Three sports or focus on Baseball?

How timely. I just hit the "submit" button to register my son to play rec league basketball this year instead of school ball, which he did through JV last winter. He said he just wouldn't have the time to play for his high school with winter baseball workouts, conditioning, plus keeping up with his schoolwork. There are other threads on this board about this very issue, and others may say to go ahead a enjoy your senior year and play basketball, but you state in your post you have a goal....go for it! You don't want to look back and think you didn't give it your all.

Jake,

The first and best advice I got at this website was from Mary Ann Shappi who has since passed away. I will tell you what she told me. “Play both sports until the competition convinces you otherwise”. Pretty simple - but to the point.

My son played both basketball and baseball and dropped basketball in his Jr year to concentrate on baseball. He felt he needed to put in the time in the gym and also attend the fall recruiting events that conflicted with basketball.

His basketball team went on to win their league, region and Southern Section in California and so he missed out on a lot. When I asked him if he regretted missing that he answered very firmly “not a bit. I am going to be playing baseball in college and while I would have enjoyed it, I would not have been able to do what I am doing had I taken the time away from the gym and recruiting activities.” Everyone is different so weigh the plus and minuses for your situation and do what you fell best for you.

Like keewart posted my son went on to play in some summer leagues with some of his buddies so he still keeps it up. BTW he absolutely dominated in the summer leagues and had a blast. Good Luck!

Unless you believe there's a need to focus because you're on track to be a pro baseball player, get everything you can out of high school, especially your senior year.

A friend's son decided to stick with basketball even though it probably affected his baseball preparation for spring. He was a little slow to come around as a pitcher that spring. The basketball team made the state final four. He still pitched in college (D3). He was glad he played basketball.

Jake,

First of all, hats off to you for the accomplishment of being a 3 sporter all four years.
My son has done the same thing but dropped football for golf the final two so not as much of a physical strain.

I'm a little confused. You say you are being recruited by a few private DIIIs. Have you approached any of the WIAC schools as they are all DIII and I would think would be close to the same level as the private school conferences. What, in your baseball game to you think you need to step up exactly. Are you a pitcher?

Outside of pitching I don't know what what part of your baseball game you couldn't still work on while playing hoops. You can still get into the cage and take swings and you're in the same boat as every other Wisconsin kid in the winter as far as any fielding practice.

I'm with RJM. Get everything you can out of high school. Much like RJMs friend....my son's hoops team went downstate to the final four and took third last year. He will never forget that and wouldn't change it for the world.

My kid's a FR. He's going out of JV Basketball after playing Middle School basketball. I hope he makes it, if only for the fact the JV basketball coach is the Varsity Baseball coach and I've heard he runs them A LOT....LOL.

I'm not commenting on football. He played when he was younger, and now he's getting asked if he'll play as a SO next year. He asked me...I told him play if you want...but instead of sharing all the "cool" moments from me playing HS football, I shared the other things most people don't about..like the really weird colors bruises will turn...and what a stinger really feels like.

I draw the line at Volleyball. He got talked into playing this year by a few friends who also played baseball. I don't get it. The only game with more touchy feely moments, clapping for points and chanting is young girls' softball. Plus they brink "Snacks" (think pretty much dinner) for the entire team (parents rotate). SNACKS at HS sports? No thanks.

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I just want some opinons from knowledgable baseball people on whether its better to be 3 sports athlete or focus on my goal.
Thanks for any responses.

jakewestphal,

Once in awhile someone might have said that I was knowledgable. Truth is I question my own knowledge a lot, so take what I say as just another opinion.

There are many, even within our organization, who swear by a player concentrating on one sport in high school. I am not one of those!

I believe kids should do whatever trips their trigger when it comes to other sports. That doesn't mean you have to lose focus on your goal.

Lets look at the very highest achievements in baseball. There are many Major League players that played football and/or basketball in high school. A few even played more than one sport in college. Every year there are first round picks out of high school where they played football and/or basketball. Last June two of the highest priced first rounders were star Quarterbacks.

Now if we look at it from a lesser perspective. Obviously most all kids don't become first round picks or Major League players. Many become coaches, teachers, businessmen, etc. I truly believe that sports (all sports) teach valuable lessons that can be very helpful later on.

If you enjoy it and want to play... PLAY! If you want to concentrate on one sport... Do that! Don't do it because others want you to play or not play.

Some might not think it is important, but I'm fairly old and still get together at times with old high school buddies. We still talk about high school football games, basketball games and baseball games that we were involved with nearly 50 years ago. It's amazing how much detail you still remember after that many years. Great memories! Great friends!

I should add... It can be beneficial to concentrate on one sport. But being unhappy is not so beneficial.

My advice FWIW Do what you want to do and work your rear end off.

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It's amazing how much detail you still remember after that many years.

You are right. The ball now clears the fence by thirty feet! I ran over the entire opposing team on that kick return! It was a thirty foot jumper! And then I drove the bus, thirty miles, uphill, in a blizzard, both ways!

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My advice FWIW Do what you want to do and work your rear end off.

Very wise words, indeed.

As a freshman 2013 had been to all the open gyms for basketball because he had always been equally good at both sports, but personally really preferred baseball. He kept asking what we thought he should do and we kept telling him it was his choice. He said he wanted to play.

Fast-forward to the night before tryouts when he announces he's not going to do it. We asked why, and he said it suddenly was very simple. His passion was baseball, and if he blew out his knee playing his secondary sport he would never forgive himself if he couldn't play basesball in his freshman year. His own words.

That told us that he really didn't care if he played basketball. It opened up his schedule for private hitting and pitching lessons that put him where he wanted to be at baseball tryout time.

Maybe it sounds like it's living your life with what-ifs, and we all know we can't do that. But that was his own logic as a freshman and he has never regretted it.

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if he blew out his knee playing his secondary sport he would never forgive himself if he couldn't play baseball in his freshman year. His own words.

A very real possibility...Son played at a small HS and many of the kids played multiple sports so it was no big deal. Son played both basketball and baseball. Turned his ankle in basketball the day before we were to leave for a baseball camp. We went anyway and met the coach, toured the campus etc. I always comment when he wears he $200 t-shirt.

A month later was his PG showcase. At one point he says to me 'These guys are all talking about how they have been working with their pitching coaches every day all summer and I haven't even thrown off a mound in a month!'

He did fine....and has great HS memories too. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't played basketball but he can't change it now and he has no regrets either....

Do whatever you want and don't second guess yourself. You can get hurt practicing and playing baseball too or get hit by the proverbial bus...

Make a decision and just 'go for it'....Good Luck

RJM,

LOL, we can't BS too much because others were actually there.

Besides we have "true" stories that beat most anything anyone could make up.

How about this one...

Still a good friend we see over a beer or two at times was an end on our high school football team.

Not sure who all can remember leather helmets, but this was one of the last years we used leather.

He caught a winning touchdown pass as time ran out. He ran into the goal post (head first) at full speed as he caught the ball and was knocked unconcious. Somehow the football ended up lodged between his hand and his body as he laid there out cold. The fans went from going crazy to dead silence.

We thought he was dead! The ambulance hauled him to the hospital and our coach was the first to visit him. Our coach swears that football was still stuck to his body when he saw him.

To this day we argue about if it was really a catch and what happened to the football.

BTW, the same kid ended up being a starting forward on a National Championship JC Basketball team, He was temamates with Bobby Joe Hill there. Later he pitched in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

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His passion was baseball, and if he blew out his knee playing his secondary sport he would never forgive himself if he couldn't play basesball in his freshman year. His own words.

My son dropped football in high school for fear of injury. He blew out his knee playing baseball. Then he injured his shoulder, requiring surgery rehabbing the injury when he slipped and fell. He never got injured playing any sport but baseball. LIve your life.

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Originally posted by PGStaff:
RJM,

LOL, we can't BS too much because others were actually there.

Besides we have "true" stories that beat most anything anyone could make up.

How about this one...

Still a good friend we see over a beer or two at times was an end on our high school football team.

Not sure who all can remember leather helmets, but this was one of the last years we used leather.

He caught a winning touchdown pass as time ran out. He ran into the goal post (head first) at full speed as he caught the ball and was knocked unconcious. Somehow the football ended up lodged between his hand and his body as he laid there out cold. The fans went from going crazy to dead silence.

We thought he was dead! The ambulance hauled him to the hospital and our coach was the first to visit him. Our coach swears that football was still stuck to his body when he saw him.

To this day we argue about if it was really a catch and what happened to the football.

BTW, the same kid ended up being a starting forward on a National Championship JC Basketball team, He was temamates with Bobby Joe Hill there. Later he pitched in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

I remember a Football Follies where the announcer said, "Watch Danny Abramowicz (Saints) discover the power of national television as he ran face first into a camera on the sideline knocking him out. There was another where the announcer said to Gary Collins (Browns), post pattern is not a literal term as he ran face first into the goalpost as he caught a TD pass. They were on the goal line then.

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Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

His passion was baseball, and if he blew out his knee playing his secondary sport he would never forgive himself if he couldn't play basesball in his freshman year. His own words.

My son dropped football in high school for fear of injury. He blew out his knee playing baseball. Then he injured his shoulder, requiring surgery rehabbing the injury when he slipped and fell. He never got injured playing any sport but baseball. LIve your life.

I agree completely that you can't make choices out of fear of anything happening, or not happening. For our son the risk wasn't worth it to him and we respected that.

A pro scout at an event we attended once told the players (with us parents standing nearby): if you want to play other sports, you should. You're much more likely to get hurt in a pick-up game with a bunch of girls that you will in an organized event.

As I said, to our son, the risk wasn't worth it to him.

Jake, I'm going to give a prespective of a Wisconsin parent.My son (2013) has decided to become a single sport kid for the 1st time this year.I have mixed emotions about this because he "was" a wrestler for a school who has went to team state for the last 10 consecutive years. 19 straight conference titles.He is going to miss thier next defense of these titles. Plus in my mind there is no better core training than the wrestling room.By the same token, they finished wrestling last year about 2 weeks before the baseball seeason started. Add in the weight loss aspect to wrestling and things become a little clearer for me. Another big plus in my eyes to becoming a single sport athlete is being able to attend offseason showcases and camps.My son has always wanted to attend the University of Georgia's Top Dawg prospect camp and in about a month he will get to compare himself to the top southern prospects.He has played against some of the same kids at East Cobb. He also has wanted to attend the Pitcher/Catcher Indoor in Cedar Rapids early next year. If he recieves an invite,he will get to attend this year.
Being a Wisconsin player has its disavantage such as not being able to have a long toss offseason program but by arms are not as worked as the warm weather players either.
In my mind being a single sport baseball player from Wisconsin is a logical step. The name of the game is being seen. I have never seen a college recruiter at a baseball game in Wisconsin. I have watched 3 kids who could have played baseball at the next level never even get seen. Leigon ball in this state will not get it done either. You have to get to camps and showcases.
Everyone please remember that this a dad's perpestive not by any means my sons. Good luck out there Jake

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Originally posted by 2013 Parent:

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Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

His passion was baseball, and if he blew out his knee playing his secondary sport he would never forgive himself if he couldn't play basesball in his freshman year. His own words.

My son dropped football in high school for fear of injury. He blew out his knee playing baseball. Then he injured his shoulder, requiring surgery rehabbing the injury when he slipped and fell. He never got injured playing any sport but baseball. LIve your life.

I agree completely that you can't make choices out of fear of anything happening, or not happening. For our son the risk wasn't worth it to him and we respected that.

A pro scout at an event we attended once told the players (with us parents standing nearby): if you want to play other sports, you should. You're much more likely to get hurt in a pick-up game with a bunch of girls that you will in an organized event.

As I said, to our son, the risk wasn't worth it to him.

I also told my son he can't play football afraid of getting hurt. That's when players get hurt. He returned to s0ccer and was an all-conference goalie. He said it was like playing third base.

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Plus they brink "Snacks" (think pretty much dinner) for the entire team (parents rotate). SNACKS at HS sports? No thanks.

The reason for parents bringing food for the athletes was primarily because when lunch periods were at 10:30 in the morning and they had a 4:00 game, they'll be starving and bringing those sandwiches and drinks before a game was much appreciated by the players since on game days, they wouldn't eat until 7-8 PM. My son played two varsity sports including baseball and both had food or snacks available to the players before games. Actually, it's a good idea since it give the players an option to eatt a little something before game time.

As for playing multiple sports in HS, they should do it if they enjoy other sports and can handle the schoolwork. Nobody should be telling them or convincing them to focus on one sport unless that's what they want, not because somebody else wants them to.

Here's our son's story hope it helps.

Three sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball) in HS first three years. One injury, minor concussion on freak play tackling runner, hit back of head on ground out two games as precaution.

Summer after Jr year plays on Area Code team and accepts offer to D1 school. August wrestling with decision to concentrate on baseball or play football and basketball in senior year. I told him to email Area Code coaches (all MLB scouts) and future college coach and get their opinion.

To a man they all said play all sports, there is plently of time to concentrate on baseball. They said enjoy your HS sports, you will regret it if you don't. His future college coach said one of the reason he like him was because he was an athlete, said he loved football players because of their toughness.

He listened and played football and basketball. Football team played in state championship game (lost) in one of the best games I saw in four years. His basketball team was a surprise and played in state semi's in front of 4,000 people (lost again). He would have missed out on these experiences if all he did was work on baseball.

Fast forward to first year in college baseball, hurt shoulder diving for ball in fall practice, out two weeks. Eighth game of college season this year hit in hand by pitch, broken, out five weeks. This summer in NECBL, collides with second baseman on Texas leaguer, out three games, week later gets hit in face with pitch, out week.

He got hurt more in baseball in his first year in college and summer than he did in four years of HS football. Told him this summer might be better to put down the bat and glove and strap on the helment again, its safer.

Injuries can happen anytime, you can't worry about them. Play all sports in HS and have fun. I'm sure our son would have regretted his decision if he did not play football and basketball his senior year.

Jake - Congrats on all of your accomplishments but the grades most of all. I am "pro-choice". It is your decision, a tough one to make.

The only thing I will say it that as you move on in life many things will be taken away from you - you will have no control over those decisions. I would not stop doing something, be it playing a sport or a love of music, whatever, until I was no longer able to do it.

Tough decision best of luck. Whatever YOU decide will be the best for you and the right thing to do.

Best regards,
Jack Sebesta

My middle son started football, basketball, and baseball all four years in high school for a 4A school. He considered quitting basketball his senior year but decided he could do something no one else had ever done at his high school. I said you only live life once so enjoy it as you go. He is now a starting pitcher for The Citadel and was offered football and baseball scholarships at a lot of D1 schools.
If you really think it will propel you that much further then go for it. If not, enjoy life.

Tough question.
I say don't play basketball just because you can or someone wants you to.
DO play basketball if that's what YOU want. Too many kids play a sport because they feel they're letting someone down (Coach or parent) if they don't. It's your life, follow your heart and give it your best shot. The next few years go a long way in shaping your life.

I have no idea if this was the best way to deal with sports, but the only rule I had was... If you decide to start the season, you will finish the season.

I told my kids that same thing. I don't care what you play. There are just a couple of rules. Your will finish what you start. And you will give it your best effort. If you dont think you can do that then find something else to do.

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Originally posted by jakewestphal:
So heres my situation. I'm a senior and have aspirations to play college baseball. Im being recruited by some D3 private schools but due to cost may be forced to go to a public school. I will probably have to step up my game to play in the powerhouse WIAC conference. So I've played Football, Basketball, and Baseball all four years. I'm debating dropping basketball to follow a college baseball workout program and get lessons and go to camps to up my game. If I play basketball I know I will not have the time to commit to these plans because I have an intense academic schedule. I am nothing special as a basketball player just the hustle rebound role player type.

I just want some opinons from knowledgable baseball people on whether its better to be 3 sports athlete or focus on my goal.
Thanks for any responses.

It was around this time last year that my son was faced with the same issue.
He had played basketball in previous years and was expected to play in his senior year by the coach. He however knew his bread was buttered with baseball, yet also knew it would be the last year he would be able to play basketball competitively, especially if he went to a D1 for baseball.

In the end he decided to not play basketball so as to concentrate on becoming the best baseball player he could. I've since asked him about his decision and if he had any regrets, and his answer is a resounding no. He said that it would have been fun but playing and maybe getting hurt was not worth the risk. He also used the time to improve his game, so he feels it all worked out for the best.

Hope his perspective helps you.

Uncertain what the demographics in Onconto might be. In Lo-Cal most kids are pretty comitted to 1 sport. With sooo many kids vying for so few spots in HS and college, virtually all your competition has dedicated themselves to one sport by their soph year in HS. Players may very be able to play multipule sports and adavnce to the next level. But with the vast majority of their peers focusing on 1 sport the pressure is on.

Thanks for all the responses. My father said simply it's up to me but that I couldn't start and quit. The different perspectives were really helpful. The most helpful advice was to not let people pressure me into doing something. I've decided to not play simply because this is what I know I will be happiest with. I know after a month of the extremely long basketball season I will want it over so I can shift into baseball mode anyway because that happens every year.

Personally Jake, I'd say play every sport you can for as long as you're able, if that is where your heart is.
Believe me, those of us "has-been's" that no longer are young enough to do what you are doing would LOVE to trade places and go back to playing ball. I realize it's a tough choice....but many times people are so worried about the future that they miss the great times in the here and now.
In high school, our school was a basketball school and I loved basketball.....but I ended up playing collegiate and professional baseball because 6 ft. shooting guards with average speed aren't exactly a hot commodity in college basketball! Glad I didn't give up baseball for a 4-year basketball ride......I've spent the past 13 years COACHING baseball and have experienced some great moments in hardball that I would have missed had I specialized way back then.
Do what you love. Coach Knight

Glad you mentioned academics. That's important your sr. yr too. How much do you play in basketball? If it's not a lot and it takes time away from academics, then it may be time to give it up. You still have your Sr. yr of baseball to look forward to. Condition for that, keep at the books, and enjoy Spring ball as your last experience for the HS. That would be my advice. Guess it all comes down to how much of a passion you have for a sport. The fact that you are considering dropping it tells me you enjoy it but don't live for it. Find what your passion is-sports,music,school subject, etc. and give it your all. Good luck to you.