Playing 2 sports

Mine is a position player who stopped playing basketball for his Sr. yr in HS (he switched high schools). The decision was his. The HS baseball coach at his original school could not stand that he played varsity basketball, especially when they made the playoffs and it interfered with a baseball scrimmage. My son feels very strongly that basketball helped him stay athletic and improved his mobility and speed. As parents, we were very grateful that he had a friend/support group outside of the baseball team.

2023 played the widely hated, almost sport of football (pansy euro style; not the real red/white/blue type) which helped with burn out and gave him a different friend group.   That said, I know of a 2023 P5 LHP commit who just shredded his knee playing basketball.  The hindsight vision scope would say... WHY?!   

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

2023 played the widely hated, almost sport of football (pansy euro style; not the real red/white/blue type) which helped with burn out and gave him a different friend group.   That said, I know of a 2023 P5 LHP commit who just shredded his knee playing basketball.  The hindsight vision scope would say... WHY?!   

The interesting point about the unfortunate incident of this player is offseason lifting and speed training could lead to the same injury as we all likely know. I understand being a college baseball recruit and stopping with football - the goal there is to punish the opponent. But soccer or basketball I think would have more upside than the possible downside of injury. I’m sure there are plenty of torn muscles in the weight room - those just don’t get shared or talked about as much as an injury during a sporting event.

My 2024 quit playing basketball after his freshman year.  He says it was of the best decision he's made.  He was able to keep putting on weight and working out without running for 2-3 hours every day.   I was not happy about it but he looked at me and said, "Im going to play D1 baseball in college...not basketball."

Needless to say the basketball coach was NOT pleased, as my son is 6'5"

@Somewhere in the USA my son broke a finger leaning back in his chair in class. LOL He also broke one playing in a charity basketball game so there's some truth to both...

@Master P you do make a good point. My son had a hard time keeping weight on during basketball season. That is definitely something that is personal. Could be a good thing or a bad thing. For mine the extra weight was beneficial.

One thing my son tells kids when he talks to them is to not forget to keep things fun. He had some friends who gave into the pressure of the coach and stopped playing basketball after their freshman year. It didn't magically make them college baseball player stars and they missed out on the fun of playing basketball and regret it. If it is something your kid loves to do, please take that into consideration. You don't get those years back.

Final question, does your son's college coach have an opinion (my son's college coach liked it and even has a football player roaming his LF)?

Sons played football,  basketball, and baseball.  Interestingly, on son's podcast, where we interview the players at Tennessee, almost all of them played 2 sports in HS and several played 3.  It takes away from lifting but it gives back many things.  Chance of injury is probably no higher than anything else.

@Somewhere in the USA posted:

The interesting point about the unfortunate incident of this player is offseason lifting and speed training could lead to the same injury as we all likely know. I understand being a college baseball recruit and stopping with football - the goal there is to punish the opponent. But soccer or basketball I think would have more upside than the possible downside of injury. I’m sure there are plenty of torn muscles in the weight room - those just don’t get shared or talked about as much as an injury during a sporting event.

Chances of an injury playing hoops is far greater than lifting or speed training. The training is done in a controlled environment and likely with some sort of trainer guiding the exercises. A hoops game is full of unpredictable movements at 100% effort. No way the two are in the same category for injury risk.

@Master P on my son’s recruiting trips all the college coaches said they liked their pitching recruits to play basketball - helps taller Ps stay athletic. Also, all of those coaches ironically were former HS basketball players and tall themselves.

The point about keeping weight on during all the running of basketball is what concerns me. My son’s basketball coach has them running a ton and he needs to put on weight not lose it.

To help this, his trainer has him taking Creatine and upping the carbs. Hope that helps.

if your son is already committed I would say play away, he will gain more then he gives away. If he is draftable might be a different conversation. 

  There is really only one answer to the question posed by the OP. And that answer is : it depends on what is most important to your son.
  The pros and cons have been pretty well identified. Personally I fall on the side of playing basketball b/c I can relate. I was in the exact same situation as your son when I was in HS. And I gained a lot of athleticism from playing basketball that really helped me on the baseball field. I also got injured more playing basketball than any other activity I ever participated in. But in my case the pros outweighed the cons. And I like baseball players that also play basketball b/c they tend to be better overall athletes - which is important as you advance to college ball as position changes are common and versatility can get you on the field.
  So IMO it boils down to what your son gets out of playing basketball vs what he loses if he doesn’t. You can (and should) help guide him but only he knows what is in his heart.

Brett Baty's dad is the HS basketball coach at our local HS.  He quit basketball after freshman year I believe.  He played again senior year because some of the scouts were questioning his athleticism.  He was the top scorer in quite a few of the games (on a really good team that made it into playoffs)  and was drafted (for baseball) number 12 overall in 2019.  Already made his major league debut and is projected to start this coming season.  If he enjoys it, play.

My son played football and basketball. He didn't get as much play time in basketball  and he felt he could better use the winter to weight train for baseball. He decided he could play in a drop-in basketball Saturday program in the winter to keep playing. He stopped playing football when he realized politics and daddy football was more a priority over putting the best team on the field. Figured fall ball would be more fun, so that's what he does. Still throws a football regularly. Played QB in PE this fall and the school's starting QB was on the opposing team. Exposed to his peers and the PE staff that maybe the current starting QB isn't the best choice.

Mom;

In California, the Pro Scouts during the "off season" will scout the track team, basketball teams evaluating baseball players also playing 2-3 Sports. Sports Illustrated did a great article on the psychology of the football player and alternate sport.

Bob

My son stayed a 3-sport athlete before and after he committed to a DI mid-major.  He played football, was a wrestler (took 2nd place at State Championships) and of course, baseball.  He wouldn't have changed his path for the world.  He also lifted multiple times a week (during wrestling and football practices it is a requirement) and still went to baseball practice 2x a week during football and wrestling season.  He will tell you that wrestling was by far the best sport that also helped him in baseball.  Wrestlers are a whole different level of athletes!  He is a catcher and he said the flexibility in wrestling helped him as a catcher.  He did quit wrestling his freshman year and was miserable.  The following year he went to talk to the wrestling coach to ask him about coming back and explained that he might have to miss a couple of matches for some baseball tournaments.  His coach told him that they would rather have him there most of the time than not at all.  He has a friend that quit hockey his senior year to concentrate on baseball and 5 years later he said he still regrets it.  You can't ever get back those high school moments and the bonding with teammates/classmates.  It's always ultimately your son's choice, but IMO, if you can make it work...do it. 

Knock on wood...never had any major injuries and I do attest that to the multiple different muscles he used in each sport. 

Since he's already committed (and even if he wasn't) I'd say play basketball and have a great time with his friends.  Playing two sports or more in high school is a great thing. College, not so much

This is always an interesting topic to me as people have strong opinions both ways.  We had lots of baseball people advise us that our son should not play basketball past sophomore year.  (For all the reasons listed above; injury risk, weight, not enough time to train for baseball.) We had to think long and hard about it, and ultimately deferred to the kid, who wanted to play.  (Again all the reasons above; athleticism, FUN, competition.) Now when people hear that he is playing basketball they only have positive things to say about it.  What happened to all of the extreme naysayers?  Or do they now only say it behind our backs?

First, I played football, basketball and baseball in high school. I also skied on my own. I grew up in an era of play the sport in season. When the kids were little (daughter five years older than son) they were introduced to as many team and individual sports as possible based on the season.

By high school my daughter (played college softball) played volleyball, basketball, ran second team 200m and 400m relays on Saturday nights for indoor track without practicing and softball. Because there tend to less number ot athletic girls they were encouraged to play multiple sports. Even a girl who made Team USA at sixteen and js now considered the greatest American in her sport played a second sport.

My son had played travel soccer since he was eight. When he got to middle school he switched to football. He also played basketball and baseball. Heading into high school he decided he didn't want to risk football injury and missing any basketball or baseball. He returned to soccer. As a whole the boys coaches didn't like varsity athletes playing a second sport. It was a large classification, very athletically competitive high school. My son was playing three sports.

The soccer coach was very unhappy with my son playing other sports and not playing for an elite summer soccer program. He appeased the coach by attending an elite summer goalie camp on weekdays.

My son was the starting  point guard on the JV basketball team freshman year. There was a lot of speculation he would start varsity soph year. He was the ideal point guard. He was in search of the perfect pass on a team full of gunners.

I came hope from work one evening to find my son slumped on the coach. He was cut from the basketball program. Not even returned to JV, cut. By happenstance later that night I ran into the coach that night at the grocery store. He explained he cut my son because he was on varsity soccer freshman year, expected to start at short in basebal soph spring and never showed up for one optional basketball workout all year. In the years my kids were at the high school only two basketball players played two sports. Both were 6'7". One went on to play for Man U and in the MLS. The others tonight to be an NFL edge rusher.

My son continued playing basketball in our town's very strong youth basketball program. Jv, freshman and varsity bench players not getting minutes were allowed to play. An all star team probably could have competed as a 3A (of 6A) high school team. A former NBA player/dad would siting the stands at the high school games screaming at the basketball coach his best point guard was sitting in the stands. My son eventually thanked him and politely asked him to stop.

Not playing school basketball allowed for two positives things. 1) It allowed time to workout and bulk up. 2) He stopped running of a bunch of weight in basketball practice. The baseball coach had been a two sport high school athlete. His attitude was play any sport you want. But you better show up day one in mid-season form. Freshman year my son was at baseball training at 5:45am because he had basketball practice in the afternoon.

Back to football ... My son stopped playing football after middle school out of fear of getting hurt for other sports. He tore his MCL and PCL the first weekend of post junior year playing travel baseball. He spent months on crutches. All the hot onhis trail college basebal programs disappeared (it all worked out). Then he fell and separated his shoulder, requiring surgery doing rehab on his knee. Before getting injured the football coach saw him punt a soccer ball and recruited him to punt for the football team.

To net it all out it's a matter of balancing the situation. Do what you love. Play hard. Don't think about getting injured. If you fear injury, don't play.

Add note: College coaches say they like multi sport athletes. The reality is they like the best baseball players even more regardless of multi sport or not.

My 2024 LHP/1B is now playing basketball and baseball - basketball helps with his athleticism (very important for a big guy).  In middle school he was playing four sometimes five different sports a year including travel baseball, AAU basketball, and ice hockey (essentially another travel sport).  He gave up ice hockey to play school tackle football.  Gave up football after two years because football related injuries to hands and ankles forced him out of fall baseball seasons.  Played AAU basketball last two springs while also playing varsity hs baseball.  I think he is done with AAU basketball and will use the newly found available time to immerse himself into S&C and more baseball specific skill development (private instruction).  He is verbally committed to a college now, otherwise I think he would have dropped out of hs basketball to focus on the late fall college camps and  winter recruiting/showcase events.

The 3-sport kids in my local area are a dying breed.  Every sport wants the kids 6 days a week in season, and 3 days a week in the offseason.  My son will likely miss nearly all winter "voluntary" hs baseball winter workouts due to schedule conflicts ... to say that his hs baseball coach is not happy, is an understatement. 

Sounds like some crappy coaches!  My son's football coach did not want to work with him so, yes, he was "sick" on a lot of Saturday morning film days (as we were driving to a baseball tournament) but can't give enough praise to his wrestling coach.  Since he agreed to work with his schedule, my son worked extra hard for him and made it work for his practices and matches every chance he could get.  The coach knew baseball was his #1 sport and that he was going to play in college, but he also knew he was an athlete and wanted him on his team as well.

Talk to your coaches.  Some might work with you more than you think.