RJM posted:kandkfunk posted:When you want to play college baseball and your second sport is football, you take a huge risk continuing to play in high school. My son will be a senior. He really tried not to play football his junior year. It only lasted 3 days until the pressure from the football coaches became too much and he went out. Doesn't really want to play his senior year, because of a legit fear of a baseball ending injury, but also doesn't want to quit his senior year and be looking back with regret. The compromise is that he plays defense only. It's easier to be the hitter and not the hittee (is that a word?).
Does being considered a multi-sport athlete require that a kid play all four years of high school in every sport? There are definitely benefits to playing multiple sports and I think most of us see what those are, but there are also risks and costs. In the last football game of the season, our QB broke his foot. It took a while to get the right diagnosis and surgery. The injury took him out of his senior season of baseball. That's a real life example fresh in my son's memory. Every football season, we lose 2-3 kids from knee injuries. A knee injury his senior year would be devastating. These are all the things we weigh as a family. Ultimately, the decision is up to my kid.
If a kid loves a sport he should keep playing. After playing middle school football my son stopped. He was afraid he would get injured and miss baseball. I told him he can't play football if he's afraid of getting hurt. He tore his MCL and PCL playing baseball in a freak collision. Life happens.
I totally agree with you RJM. I don't think he loves football. He likes football. It gives him something to do and let's him represent his school. He's like those high school baseball guys we talk about who aren't going to play after high school and just want to play with their friends. Anything can happen, but statistically speaking, the risk with football is so much higher.
Ironically, if it was a college sport, he would be racing motocross full time. He doesn't get to do that much anymore either because of the injury risk. Baseball and motocross don't really mix well. Just ask Bumgarner.