Multi sport athletes

From what I've seen is that the multi-sport issue isn't as big a factor as most think it is. I feel confident in saying that the vast majority of coaches are ok with recruits playing other sports.

Overall if you can.....

Throw
Run
Field
Hit
Hit for power

They will find a place for you. If you can do most of these things they will find a place for you.

I can only speak to the experience my son and family had with the recruiting process. When my now college frosh was speaking to coaches, they told him they liked kids who could play at a high level in more than one sport. College baseball is an almost full time job (or more), like it would be for a kid in HS who is playing more than one sport and working hard at his academics. The time and energy commitments required for a college baseball player are enormous and a kid who has proven himself capable of managing his time and energy in successful ways is gonna be a higher on the recruiting scale than one who hasn't. Still gotta have the skills, but if your son's being recruited, that should already be a known commodity. JMO

The bottom line is the kid still has to be able to play baseball at the level the team competes. The only "credit" the kid gets is if the coach thinks there's potential upside that hasn't been tapped due to time consumed playing another sport.

Thanks for all of the responses! These are very encouraging words for our situation and we have total confidence that we are doing the right things. We have even learned some benefits we did not think of > Thank You

High school sports are a valuable experience. I can't see passing on sports other than THE sport.

Around the Horn;
you are from the Northwest? Do you know the name
Grady Sizemore? He was a outstanding QB in the State of Washington.

He played in our 1999 Area Code games
with Jeremy Bonderman and later when my son was International Scout with the Mariners, I watched his "work out" before the Mariners game from the Mariners dugout.

The Expos drafted and signed Grady and later traded him to the Cleveland Indians. The pro scouts like multi sport athletes. Each year, the Mariners AC team team was 40% dual sport athletes.

Bob

Bob , That is great to hear. I am familiar with the name Sizemore but not the story I will have to learn more. I sure hope they take that approach with the Area Code team from this area. My son is a 2013 so he is looking to get an invite to the tryouts this year. I just learned that the KC Royals will be forming the team instead of the Nationals . http://www.baseballnorthwest.com/node/5917

This is a link to where the new area code team is going to be drawing from. It seems like a huge area for just one team. We should be coming into contact with more pro scouts from this point forward. That is the plan anyway. Not sure if my son makes the AC team as 2013 but the tryout would at least be a great experience for him to have. Thanks ATH

Thank you. After I sold the AC games many changes in the Northwest with the teams and players. Each situation was an advantaged to the 6 States of the Pacific Northwest. Ty Howington and Bobby Jenks were great players discovered in the Goodwill Series.

In my first AC tryouts in Vancouver, WA., I understood and observed the strong athletic talent that existed in your area. We played our Goodwill Series in 1987 in Tacoma Stadium.

Bob

http://tacoma.rainiers.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t529
BOB,
Here is another link to the locals. Look what happens after you win a Championship! With the Rainiers winning and the Mariners getting a new no nonsense type of skipper I believe things are looking up around here. I always feel it is kinda difficult to get recognized up here. We will be testing those waters as my son will be looking up and down the coast for the right opportunity to continue his athletics. ATH

"around the horn"
Open our web site. We have contacts with many colleges and pro scouts in the Pacific Northwest for 27 years.

Have your son complete a profile and I will forward to a scout in the Northwest for his evaluation.

We also have a strong Memorial Day tournament in Sonoma County for players from the Western USA.

Bob

The OP was asking if college coaches, during the recruiting process, take into account the success a prospect has had in other sports.

Obviously the answer depends on the coach. Our experience was that the coaches who recruited him were very interested in his non-baseball athletic bonafides.

I am glad to hear that our approach as a family is being validated now just have to work on making it succesfull! Thanks for the input

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Kremer:
The OP was asking if college coaches, during the recruiting process, take into account the success a prospect has had in other sports.

Obviously the answer depends on the coach. Our experience was that the coaches who recruited him were very interested in his non-baseball athletic bonafides.

I don't thik that is what the original poster meant. It looks like he was asking about multiple sport kids who don't focus on just baseball. Do they (coaches)take that into consideration when evaluating them? I took it as he's concerned his kid would look rusty or less polished than a single sport kid, lessing his chances of being noticed.

I don't think that my son's "other sports" were ever mentioned during his recruitment for college or the pros. Personally I think that most talented baseball players have the "talent" to play additional sports if they want to. Like Rob Kremer said it depends on the coach. FYI, of all the "other" sports baseball players play, poker will probably be the most frequently played.
Fungo

Good ole Poker I wonder if any of those big poker companies give scholarships? Is ther anybody who is a pro ball player and a pro card player? I don't mean just have a Pro bankroll but have Pro status as a Poker player.HMMM

I would agree one is more likely to find a good athlete being utilized by more then one coach at most schools. In terms of coaches "giving credit" I think it only matters if you are at the same "level" as another single sport player as the coach/scout figures a mulit-sport guy may have more upside.

However, if you're an average HS player playing mulitple sports it doesn't help you get to D1, you must still standout.

quote:

Originally posted by around the horn:
Good ole Poker I wonder if any of those big poker companies give scholarships? Is ther anybody who is a pro ball player and a pro card player? I don't mean just have a Pro bankroll but have Pro status as a Poker player.HMMM

If you don't play cards (or poker) don't even bother going pro.

Shooting pool ranks up there too! Great for rehab-ing shoulder injuries...

I've been reading posts on this website now for about 2 months but I hadn't registered until reading this thread. My 2015 is a top athlete in four sports and would likely earn four varsity letters next year as a Freshman for a relatively large school in Wisconsin. His passion however is baseball. Realistically, living in Wisconsin, makes it very difficult to earn a scholarship in baseball (with only one in state D1 program). Our HS also plays summer baseball, basically eliminating the opportunity to play on a travel summer team. He would drop those other three sports in a heart beat if he knew a baseball scholarship was a certainty. So, like the original poster, we're looking for guidance as to our next (first HS) step in the process. I am tending to suggest he plays all four sports and he would certainly earn some "looks" from colleges just from that. Also, any thoughts out there on the idea of NOT playing HS baseball (because they play summer) and doing a travel team instead?

Wisconsin - My son played three HS sports, earning ten varsity letters. Baseball coaches only cared about baseball skills except to the extent that concentrating on baseball in college might provide a little upside. For some coaches it was a slight negative. In general - only baseball skills matter. If your son is really serious about baseball he should join a good summer travel team, attend some showcases, and a few college camps. Forget about your HS's summer team. You have to reach out a bit, but every college needs good players and there are a huge number of schools out there.

quote:

He would drop those other three sports in a heart beat if he knew a baseball scholarship was a certainty.

A baseball scholarship might be a possibility, or even a probability, but doesn't begin to approach a certainty until he signs.

2Bmom - For sure I agree it's NEVER a certainty and when I originally wrote that and clicked "post now," I regretted putting it that way. I think I meant that if we somehow had a crystal ball and knew his ability in 3 years could warrent a scholarship then he would concentrate solely on baseball. Everything is so "up in the air" that it's slightly frustrating. There is talk in Wisconsin that all the summer programs will move to spring...in which case our "probelm" would go away. I think he'll do HS baseball as a Freshman and re-evaluate after that. Heck, even that is 1.5 years away. We have a great "problem to have" with him experiencing so much success in so many sports. Anyone out there skip HS (summer) baseball and play on a scout team? Any experience with the school not being happy with that?

Wisconsin,

My experience is different from LeftyShortstop's and so is my advice.

Many coaches do consider a player's multi-sport credentials to make inferences about his ceiling or make up, but only if BOTH of the following conditions apply:

1. The college-level baseball talent already has to be present and visible FIRST. Do not expect multi-sport credentials to generate interest or looks. Nobody's going to say, "Wow, that kid in Wisconsin is going to earn 16 letters. Could be the second coming of Jim Thorpe. I'm gonna go up there and see if he can play some baseball." The only thing that will draw the initial interest of baseball coaches is baseball ability.

2. The player must truly excel at the other sports in a way that shows unusual athletic ability, physical dominance, or competitive fire. Just playing or even starting and being pretty good at other sports doesn't count for much.


As far as whether your son should skip hs baseball to play travel, that's a step to consider very carefully. I don't think I'd want to be the player trying to sell himself to college baseball coaches as the guy who played every sport in high school EXCEPT baseball. There are 2011 Wisconsin high school grads committed to out-of-state D1 schools--including schools in the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Big East--and from their resumes, it looks like they found a way to play high school baseball and still hit the road for tournaments and showcases. Might want to find out how they did it, and follow their footsteps.


Best wishes.

Swapboy - Truly thank you for taking the time for such detail. Very very insightful and helpful. It IS hard to tell if in fact he will actually have the ability to garner a scholarship in baseball. Like I said, he's experienced amazing success through 8th grade but who knows. I know kids sometimes finish developing early. He's not a freak in the sense that he's really tall, big, etc. He's just very talented, works his butt off and is incredibly competitive (maybe too much). Great point on "selling himself as a great bb player w/o playing HS baseball." And you're right, there are WI players playing in D1 schools. I just know it's tough, tough, tough from Wisconsin. Believe it or not, tons of basketball players come out of WI. Too bad one of his sports isn't basketball. And to your 2nd point, he has shown dominance in the sports he plays (so far) - so maybe (hopefully) that will continue as he moves throughout HS.

Eighth grade is way to early to ask (never make) a kid to concentrate on one sport. You never know. Multiple-sports presents multiple opportunities. Many kids, around here, who seemed destined to play 'this' in college are, instead, playing 'that'. And, they're happy.

My two sons were multi-sport kids growing up. It was easy with the older one. He made the varsity baseball team as a freshman and decided to give up basketball to focus on baseball. This allowed him to play in fall leagues and get to places like Jupiter.

My younger son was a different situation. While baseball always was his first love, he also loved playing football. I was against him being a two-sport athlete, since I believed that he could accelerate his baseball career by playing in the fall. There also was the injury factor to consider, especially after he made his college baseball commitment. He was a tailback and linebacker and just this past season had more than 200 carries and about a hundred tackles in 11 games. Lots of hits taken and given.

I decided to let him make the call and he played football all four years. Thankfully he finished his career without as much as a bent finger. Very, very lucky.

The downside of this - to me - is that he could be a much more polished baseball player had he not given up four fall seasons. The upside to being a football player is that, as a catcher, it made him tougher behind the plate. He's definitely a fearless and willing blocker back there. Football mentality.

I just couldn't tell him not to play football. I didn't want it to come back at me years later when he would wish I'd let him play. I also didn't want to approach anything negatively. Fear of injury is just that.

quote:

Originally posted by Baseballdad1228:
The upside to being a football player...

The upside is football parents!

I look at it this way; if it weren't for multiple sports, we wouldn't have met so many kids and their families.

Luckily he doesn't play football. But he does play hockey (although I'm not too worried about an injury - it could happen but not too likely). I agree with Antzdad that meeting so many people from different sports is great and we enjoy every minute of it.

http://www.perfectgame.org/Art...ew.aspx?article=5084

It will be interesting to follow these two guys and see what the end result of their decisions become. How many kids out there are like these two .... I venture to guess not many. The interesting part of the article is the opinions from the baseball perspective. It would be hard to ignore the scholarship money from the football perspective and I guess we will see what the baseball money is like during the draft this year Then they will have some tough choices to make.

Make the memories while you can and play what you enjoy because when the kids get to college or pros I have been told it is more like a job or business. We try to instill that life is about creating choices not eliminatong them at the high school level.

I have interviewed a bunch of college baseball coaches for my blog and they all tell me they pay more attention to the traveling teams and all star tournaments than to high school ball. If they go to a high school game they might only see one or two kids that can play at the next level. At the all star tournaments they can see a bunch at one time and see multiple games in a weekend. I have also been told that D1 school from all over the country love to come to Wisconsin to recruit because of the lack of D1 programs in the state.

Wibaseballdad - Thanks for the reply. Also thanks for mentioning you have a blog. I've added it to my favorites list and I will check it out frequently. Have you heard anything recently about WI summber baseball programs ALL switching to spring within a year or two? I have but I've also read something recently (I think on jsonline) that they weren't. For our situation, it would help a lot if they made the switch. If they don't there are options too (plus my son could participate in track).
You mentioned on your blog about ABR being at Hitters a week from tomorrow. I am thinking about signing up my 2015. Do you know about this program/do you think it's worth it at that age?

I have not heard anything about summber programs switching. I think it is worth it to do the ABR showcase. Uw-Milwaukee coaches will be there. Never too early to get your son's name in their heads. Good way to find out how he stacks up against the best. I heard somewhere that Perfect Game was going to be there too but I cant find it now.

Wisconsin...My question is, how and the heck would your kid be able to play 4 sports in high school? In Oregon, they have 3 seasons, Fall Sport (football, s****r, cross country), winter (basketball, wrestling, swimming) Spring (baseball, track, golf). Unless, of course they have year round school there. Which would allow for a summer sport.

wibaseballdad - I had heard that UWM would be there but I hadn't heard about PG. I'll sign him up. I would like to start "learning the ropes" of how all this works.
Eastside - About 1/3 of the HS in Wisconsin play summer baseball. 2/3 play spring. So there are two sets of state tournaments and everything. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. So yes, technically he could do four sports in HS. If our conference switches to spring baseball he would have to drop track. Too bad though - he does very well. But if they stick with summer, he can't do a summer scout team. Really tough spot - but a good problem to have.