One Sport Athletes(?)

I have a baseball player and a wrestler. The baseball player is at college and still playing. The wrestler is still in HS and working on his senior year.
Last year my wife and I was watching my youngest wrestle against a rival school. A parent from the other team sought us out and was asking a lot of questions about older sons experience at college. What was it like competing in the sport and taking classes? How to get the best offer? How did he like the school? I thought I was getting ready to burst this guys bubble, OWU does not have a wrestling team. Just then a very big man dressed all in OWU gear walks up and introduces himself. Turns out it was one of OWU's football coaches comming to watch the other guys kid wrestle. They were recruiting him for football and wanted to see how he preformed on the mat. How was his balance? How quick were his feet? These were things that are easier to see up close and personal, on the mat, than from the stands on the football field or on tape.
The young man ended up going to OWU. Partly based on how he preformed on the mat.
I think many football players would benefit from wrestling.

 

Makes lots of sense that football players are involved in other sports, as HS football has a very short season.  In our HS many of them were involved in track and field. I think its the same in college too? 

Baseball is technically a year round sport, when you arent playing HS ball you are playing summer travel ball, fall ball and in many countries winter ball. But that should not stop an athletic individual from not participating in other sports.

 

My 2015 has always been tall for his age.  In addition to baseball, we tried s*ccer, he hated it. Tried swimming, did not care for it. Same for basketball and football. Was never fast so track was out of the question. Ran when he needs to for baseball and doesn't really mind it.  He does like watersports and likes to hunt and target shoot, especially at 500'+ yards but don't know if that is really a sport or not. Was really involved in YHEC for 2-3 years.

Hard to just make someone play a sport that they don't like. So when you hear that someone just plays one sport, it doesn't necessarily mean that they didn't try other sports.

My 2016 is a 3 sport athlete.  He is committed and his future coach there is very supportive of him playing other sports.

I think that a lot of it has to do with being involved. I dont think that you have to be on a team to show your love for anything. 

Funny about being the track thing, the day son realized he would most likely be a pitcher only was the day he realized he lost his speed in middle school!  Can you say two left feet!

 

Too bad the lefty thing wasn't in the hand!

 

The college level athlete is always going to be the best athlete/s in their high school and the "offseason" HS coaches will make accomodations/ask them to play their sport.  Hence they are multisport athletes in HS due to the demand for their talent.  i.e. at my son's hs the point guard was an NFL running back, the defensive end, played low post and played catcher in the minor leagues, the shooting guard played professionally in Europe and played CB, and leftfield in HS.  I might add these three players also played offense and defense on the football team because they were the best athletes.......

 

There was no way they were going through HS playing only one sport with their talent.  The kids that specialized generally had to do so to be competitive with the athletic kids.

 

Pitchers excepted

Most sports these days are year round.  Soccer heads indoors in the winter.  Basketball really heats up during summer AAU season.  Even football has spring practice in several states and then a "7 on 7" schedule during the summer.  The only difference is there aren't "football clubs," yet. 

 

I am all for HS kids to play multiple sports.  But an attempt should be made to coordinate the activity - whether in season or off season.  For example, in my area HS baseball is about 30 days away.  But a kid who plays a winter sport is prohibited from engaging in school sponsored long toss.  To me this is a health/safety issue.  it is hard to do on your own up north without access to a large field house.   

Just because someone doesn't play multiple sports doesn't mean that they aren't athletic or don't do activities other than baseball. My son played baseball only, on a team. He played football one year in 7th grade, was the QB, safety, long snapper and special teams. He played flag football a couple times, but just didn't like being committed to other sports. In his spare time, with his friends, he did every imaginable sport you could think of and some that they just made up. He was pretty much one of the most athletic kids at his school. He just didn't want to play other organized sports. Baseball was his "thing".

Has anyone ever looked at this systematically? Just by way of example, the Louisville Slugger preseason All-American teams were just announced: http://baseballnews.com/2015-h...eason-all-americans/

 

Just out of curiosity, I looked up the California first-team kids in MaxPreps:

 

Pitchers:

Kolby Allard (baseball-only)

Kye Molnar (also played basketball)

Joe Demers (also played basketball)

Chris Brown (baseball only)

Peter Lambert (realistically, baseball-only; played one-year of football as a freshman)

Noah Davis (baseball-only)

Justin Hooper (baseball-only)

 

Non-pitchers:

Nick Madrigal (baseball-only)

Noah Prewett (baseball-only)

Nico Hoerner (baseball-only)

Christ Betts (baseball-only)

 

So, 9 of the 11 first-team All-Americans have played baseball only in high school (counting Lambert as baseball-only, because he played football only as a freshman).

 

I think it's fantastic when kids play more than one sport -- Giancarlo Stanton was all-CIF in football, basketball, and baseball -- but I'm genuinely curious about the actual facts. I would guess that the Stantons of the world are the exception, and most top baseball kids are focused on a single sport. And probably the top basketball kids are solely focused on basketball. Football, which for most positions doesn't require the fine motor skills of basketball or baseball, may be an exception -- it may be that lots of them play another sport.

My 2016 also starts on basketball team at his high school. My take is that if nothing else, focusing on another sport during the "off season", if there really is one anymore, at least gives him the 2-3 months per year with no overhead throwing - he is also a pitcher. One of his baseball coaches told me he would never advise a kid he needs to just focus on one sport, but it is obvious that he won't be playing basketball in college (which I agree with but don't care). But, he said while he knows that him not throwing as many pens now does "hurt" him in the short term of getting ready for the season rapidly approaching, he also knows that this is best for him long term - which is what I am most interested in! The key is that it does take both understanding from both coaches and a huge commitment on the player's part to keep grades up while juggling time between sports. There are some days he leaves the house at 6:00 AM and we don't see him again until 7:00 or 8:00 that night. I am all for multiple sports!

2019Dad,

A couple of obervations:

Is the football comparison a physical one or a mental one. I happen to believe that HS football generates a mental toughness, discipline and "teamwork" which very much helps in the transition to being a college baseball player only. 

With respect to the MaxPreps players, I would have to believe they are extremely good and talented. However, trying to reach any conclusions projecting out 3-4 years into college/Milb when a multi-sport HS athlete will, for the first time, focus on baseball only is a mistake.  My view is any gap can be narrowed very quickly by a very athletic, multi-sport HS player.  When everyone gets to a somewhat equal basis in college and on a college baseball field, the mental toughness of football can be far more helpful than any physical aspects in transitioning to the  mental challenges of college/Milb baseball.

At the levels beyond HS, every player, whether they were a multi-sport in HS or a MaxPreps top baseball guy MUST be far better than they are at this point.

Part of that being better is physical.  A big part especially in college is mental.

You may be right. My larger point is: has anyone ever looked at this systematically, beyond anecdotes about this kid or that? My guess is -- and it's only a guess -- that a far higher percentage of top-level baseball players focus solely on baseball in high school than either (1) the percentage who play multiple sports, or (2) the general assumptions about multi-sport athletes.

 

My quick glance at the first-team high-school All-Americans from California is not a large enough sample size to draw any conclusions. But I think it points in the correct direction.

 

As for the minors and majors, I really don't know. I mean, are all the Dominican and other LatAm kids playing other sports during their teen years? They sure as heck aren't playing football. What percentage of major leaguers played another sport in high school? I don't know the answer, but I know there are plenty of anecdotes on both sides (e.g., Giancarlo Stanton also played football and basketball in high school; Jason Heyward focused 100% on baseball from age 12 on, etc., etc.). And I think it would be interesting to know the answer. 

I have to disagree.   My son made varsity baseball as a freshman.   He was also offered a spot on the JV basketball team and the varsity football team.  He turned down both basketball and football so he could concentrate on baseball.   he did not have to do that to be competitive.  He did it to be the best he could be.  

What percentage of Latin/DR kids who are playing baseball, only, ever end up in a Milb Camp, off the island?

Any of us have a bias, in all likelihood.  To think that  predictive value comes from being  a top HS player on MaxPreps  is curious.  If they are drafted in the first 2-3 rounds of the MLB draft, that is far more predictive and helpful because MLB is actually in the business of projecting, and even they are not anywhere close to reliable modeling.

The changes which occur in young men between ages 18-21 is pretty incredible.  Standing in a Spring Training facility will tell any baseball person how different and how much better a player needs to be at every level.  There is a major skill to a Milb/MLB executive looking at those guys and projecting and we see how variable that is from MLB team to MLB team..  Not sure MaxPreps or something like the Louisville Slugger pre-season projections are there for me, though.

Isn't the question whether the very best predictor of whether any son(player) is going to be the best they can be based on whether that happens in HS or from ages 18-21, for most players?

Interesting data point, 2019, thanks for sharing.  To offset that a bit, I'll throw out one of my observations...

Through recent years of advising players in our HS program, I have developed a hobby of perusing college baseball rosters across all divisions. I like to read profiles to gain a better understanding of topics such as this one.  It seems that a very high percentage (I know, not very scientific or precise) have other HS sports listed.  And most often, they have exceled at those as well, listing all-league, county and state honors.  If I had to guess, I'd say 70-80% played other sports in HS. 

 

One possible reason for the disparity between my observations and your info - those who play baseball only are more likely to participate in a higher number of baseball showcases and other high-profile events and are thus more likely to be listed on such national rankings listings.  Just thinking out loud.

 

I am a big proponent of multi-sport participation but it certainly creates challenges for us HS coaches.  Here's an interesting current scenario... We are currently trying to get our V and JV rosters cut down closer to the right numbers.  We are actually limited by, among other things, how many can fit in two vans for each squad (worth a separate thread in itself).  We have cut down to about 26 non-winter sports kids who have been working out with us since December conditioning.  We think we have about 12 winter sports kids coming out either as returning players or coming out as freshman when their soccer and basketball seasons end.  But, depending on how far each goes in playoffs, we may not even get them out with us until after our regular season games have started.  We are not allowed to contact or work them out until their winter sport is completed.  At some point, we'll probably have to make several more cuts but when?  It's awfully tough to cut a kid who has made it through and been issued uni's for first games.  But we can't penalize a more capable player for being involved in another sport.  And we can't make too many preliminary cuts that may leave us short for our first games and we haven't even seen a few of the freshmen yet...   

 

BTW, I certainly don't discount baseball-only athletes... I've seen success from both.     

OK, I was bored and curious -- a dangerous combination! -- so I looked up the 2013 first-round. For what it's worth, here are the high school kids drafted in the first round in 2013 and what sports they played in high school (per Maxpreps):

 

Kohl Stewart (baseball and football)

Clint Frazier (baseball-only)

Trey Ball (baseball and basketball)

Austin Meadows (baseball and football)

Phil Bickford (baseball-only)

Dominic Smith (baseball-only)

Reese McGuire (baseball-only)

JP Crawford (baseball-only)

Nick Ciuffo (baseball-only)

Hunter Harvey (baseball-only)

Billy McKinney (baseball-only)

Christian Arroyo (baseball-only)

Rob Kaminsky (baseball-only)

Travis Demeritte (baseball and basketball)

Ian Clarkin (baseball and soccer)

Matt Krook (baseball-only)

Josh Hart (baseball-only)

 

So, 17 high-school kids drafted in the first round -- 12 were baseball-only high school athletes, and 5 played two sports in high school.  Zero played three varsity sports in high school.

 

For the 2014 draft it looks like this:

Brady Aiken (baseball and football)

Tyler Kolek (baseball, football, and basketball)

Nick Gordon (baseball-only)

Alex Jackson (baseball-only)

Kodi Medeiros (baseball-only)

Touki Toussaint (baseball and football)

Grant Holmes (baseball-only)

Derek Hill (baseball-only)

Cole Tucker (baseball-only)

Michael Chavis (baseball and basketball)

Foster Griffin (baseball-only)

Luis Ortiz (baseball-only)

Justus Sheffield (baseball and football)

Braxton Davidson (baseball-only)

Michael Kopech (baseball-only)

Jack Flaherty (baseball-only)

Forrest Wall (baseball-only)

Blake Anderson (baseball-only)

Jake Gatewood (baseball and football)

 

So, 19 high-schoolers drafted in the first round -- 13 were baseball-only in high school, 6 played two or more sports. One (Kolek) played three sports as a sophomore, but even he cut down to two sports for his junior and senior years.

 

Very similar percentage across the two years -- about two-thirds of the very highest-level high school baseball players (and I think we can agree that first-round draft picks are as good as it gets for high school baseball players) only played baseball in high school. About one-third also played another sport. Clearly, either path can work.

"Isn't the question whether the very best predictor of whether any son(player) is going to be the best they can be based on whether that happens in HS or from ages 18-21, for most players?"

 

I don't think being a multisport athlete in HS is a predictor of anything, its more like a lagging indicator of athletic talent. These kids are multisport athletes because coaches recognize their exceptional talent and there is a demand for the kids services.  Not all talented kids will play multiple sports for a variety of  reasons, but I suspect its not because they didn't have the opportunity. 

 

Each level has a narrow funnel, the more athletic the player, the better opportunity he will have to advance, whether he's 14-18 or 18-21.  I also think for most players 18-21 is all about seeing where their exceptional potential can take them, when they apply their talent fulltime to baseball.  Some flatline, some lose interest, some catch fire, some were misjudged, some get bigger,  but only a very few move through the next funnel......  most of the position  players on my son's minor league teams were multisport athletes in HS, one of the pitchers even had a football scholarship to LSU.

 

I think it depends on the high school you attend. My 2015 is straight baseball BUT wanted to play football. He was the starting QB his freshman year. the varsity coached knew he was a baseball first kid and told him unless he was available all summer to participate in football conditioning and 7 on 7, DO NOT expect to be the quarterback. they wanted 100% buy-in from him. This made our decision easy BUT hurtful. He has since signed to play D1 baseball in the SEC. It worked out BUT he wanted to play football and the football coaches wanted football guys only.