Multi-sport athletes question

.

I'm tired just reading about this kid's schedule...



cadDAD

.

Son's doing it now, three sport athlete.
Loves every stinkin' sport known to mankind,...but holds a special spot in his heart for his first love, baseball. Has a passion for golf, but no time to play.
Plays Fall baseball while playing Varsity football, HS basketball, plays on a summer traveling tournament baseball team ( yadda yadda ) and is a part time lifeguard when he's in town, yadda yadda yadda.
Has a solid GPA, social life, and is also involved in student leadership.

I have no clue how he does it,...not even a partial clue.

My neighbors ( God bless em' ) are very tolerant and generous when they see him coming with his multiple boxes of fundraisers. ( many times these fundraisers over lap: Wanna buy cookie dough, a Royals ticket, and get your car washed all at the same time? )

Have questioned him about having too much on his plate, and yet he wants to do these things and looks at me like I am out of my mind for even remotely suggesting he slow down. ( the nerve of moi!)
As long as he is having fun, stays passionate, and keeps his grades up, I will continue to support the multiple sport madness. ( thank goodness he can now drive himself everywhere,...although that doesnt keep a parent from worrying!)

He knows the risks and I cringe at every lay-up, stolen base, and every tackle.

It's a wild ride, and we have no idea what the future holds, but he's taking it day by day, working his butt off, and lovin' every minute of it.

If the athlete gets burnt out, you'll know it. The pace is one that can't be kept up with unless it is truely desired. ( IMHO ) You just can't fake that kind of dedication and time spent.

We've had this discussin many times here on the HSBBW. If you use the " find " feature above this thread ( it has a magnifying glass icon ) and type in multiple sport athlete, or something like that, I think you will find many past discussions.

Won't go into boring detail about my daughter who plays competition volleyball, Jr. high track, volleyball, and basketball,...or my older son who played football, baseball, and wrestled, and lifeguarded, as well.
Yes,..my family has lost their minds. I take no credit for any of it,..none at all! ( ha!)

The best to your brother!!! Tell him, we like his style!! Keep on playing!!!

You might get a chuckle out of my by-line.

As a "multisport athlete" I certainly know where your son is coming from. I've played 12 or so years of baseball, currently my first year of HS as a soph. on JV (big school), also wrestled and ran track, played football from 5th to 9th. Probably focusing on baseball after this year, summer ball after school and probably fall baseball. WHen I say focusing on baseball, I mean just playing baseball -- the real focus is grades and bettering myself while I can to get myself ready for college and the real world - I know I'll thank myself one day. I stopped playing the other sports because even with classes a grade up, etc. I want to have fun.

Baseball is easily the most fun for me, and the choice was clear with which to follow.

My son attends a large (almost 4000) HS and every couple of years you see a kid pull off football and baseball. Football coaches insist once practice/conditioning start at the end of June no more baseball. You see kids concentrate on football – QBs and other skill positions but baseball usually takes the back seat.

Football conditioning, when done right, can benefit the player in baseball – I’m not talking linemen or line backers here.

I have not seen a quality basketball/baseball player yet – not to say they aren’t out there. Basketball is a lot like baseball in that if you’re good you should be competing on a quality summer team and the basketball season goes right into baseball season (the kids get no downtime and cuts are the first week and games start about 1 ½ weeks later).

Many may disagree, but if he has his sights on playing in college he will need to start finding his best/most enjoyable sport and putting more of his time and energy into that.

Remember: Scholarships

About 80 for football
About 15 for basketball
About 12 for baseball

That’s total per team not per year.

If his desire is something other then playing sports at the next level, then definitely go for all 3 in HS. That’s the way we did it back in the day of the dinosaurs.

Best of luck and remember this is my opinion based on where we live.

My son plays varsity ice hockey and baseball. These sports complement each other pretty well. At the end of hockey, baseball starts and the player has strong legs and is in great physical conditioning. I understand what you are saying about the injury part. My son has had to miss parts of more than one baseball season recovering from hockey injuries (including the start of this high school season!).

The hockey coaches encourage year-round play of hockey. That is simply not possible for my son with a full summer travel baseball schedule. My son enjoys both sports, although he seems to be leaning toward baseball as his favorite. He is a junior now, and I think he will do both sports his senior year. It has crossed his mind, though, to maybe just play baseball his senior year.

quote:

Originally posted by EaglesDad:
My son plays varsity ice hockey and baseball. These sports complement each other pretty well. At the end of hockey, baseball starts and the player has strong legs and is in great physical conditioning.

It's funny, Jared was just telling me that he wishes basketball was after baseball because now he can dunk the ball. He is a catcher so at this point in the season his legs a lot stronger than usual. I always had a really hard time physically transitioning from football to basketball. I think it has to do with shifting from a field sport to a hard surface sport.

I have played three sports- football, basketball, and baseball- all through high school. I have had a total of 4 weeks off from athletics since starting high school athletics in June of 2003. Whether it be weights, basketball workout, baseball game, in season for any of the three, etc-- I've been busy. Those four weeks were all spent camping with Boy Scouts. As much as I love the sports and will really miss them, I can't wait for the first few weeks of June when our season ends. I will be able to relax for a few days. I can only recall missing two games in my high school baseball career because of injury and I really didn't miss those- I just batted once in each. Football this year I played 39 out of 40 quarters. The one quarter I missed came after playing three on a sprained left ankle.

Multi-sport athletes are starting to fade away, but if there's desire and will, it's more than doable.

And BTW, I am going to school next year on scholarship not for athletics, but strictly Academics.

quote:

Originally posted by catcher09:
I have not seen a quality basketball/baseball player yet – not to say they aren’t out there.

Jared (or as his team calls him, "J-ROD" haha!) is one of them. I agree that it is very rare, and for the reasons you suggested.

Jared has only played on an organized basketball team for three years now. His Freshman year was only his second year on a team and he was called up to varsity for a tournament (while several players were out sick) and ended up leading the team in points for the tournament and never looked back. I had hoped Jared would quit basketball (which is personally my least favorite), but after a start like that I was even more excited to see him develop in that sport. Everything he does surprises me even though at this point it shouldn't. This year in basketball Jared had a lot of games in which he scored between 15 and 28, and he earned all-league honorable mention. In football Jared played every skilled position on the offense including quarterback, and on defense was second team all-conference linebacker and team defensive player of the year. I still think Jared's best sport is baseball, but he means too much to the school and his coaches to give up any other sport. I don't think he would do it. I love watching him play all three, but I would like to see him get a scholarship as well, and it is hard to get noticed in any one particular sport when you are doing so many the others.

Jared played Thursday. He went 5 for 6 with two singles, two doubles, and a triple. He played shortstop in that one and had 9 putouts and 1 error.

Jared sounds like a passionate athlete and a great competitor. I strongly suggest that you encourage him to continue competing in all three sports for as long as he wants to do so. To discourage him from doing so would not be right.

It is his life and he is doing so well with it; why would anyone want him to change?

quote:

but I would like to see him get a scholarship as well, and it is hard to get noticed in any one particular sport when you are doing so many the others.

Not necessarily.

There are colleges that do pay attention to multiple sport/overall athletes. I know many multiple sport athletes that are being recruited.

I used to think your same thoughts as above, but have learned differently over the years. We have several individuals in our area that are getting both football and baseball scholarships to several colleges. Albeit they are not to D1 schools, but for those individuals since their desire is to continually play and to play more than one sport, its an ideal " fit " for them.

I would find out what type of college Jared wants to attend, and find out what, if any, sports he'd like to play in college.

I noticed you said:

quote:

I still think Jared's best sport is baseball,

What does Jared think?
It's really about him and his desire to make his dreams happen.

Here's a good article I borrowed from another poster:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=340349

It can happen!!! It does happen.
I would do some more research on the topic.
I think you may perhaps find evidence that will relieve some of your worries.

I wish Jared much success.

quote:

Originally posted by grateful:
Jared sounds like a passionate athlete and a great competitor. I strongly suggest that you encourage him to continue competing in all three sports for as long as he wants to do so. To discourage him from doing so would not be right.

It is his life and he is doing so well with it; why would anyone want him to change?

I haven't discouraged him from playing all three. I enjoy it now, but every time I see him he is so tired from constantly going and going. I love watching him compete in all three.

quote:

Originally posted by shortstopmom:

quote:

I noticed you said:
[QUOTE] I still think Jared's best sport is baseball,

What does Jared think?
It's really about him and his desire to make his dreams happen.

Here's a good article I borrowed from another poster:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=340349

It can happen!!! It does happen.
I would do some more research on the topic.
I think you may perhaps find evidence that will relieve some of your worries.

I wish Jared much success.

This past season was his second season playing football and after the great year he had, Jared really wants to play college football. He also believes that baseball is his best sport and wants to play in college as well.

The reason I said I had hoped he would quit basketball (don't forget, I changed my mind about it) is that he himself was considering not playing this year and the coach guilted him into it and I know Jared is glad he played.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I am his biggest fan and I want him to succeed in everything. I just notice him dragging his body around. His body is physically tired and I just worry about him. It is amazing how much pressure coaches will put on a kid even knowing how much he is doing.

4 years of varsity doesn't necessarily mean he will get somewhere, so make sure that you get his name out. He has to be a hell of an athlete to play all 3 all the time and get a high profile school to look at 1, let alone let him play 2+ in college.

Comes down to where the kid's heart is. I wanted to play all 3 in high school - but chose to focus on baseball and basketball for a number of reasons. Don't regret it for one minute....but it was MY choice. A kid has to live with his own legacy - as long as he's comfortable with what he's doing, he's right!

My son did baseball and football up until HS. Then he gave up football on his own. He took up swimming for his "off season sport." He made HS All-American in swimming his senior year in HS. He is a freshman playing baseball and swimming at a D1 independent.

At their swimming championships he did great and took second with a very good time (57.34 for a 100 Breaststroke). The other top swimmers were talking about going on to the Jr Nationals or other top meets. They looked at him funny when he told them he was done swimming for the year because baseball season had already started.

I am not sure how, but many days through the winter he lifted weights with the baseball payers and then went down to the pool to do a full swim workout. 18 credits and an off campus girlfriend also ate up his time.

Next year should be easier for him with less overlap because of the new season starting rules.

Atta boy Tom R's son!
Proves once again, it can be done!
Never say never!