Baseball, Football and Basketball

As a follow up question.  Does anyone think that you can successfully play all three sports in HS and then go on to play a college sport?  I do know that the college coaches like the idea of playing multiple sports.  He does do off season training for baseball during the basketball season but it is limited to an in-field session a week, one or two days of long toss (depending on schedule and weather) and 30 to 60 minutes working out with his pitching coach on Sundays.

To answer your question it is not unusual for the best players to be multiple sports athletes. HS is a once in a lifetime opportunity so live it to the fullest. 

Let him go where his passion takes him, and sage advice passed down here from MaryAnn, who is no longer with us, is "play all sports until the competition tells him otherwise".

He may have time constraints when it comes to his Jr season and summer/fall baseball recruiting, but maybe not. There is plenty of time, so worry about that if and when it comes up. 

Best of luck!

My son (2016) is a three sport athlete in HS (football, basketball, baseball).  I find that as the months roll by my son is engaged in the current season sport, working on skills for the next season, and continuing needed reps or fixing issues from the season just past.  Summer is heavy lifting, and any breaks between seasons are times for explosive lifts.  SAC training is all year.  My son had his main growth spurt when he was quite young and it looks like he'll end up at 6'1" - not nearly tall enough to be an NBA center (his dream).  But that doesn't prevent him from being the most aggressive and talented rebounder that he can be.  It hasn't kept him from working on his shot (he does a 10000 made shot routine in the summer), and constantly improving his game. He may end up being cut from his HS basketball squad but it won't be due to lack of effort, size, or talent, just height.  My son's HS pitching coach is also his strength and conditioning coach, and one of the FB line coaches.  He likes that my son is engaged in multiple sports.  You just have to accept that injuries can happen and deal with them as they come.

As for playing college sports, the D1 football and baseball coaches that I've talked to look very favorably at athletes who competed in multiple sports in HS.  D1 football teams can put together a pretty good squad of basketball players

My son played football, basketball, baseball and travel soccer in middle school. Freshman year he decided banging on Friday and fall ball didn't mix. He played soccer in high school. The coaches at our high school thought they owned the players. Most didn't like their athletes playing a second sport. My son was trying to play three.

The basketball coach cut him soph year for missing all the "optional" fall workouts and not playing on his summer team. He said my son was busy enough with two varsity sports. Chances are he would have been the starting pg junior year. Having the winter free gave my son the time to workout, gain weight and strength and fine tune his baseball game.

All you can do is lay out the options with their pros and cons and let your son follow his passion. I was encouraging my son to play three. His sister played three and went on college softball. But high school girls are encouraged to play three since there aren't as many athletic girls as there are boys.

Before some mother takes a swipe at me I'm only saying the number of girls interested in varsity sports wasn't as large as the number of interested boys. So the talented girls were encouraged to play three.

Our HS is encouraging kids to play multiple sports.  They are also working out the summer off season camps so that they do not overlap all that much.  He will be missing a lot of football camp this summer as he will be playing in the summer HS baseball league.  It would all be simpler if coaches decided that their sport is tops and they start cutting kids because they are unable to attend the off season stuff (they will if its not for another sport).  

Agree with others here.  Son would have played ten varsity sports if time allowed.  Injuries will happen and the more he plays, the more likely they occur.  But the positives outweigh the negatives, at least as a freshman or soph.  If baseball is his favorite and you/he have a plan in place for recruiting and enough time to work that plan, let him enjoy the other sports as long as he can. 

I've seen kids in the same boat end up changing their direction with which sport they ultimately pursue for college.

Appreciate that your HS encouraging multi-sport participation is a blessing that not all enjoy.

Junior played baseball, football, and ice hockey.  Middle school, 9th an 10th grade years.  On football team was quarterback until 10th grade, coach said he was to big for that position an put him on O & D line.  His is 6'4", 270.  Coach said he wanted to get more out of him on the line.  (side note, by us ice hockey an basketball ran during the same season, had to pick one, couldn't play both),.

Junior stopped football after 10th grade year, liked line but to easy to get hurt, baseball was his passion.  So started fall an spring baseball, hockey in the winter.

Was goalie for hockey team, they went to state finals all four years of high school, won title twice.

Started Varsity baseball last three years in high school.

Currently in third year of college, pitcher only, #1 guy on full baseball money, all is good in the end.

Have to agree with other posters, most gifted athletes play numerous sports in high school because they are usually good at everything. 

Off subject but question:  Do you see in your area that the best athletes have easier time in high school than lesser gifted or non athletes?  Get away with more things was little or no consequences?  Not major thing, missing classed, late to school, allowed to leave early, do things that normal kids wouldn't be allowed to??

Joe: While I'm a huge fan of multiple sport athletes, the fact is, too many coaches and schools are forcing these young men to make a choice. 

To answer your question: I emphatically DO believe boys can play all three, and go on to higher levels.

As for advice: Definitely let HIM make the decision, as you say. And when he does, make sure the HS coaches know it was HIS decision. They often think mom or dad is really making the call.

Your son sounds awesome, and you sound like you have your priorities straight. I hope you'll keep us informed as the next few years unfold.

My son played all three (football, basketball, baseball) until he hit Jr. High.  After we sat and chatted, and gave it some thought, he then decided he wanted to really focus on baseball and also still play football (he is blessed enough to play tail back, and linebacker, so he really enjoys football).  He decided basketball (while trying to keep up with school work) would take him away from hitting the 3-4x/week that he preferred to do, while also not allowing him to do his baseball specific strengthening program.  He realized and told me that unless he was 6'6" and could jump out of the gym, that basketball wasn't going to be played in college anyway.  He also realized that size does not matter as much (unless you are really really small) in baseball (He is also blessed with decent size and with family that have decent size), and can still make it in baseball regardless of size (for the most part, projectability aside).  I have always told him that baseball, like golf, tennis, basketball, requires lots of reps to become a great player.  Football, on the other hand, requires being a good athlete, with a willingness to stick your head in there.  Long story short, he decided against basketball.  Wants to focus on baseball, and knows football is an effort sport that does not require the reps (per se).  I prefer that.  It is very difficult to do much baseball stuff during football.  So when football ends, it is right back to baseball stuff.  I think three sports is too much personally.  Just the wear and tear on young bodies.  No chance to recover from football, because of basketball, then into baseball.  I have noticed the kids on our travel team, that also play basketball, seem to be the kids that tend to come up with overuse injuries.  His travel baseball team starts practicing during basketball season, so that has to be considered also.  For a young kid, he makes pretty good decisions.  Lay out the pluses and minuses, and let them decide.  

Actually we know many that played three or more sports in HS that went on to become very successful in College or Pro.  Playing two sports is very common.

Start with the front runner for this years Heisman, Jameis Winston.  He is actually playing two sports in College.

We had a player in Iowa that played 5 sports in HS. People couldn't understand why we ranked him so high because he was not a "polished" baseball player. Others performed much better and we never heard so much griping about favoritism.

We even tried hard to get some Major Colleges to recruit him.  I remember telling a ACC lower level coach that he might be the best hitter they have. Even the local DI wanted him to go to JC first.  I told them you will never get him if he goes to a JC. Evidently they didn't see him the same way we did. He went undrafted out of high school and did attend a junior college. After one year at that junior college he committed to Wichita State and was drafted in the 26th round by the Dodgers.  Good, they paid him $300,000 to sign, but still not as well liked as we thought he would be. You see, he had "natural" hitting ability and "natural" power, along with being an excellent all around athlete who could run. All he lacked was polish, not enough repetitions.

Fast forward to this past season in the High A California League.  He hit .296 with 27 HRs, 13 Triples, 91 RBI, and stole 16 bases. He was the only Dodger minor leaguer to hit more than 20 doubles, more than 10 triples and more than 20 HRs. He was obviously named to the California League All Star Team. The Dodgers honored him at their last regular season game by naming him their "Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year". Scott Schebler has become what we thought he was.!

In High School he played 5 sports... Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, and Track in High School. I believe he was all state in Football, Soccer and Track. Now he only plays baseball. It was the other sports, he excelled at that made us think he was very special.

Obviously, all the Scott Schebler's of the world are very rare. I couldn't recommend his path to others. But when we first laid eyes on Carl Crawford, who starred at Football (signed with Nebraska as option QB), Basketball (turned down scholarship to UCLA as a point guard), Baseball was his worst sport at the time.  Since then we have seen many three sport players get drafted high by MLB clubs. In fact the Dodgers "Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year" was one of the most highly recruited football players in the nation.  He (Zach Lee) had committed to LSU before becoming a first rounder and signing with the Dodgers.

Bottom line, there is no perfect formula.  Some specialize and it works out great. Some play multiple sports and it works out great. Either way has also failed for some. Follow your heart and don't second guess. 

Son's basketball coach told him that he wanted him on the team; but, that he wouldn't be allowed to touch a baseball during basketball season. Son explained that he'd sat down and figured out how he could devote sufficient time to both; that he needed baseball time to improve for the following year. Coach was unmoved.

Son went straight to church league and played with his buddies for 3 years. Had an absolute blast and could concentrate on improving his baseball game.

My son went through the same thing in HS, if he played football he was told no fall baseball. They said there were issues with over doing it, and he agreed.

Sports have become so specialized, especially in training. I believe that there is only so much stress that can be placed on the body before something can go wrong.

Let your son decide, but let him also be aware of the consequences, 3 sports, more chances of injury.

Players that can excel at 3-5 sports is very rare.

JMO.

all thank you for the input.  Its all good advice and is helping to make things a little clearer in my mind.  You tend to hear all this "noise" from everyone as to the best way to do things. You need to specialize, you have to play fall ball, HS does not count only travel, etc.  I am trying to wade through all this information so I can provide my son with sound advice as he moves through his HS years.  I did play a college sport (ran track) and from all the cr@p that goes around it makes it sound a lot like the recruiting game and the way you go about getting scholarships has changed in the last 25 years but the more I actually talk with the people involved (and not the know it all parents) the more I am finding out it hasn't changed too much. 

Again thanks for the input so far.  And if anyone else has advice please feel free to chime in.

Current research says injury risk is higher with those who are single sport athletes than those who play multiple sports...

I don't believe this is a conversation the pitching coach should be having..

It's like buying a lottery ticket, the more you buy the better chances of winning, same goes for the more sports you are involved in the more chances of getting injured.

Show me research contrary.

Sorry joes87 but the competition has become too great. Just ask any parent that is going through the recruiting process.

Unless of course you have another Carl Crawford.

My sons HS coaches had this conversation with him in HS and I am glad they did.

The player can come to his own decision after weighing what is put in front of him.

For what it's worth here's a wear and tear and injury perspective/experience. As a preteen my son played travel soccer, rec basketball, travel basketball, rec baseball and travel baseball. In middle school he played football, basketball and baseball along with travel soccer, rec basketball, travel basketball and travel baseball. In high school he played soccer and baseball along with rec basketball and travel baseball. He played school basketball freshman year.

I had heard about repetitive stress syndrome. It's caused by focusing on one sport at an early age.  I had also heard about excessive wear and tear. My son was examined by a sports orthopedic specialist twice a year.

In the fall of senior year my son needed shoulder surgery due to a shoulder separation. The doctor said the wear and tear on my son' shoulder was above normal. My son was a very physical athlete. The good news was the doctor said he should throw harder after putting his shoulder back together. And he did.

My son stopped playing football out of fear an injury might keep him from playing baseball. He injured his shoulder falling down doing agility drills. He was doing agility drills as rehab for the torn MCL and PCL he got playing baseball. He missed a soccer season due to a baseball injury.

Just play the sports you can and want to play and don't think about getting hurt. Stuff happens. You can only control so much. And you're only a kid once.

There is always the risk of injury in all sports.  Football seems like it should be #1 for risk of injury.

I just have a hard time telling a young kid to quit something he loves and concentrate on baseball.  If a kid wants to specialize that's good too.  As good as it might be for our business, I can honestly say, I've never once even suggested specializing in one sport. Though there were times when I thought it might be the best approach.

My personal opinion... Each sport brings something positive to the next sport.  Not so much just in a physical way, but more so in a mental way. 

I agree.  There are rare, pure athletes and there are the 95% that need to work on their skill set.  Pitchers, especially.

I think about one kid I coached who was such a natural.  Great competitive spirit, he had speed, game knowledge, could hit with power and average, and had a strong arm.  Every time I would see the kid.. all the way through high school.. he would talk about playing baseball at the next level. 

He played football and wrestled.  By the time he got to h.s. he was above average at all three.  Just not at an elite level.  He suffered a knee injury playing quarterback his senior season, ended up playing baseball at a Juco and was cut after one year.  He had a good run--better than most--but I really think he could have excelled at his favorite sport (baseball) if he had concentrated on it.

I just think for most players it's better to be good at one thing than average at two or three things.  But to each his own. 

I think kids can play several sports 

in middle school and high school. Question is how good are They really. Just saw a kid who went to showcase and did poorly because he was playing football and hadnt picked up a ball/bat in months. Waste of money,  dad was frustrated but what did he expect. IMO it's difficult  academically to play sports year round. After practice, games and homework they have very little time left just to be a kid. Not in summer-because many r expected to play on travel team for one or more sports. Also diff to get a job in HS like we did in the day. Who has time? Exceptions to the rule I guess.

Simply is no correct answer. If we go by those that reach the very top, there will be many who specialized and many who played other sports.

I do think more young kids are specializing now than years ago.

For most players in most situations, I think it is best to let the player decide for himself which sports to play and when and if he wants to specialize.  

I also think it is usually unwise for the parent's long-term strategizing to steer players into giving up sports they still enjoy.  (An exception might be if your son is someone like Bum Junior, who is totally committed to one goal in one sport and needs exceptional focus to give himself a chance.  Another exception would be someone who clearly shows pro potential early in one sport.  There are probably others.)

If you maintain the perspective that the purpose of participation in sports is not vocational training but physical and character development, it becomes easier to let the player work it out on his own terms.  

My son played football, wrestling, and baseball.  He decided to give up football after sophomore year because he wanted the fall to condition for wrestling.  

It wasn't until his junior year that he told us he was sure he wanted to play baseball in college instead of wrestling.  Even so, there were colleges where the wrestling coach wanted him and the baseball coach wasn't interested.  (He was a big man who wrestled with little man skills and technique, and apparently there is demand for that combination.)

In answer to the OP's question, yes, the non-Carl-Crawfords of the world can play multiple sports in high school and still play something in college.  However, there can be a cost.  

My son arrived at college ahead of his peers in strength and conditioning, but behind them in baseball experience and skills.  Being a multi-sport guy did make his college road rockier, and it probably lowered his baseball ceiling.  But it also made him tougher and better equipped to persevere through adversity.  For our family, the price was worth paying.  I like how he's turning out.  

Let the kids play what they want as long as they can.

Best wishes, 

Thing with college is that  if your not good there is always someone else there to take spot. Some HS allow seniors to play over better sophomore/jr.  but I've seen college jr think he has spot once sr is gone to only find that new kid coming in is amazing and coach is putting him because he's a better hitter than kid waiting his turn. 

imo if your lucky enough to get recruited then go in at your best. We have sev players on summer team who play football in fall and cannot do any showcases/PG fall tourn. That's where my son finally got noticed. Can't be seen if u don't show up. Short window of opportunity. you hope you will be seen next Summer but we had two players on team last yr who we're getting arm surgery at that time. They thought they would have a good summer and r now behind Because of circumstances. Luck plays a big part in whole process.

My son wrestled, and played football, baseball, and basketball up until high school.  he gave up Basketball his Freshman year, in order to devote his winter to his first love.  In all honesty, I believe it was a good choice.  Son is 6'4', which is a good size kid for our area, a good shooter, hard worker, etc., but probably only the 5th best player in his class.  He believed he could help his chances in Baseball by giving up basketball.  After sophomore year, he decided to give up football, because he was told by coach that he would not support him missing any fall practices to attend a showcase event.  He said that he had heard son was a good baseball player, and had liked his football film, but he would place him on JV if he did.  Son decided that Baseball was what he wants to do, and he wanted to attend the Fall Showcase events more than he wanted to play football.  Since just committed to play baseball as a 2015' I think he made the right decision for him.  He has also decided to go out for football next year.

i think that it is impossible to tell someone else what to do, because the circumstances are different.  Coaches are different, talent levels in each sport, number of students at school, etc.  Just do what is best for your son and help support him.  Believe me, I was crushed when he dropped football, but if knew that this is his journey and not mine.

Love the classic 3 sport athlete. Was with a highly ranked bb player(soph) this weekend. Dropped football this year b/c he had damaged his labrum the prior year.Will ply basketball until he gets cut or graduates from HS but is a serious D1 pitching prospect. My 2016 dropped JV basketball this year (his call)  to lift and work on speed but his on Y ball team with friends. He would do indoor track but needs more time in weight room and cage. mom never allowed football so he played HS golf and fall travel. Dropped lax for baseball starting this year. Don't let self serving coaches mess with your son's head. Go as far as HE Wants to. We always told ours to do as much as you can until someone says if you do x we will do y. 

Russell Wilson was a multi thru college. D'andre Smelter came to GT s a pitcher, got hurt and is now schooling cornerbacks as a wide receiver on his way to NFL.

quote:

“This whole dynamic has become big business at this point. It’s moving in that direction, and it’s not going to stop,” said Rick Strickland, owner of the youth baseball club franchise St. Louis Pirates.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/l...77-69a1a88f2386.html