Players today

I generally agree with your comments, however I would like to hear you speak to the "big" school model.  My idea of "big" may not be what other folks consider "big", so lets start with a class size of 500 - total high school population of 2,000.  Assuming you want to play baseball and assuming your are in a decent baseball area, you had better be pretty good - takes time and some level of dedication.  For argument's sake, lets say you do not participate in basketball (very small team numbers and a rather unique skill set).  What other sports do you recommend and what should that athlete's expectations be as far as skill level and contribution (i.e. playing time).  I could see a lot of folks playing secondary sports at a mediocre level and not getting much playing time, but still interacting with the team and getting those associated benefits (for argument's sake let's also assume we are not discussing freak 3 sport star athletes).

I completely agree with you that young men should play more than one sport in HS, mik -- and I also agree that baseball players need to be careful in the weight rooms. That said, in far too many schools, particularly here in Texas, it's the football coaches who wind up pushing baseball players away.

Every time a football coach insists on things like summer 7 on 7 and full-tackle scrimmages in May for baseball players whose HS season may be over but whose far-more-consequential summer season is just around the corner, everyone loses.

I know because it happened to my son. He LOVED football, and the team would be a whole lot better off with him on it. We are not a Goliath district. But even though he would've been a key component on the varsity team that next fall, he elected to quit playing football in May of his freshman year -- for exactly the reasons I mentioned. 

And ... not because it matters anymore (my son is a Jr. now, and committed to Oregon -- in part because he wanted out of Texas) ... but watch a few quick clips of this admittedly-bad video, and you tell me:

Shouldn't boys like this be out there with their HS buddies on Friday nights? And if so, why do so many football coaches cut their nose to spite their face by pushing them out? 

JP24 you hit the nail on the head!!!! 7 on 7 and football camps in general are seeming to go on all year.Football is a different beast then baseball which we can all agree on but the camps and training are now becoming nonstop..With this seasons are lost into one sport year round.My son is in that hard place of trying to figure how to keep playing both as long as possible.But I see too many kids making the choice to early in there high school career.Texas is defiantly is different beast all together with football. Like I said my feelings on football training are defiantly changing to less is more for longevity.

Because most football coaches are meat headed morons (and that is coming from a football guy). 

Nice runs by the way. 

I am a football coach in Texas and here is my two cents.  First, my son played QB his whole career, baseball, and ran track until his junior year. Played football his senior season after committing to a D1 baseball college.  You only get to go through high school one time.  He is now playing college baseball after turning down several football offers. My soph. son is now following in his brother's footsteps.  QB in the fall and catcher now in the spring.  Second, I see comments that say that football coaches are turning football into a year round sport, 7 on 7, spring football,etc.  But, I also see baseball doing the same.  High school season, summer select, fall ball, pitching lessons, hitting lessons, personal trainers, etc.  If a kid wants to do both or several sports, we as parents should make sure they get to do what they want to.  I know the answers I will probably get back from this, but if a kid decides he wants to do it he can.  I get tired of parents bashing football, football bashing baseball.  They can both be done.  If your kid doesn't want to play football, more power to him.  Football is the worst game in America to be playing if you truly don't like it.  If your son is a football player, baseball isn't a game for sissies that non-football players play.  I know for a fact that my son is a better baseball player because of his toughness he learned from football.  My son was a better football player because of the mental toughness he learned from standing on the mound and at the plate by himself during baseball season.  He would love to still be doing both in college.  For the record, I'm not stirring the pot here.

My son never played football until his junior year in high school.  He ended up being a wide receiver and special teams player for his junior and senior years.  His mom and I never really wanted him playing football but it was his decision and it worked out alright, he was in the weightroom more often and the football coaches were aware he was really a baseball player who had had shoulder issues in the past.  The made sure he stuck to the weightraining more suited to his arm situation.  Did football help his baseball?  A couple of years ago he was running a 7.3-7.5 60, a couple of weeks ago at practice he was timed at 6.9 and I am certain that his 60 time was one big reason he was noticed at baseball camps. 

HS football coaches are not all alike, OTH, and I am referring only to my son's experience. But I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind:

1. Do you insist that baseball players participate in full-tackle scrimmages with the football team in late May or not be on the team?

2. Do you require them to play 7 on 7 when not traveling with their summer baseball team?

3. Do you require football players who are on the varsity baseball team to participate in football conditioning every morning during the baseball season?

These are the rules our HS football coach laid down.

You also say baseball encroaches on football. Not in my experience. In fact, baseball players are expected to hang up the glove as soon as their summer season ends (and it better end by early August), and not pick it up again until after football season.

But in that vein ... one more question:

Would you allow a baseball player to miss one Friday night football game to go to the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter?

Good athletes in one sport are usually pretty good at another.

Like jp's kid, my 2016 was the only 2 way football player as a freshman at a perennial powerhouse in our area. With baseball as his main love and natural talent, he quit football after that year because of the demanding schedule. He wasn't the only one.

They need time to study and have a social life. He works 3 nights a week and has been dating his girlfriend for a year and a half already.

I agree with overthehill, one sport absolutely helps the other, however unless they all back off as a whole, the two sport player will be MORE few and far between within the high school programs IMO. Like most at our school, you play one sport with the high school and another recreationally.

Unfortunately our football team will suffer talent wise because of the time it takes to get better.

There are so many complications and opportunities for high school athletes today.I was just curious if anyone saw what i'm seeing in high school now..

Tennis and track are spring sports, right?  I assume you are not suggesting a baseball player give up baseball to play tennis and track, so how exactly would a baseball player do this?

It's easier said than done.  We can pick on football, but don't we like to claim the summer and fall as baseball recruiting seasons?  The fact is that if a kid wants to excel in any sport it takes a lot of off-season work and this is going to create conflicts if they want to play multiple sports.  For my kid, high school football practice starts mid June, then 3 weeks later he's off to AZ for JOs, then a couple weeks after that he'll miss another week of football for a PG tourney in GA...Oh, and the HS baseball coach expects him at summer practice every day also... who was it on this board that said our kids are so fortunate that they don't even need a summer job!