go to what he was supposed to because he would have had to miss a practice. did it make it harder for him, yes, but he would not disappoint his coach. The coach knew baseball was his true love and knew he was being recruited.....He could have been more supportive without issuing an ultimatum. And also....nowhere in my post did i say i was against ultimatums......i don't like them. but if your going to issue them.....don't be surprised if the kid takes you up on them and you don't get the result you want. 

This summer will be critical to him if he is not already on someone's radar.  If he gets his commitment now missing the fall is no big deal.  If he doesn't have a place to play college ball missing the fall is costly.  My son played both and started both ways in football at a 5A school, but he made the decision to quit football when he felt he wanted to play baseball at the next level more than football.  I just ask, "are you sure?"  He was so I supported it, I would have either way.