John, I couldn’t agree more. The “youth sports industrial complex “ keeps pushing kids and parents to specialize in one thing at an earlier and earlier age. My three kids played multiple sports until high school but then got pushed by coaches and club seasons to pick one thing. My daughter is a freshman this year and chose to play year round club soccer instead of high school basketball. She has started to wonder about her choice during basketball season and I hope she will pick it up again next year. I think all of the benefits of playing multiple sports that your article mentions are all true. I hope we can get back to a point where we remember that the these are games that help teach our kids valuable lessons. Oh, and we have trumpets laying around in our house from 4th grade.
Agree with you completely. The problem is that despite saying that they love multi-sport athletes, coaches get upset if you skip THEIR sport. They just want you to deprioritize all of the other sports and penalize you if you don’t. This I know from experience as a sports parent of a boy and a girl. If you are a stellar athlete you’ll get away with it but if you’re just a regular kid, not so much. High school “optional” offseason workouts are often anything but optional.
Our son - never overly athletic - came home his Freshman year of HS and announced that he wanted to play a team sport. Oh, what did you have in mind? "Lacrosse".
This was the first year that his HS was to have a varsity lacrosse team, so I supposed his opportunity was better in lacrosse than other, more established sports. When we asked him what drew him to lacrosse, his answer was "You get to hit people with sticks!". He rode the bench for most of the next 4 years, but I still cherish a picture of him in his senior year. The picture is from behind the opponent's goal. You can see our son stepping over a defender who is lying prone on the ground and the ball is billowing the net behind the goalie. The only goal of his career, but it was fantastic!
One thing I would point out to John - the boys and girls games are vastly different. There's a reason boys wear helmets & shoulder pads and the girls don't. And the correct term for the stick pictured is "chick stick".
Great stuff! When my daughter was in Middle School at the last basketball game I told her if she would make 20 points (I wanted her to take more shots!) I would buy her a Car!
As a parent of 4 children, now adults, I couldn't agree more! They all had a "favorite" sport that they excelled in, but they all played other sports, too, for the variety. No burn-out like we saw from some kids who specialized in one sport only. And as a parent, it was fun to see other sports and meet other parents. None of our kids have ever said they wish they had done it differently.
Love this. I can remember Mike Riley saying this many years ago. I don't know much of anything about Lacrosse but my boy decided to try it last year in fourth grade and as a parent/spectator it might be one of the more fun sports that I have watched any of my kids play. Maybe part of that is that I never played Lacrosse and I can just watch and not second guess the coach because I don't know any better. In comparison, I am having serious issues with his basketball coach right now and his ridiculous offense and apparent reluctance to teach fundamentals. Long live Parks and Rec sports!
Our oldest son was fortunate and got to play college baseball at a small school in Newberg. When trying to decide where to go to school we met with the head coach Pat Bailey and Pat put it all out there with stats of how many kids make it to the different levels of baseball letting our son know how fortunate he was to have made it this fare. He then finished it off with, " 750 guys get to the major leagues. You are here to get a great education and life experience." Growing up he played just about every sport you can imagine. Many with little to no success except snacks and stopping to get a slurpee after practice.
Our youngest loved baseball. His retirement from the sport happened as a sophomore in high school. He moved on to LaCrosse in his Jr year. 10 years later he still talks about how awesome it was with all of his friends. He also decided to be a thrower in track in his Sr year. Lots more stories and memories with his friends. The baseball stories are all self deprecation with big laughs about how nasty curve balls are.
The experiences are what the kids take away and have core memories that carry with them for ever. It helps build a foundation to progress in life. Thanks for sharing about your daughter. And enjoy watching her run around chasing that little ball.
Our youngest is the mildest mannered kid. Nothing phases him. Playing LaCrosse brought out an aggressive side I did not think he possessed. Be careful what you wish for. :-).
Different kids have different things that motivate them. A promise of an electronic device, a pizza, a sleepover, etc. - even cold hard cash. I trust that John knows his daughter better than the rest of us. And, I suspect his wife hasn't released her veto power.
I coached high school tennis for 15 years. Soccer players make great tennis players because of their footwork and their understanding of angles. We would get soccer kids out for tennis who had never held a racket. Within weeks they were playing solid tennis, and by the end of the season they were challenging the players who grew up in tennis clubs.
The message of this piece is perfect: Kids should be playing multiple sports -- through high school -- no matter how good they are in a given sport. Physically, it helps young people avoid overuse injuries and mentally and emotionally, it helps avoid burnout. Plus, playing multiple sports helps develop parts of the body and athletic movements, that, in the end, maximize an athlete's overall athletic ability.
The multiple sport athletes will always be better prepared to not only advance in sports, but also life. The classic thing that pushed me out of high school coaching, was in fact, battling other coaches who pushed year round programs and specificity, and then couldn't understand when a baseball kid (in the great northwest climates of rotten miserable springs) wanted to devote their summer to summer baseball (how else will a baseball kid advance in the pacific northwest, when the only 8 week window of great weather they have to truly develop as a baseball player is in the summertime...I always gave the kids the choice, if they want to go all in on baseball in the summer, by all means - GO FOR IT - and if they wanted to take a break or do multiple sports in the summer - IT IS THEIR LIFE AND THEIR CHOICE - and as coaches (adult role models who are here to SERVE our athletes with great leadership - and reinforce the PROPER PERSPECTIVE) - it is our job to provide that positive time of their life experience. Unfortunately, other coaches who are very self serving, do not see it that way. It was miserable spending the majority of my time as a coach in conflict with other coaches...This is a great article John, and one that needs to be read by both coaches and athletes alike.
While working as the Recruiting Coordinator at Willamette University, when I recruited student-athletes, I only recruited single sport athletes if they were head and shoulders above everyone else or if they fit a specific and urgent need that we had on a yearly basis...I spent 90% of my time recruiting multiple sport athletes...they are always in competition, always training, always committed to their teammates, and have experienced different roles (the star to the bench player or player off the bench) in each sport...If single sport athletes have any kind of failure within their first season, they often do not have the wherewithal to survive it, as it is the first time they have gone through failure of any sort...I wanted athletes who understood what overcoming failure is all about, because in upper level sports, failure dominates the sport - just earning a starting role or reserve role in major college athletics is a major accomplishment - people have no idea how tough it is just to get on the field and play at that level, and those who have, have often had a tough journey over coming a significant level of failure and misfortune to achieve it...that is the true value of being a multiple sport athlete, learning how to take your successes and failures in stride and staying committed with clear eyes, full hearts and total conviction...this is what being a multiple sport athlete in high school truly leads to.
Good luck with that lacrosse ball. Like you I was surprised how hard it was. I can’t tell you how many things our son broke in the house flipping in back and forth with his stick. Ended up getting him a goal and net for outside. Unfortunately he had a few bad shots with that and the rebounds hit the neighbors house and she came over very angry with us. I put the Tim the Tool Man hat on and ended up building him a full blown enclosed cage out of netting and PVC pipe. That kept everything in our yard. Then the next spring he decided to go out for track instead.😀
Your column reminded me: We may have crossed paths when you were at the Gilroy Dispatch many moons ago. I believe Ed Stacy was the sports editor there at the time, and I did some freelance work for him. I remember there was another sportswriter there who did a story about a Little League pitcher whose dad was one of ***those*** parents -- one of those who called in and pestered the staff to write a story about how dominant his kid was. The sportswriter responded by giving the dad what he wanted -- sort of: The sportswriter interviewed a major league pitching coach (or someone like that) about how the kid was going to blow his arm out. I think that sportswriter might have been you.
I have two kids that play varsity high school sports right now. The coaches all act like they support kids playing multiple sports, but they don’t. My daughter is one of just a couple girls to play 3 sports and it’s cost her playing time mostly in volleyball for not playing club year round. There’s no boys that play 3 sports and only a couple that play 2.
Brings to mind the topic of sports participation in general. When I was a hiring manager, I was interested in whether candidates had participated. Teamwork, handling disappointment, coachable, disciplined, on time, rule compliance, extra effort, social skills, self confidence, perseverance, health habits, goal sharing, empathy, accountability, operating in a talent spectrum, mentorship… The competition aspect had additional value over simply group socialization in a non-sports activity, especially for the young women hired who later became managers. One sport better than none, and subject to finances and family obligations two better than one.
John, Sports have changed a lot since I played football in the streets, basketball in the driveway, baseball in the field behind the house, tennis in the new public courts.....and towards the end of high school, this new form of football called soccer. Add in Track and Field (shot put, discuss, and javelin...very fun) in high school, and later in college when I wasn't any good at anything to be on a team, long distance running. We were practitioners of every sport, and for most of us, masters of none. We played with our friends and changed sports by the season. Fall football, Winter basketball, Spring and Summer baseball.
That is no more!
My daughter took up swimming at 3 yrs old and joined a club team at 7. She swam every day and often twice per day for 11 1/2 months per year...high school and club. She had tons of energy, so that worked well for us and she got many opportunities to travel at a young age with a great group of friends (and I became an expert chaperone and timer!).
But I feel like I failed her for not insisting that she try other team sports.
Oh, and she also did violin for many years and sax for a short while.....and we also apparently bought those instruments.
John, I couldn’t agree more. The “youth sports industrial complex “ keeps pushing kids and parents to specialize in one thing at an earlier and earlier age. My three kids played multiple sports until high school but then got pushed by coaches and club seasons to pick one thing. My daughter is a freshman this year and chose to play year round club soccer instead of high school basketball. She has started to wonder about her choice during basketball season and I hope she will pick it up again next year. I think all of the benefits of playing multiple sports that your article mentions are all true. I hope we can get back to a point where we remember that the these are games that help teach our kids valuable lessons. Oh, and we have trumpets laying around in our house from 4th grade.
Agree with you completely. The problem is that despite saying that they love multi-sport athletes, coaches get upset if you skip THEIR sport. They just want you to deprioritize all of the other sports and penalize you if you don’t. This I know from experience as a sports parent of a boy and a girl. If you are a stellar athlete you’ll get away with it but if you’re just a regular kid, not so much. High school “optional” offseason workouts are often anything but optional.
Absolutely agree with your "optional" comment on high school sports.
Our son - never overly athletic - came home his Freshman year of HS and announced that he wanted to play a team sport. Oh, what did you have in mind? "Lacrosse".
This was the first year that his HS was to have a varsity lacrosse team, so I supposed his opportunity was better in lacrosse than other, more established sports. When we asked him what drew him to lacrosse, his answer was "You get to hit people with sticks!". He rode the bench for most of the next 4 years, but I still cherish a picture of him in his senior year. The picture is from behind the opponent's goal. You can see our son stepping over a defender who is lying prone on the ground and the ball is billowing the net behind the goalie. The only goal of his career, but it was fantastic!
One thing I would point out to John - the boys and girls games are vastly different. There's a reason boys wear helmets & shoulder pads and the girls don't. And the correct term for the stick pictured is "chick stick".
Pretty cool to have a photo of that moment!
Great stuff! When my daughter was in Middle School at the last basketball game I told her if she would make 20 points (I wanted her to take more shots!) I would buy her a Car!
She made 19pts!!
As a parent of 4 children, now adults, I couldn't agree more! They all had a "favorite" sport that they excelled in, but they all played other sports, too, for the variety. No burn-out like we saw from some kids who specialized in one sport only. And as a parent, it was fun to see other sports and meet other parents. None of our kids have ever said they wish they had done it differently.
Love this. I can remember Mike Riley saying this many years ago. I don't know much of anything about Lacrosse but my boy decided to try it last year in fourth grade and as a parent/spectator it might be one of the more fun sports that I have watched any of my kids play. Maybe part of that is that I never played Lacrosse and I can just watch and not second guess the coach because I don't know any better. In comparison, I am having serious issues with his basketball coach right now and his ridiculous offense and apparent reluctance to teach fundamentals. Long live Parks and Rec sports!
Our oldest son was fortunate and got to play college baseball at a small school in Newberg. When trying to decide where to go to school we met with the head coach Pat Bailey and Pat put it all out there with stats of how many kids make it to the different levels of baseball letting our son know how fortunate he was to have made it this fare. He then finished it off with, " 750 guys get to the major leagues. You are here to get a great education and life experience." Growing up he played just about every sport you can imagine. Many with little to no success except snacks and stopping to get a slurpee after practice.
Our youngest loved baseball. His retirement from the sport happened as a sophomore in high school. He moved on to LaCrosse in his Jr year. 10 years later he still talks about how awesome it was with all of his friends. He also decided to be a thrower in track in his Sr year. Lots more stories and memories with his friends. The baseball stories are all self deprecation with big laughs about how nasty curve balls are.
The experiences are what the kids take away and have core memories that carry with them for ever. It helps build a foundation to progress in life. Thanks for sharing about your daughter. And enjoy watching her run around chasing that little ball.
OK, I’ll say it: don’t pay your kid to score goals.
LOL... I know. I know. I was trying to get her to be more aggressive. I am not sure my methodology is the best.
Our youngest is the mildest mannered kid. Nothing phases him. Playing LaCrosse brought out an aggressive side I did not think he possessed. Be careful what you wish for. :-).
Different kids have different things that motivate them. A promise of an electronic device, a pizza, a sleepover, etc. - even cold hard cash. I trust that John knows his daughter better than the rest of us. And, I suspect his wife hasn't released her veto power.
I coached high school tennis for 15 years. Soccer players make great tennis players because of their footwork and their understanding of angles. We would get soccer kids out for tennis who had never held a racket. Within weeks they were playing solid tennis, and by the end of the season they were challenging the players who grew up in tennis clubs.
This should be required reading for parents, student athletes, coaches and ADs at area secondary schools.
The message of this piece is perfect: Kids should be playing multiple sports -- through high school -- no matter how good they are in a given sport. Physically, it helps young people avoid overuse injuries and mentally and emotionally, it helps avoid burnout. Plus, playing multiple sports helps develop parts of the body and athletic movements, that, in the end, maximize an athlete's overall athletic ability.
The multiple sport athletes will always be better prepared to not only advance in sports, but also life. The classic thing that pushed me out of high school coaching, was in fact, battling other coaches who pushed year round programs and specificity, and then couldn't understand when a baseball kid (in the great northwest climates of rotten miserable springs) wanted to devote their summer to summer baseball (how else will a baseball kid advance in the pacific northwest, when the only 8 week window of great weather they have to truly develop as a baseball player is in the summertime...I always gave the kids the choice, if they want to go all in on baseball in the summer, by all means - GO FOR IT - and if they wanted to take a break or do multiple sports in the summer - IT IS THEIR LIFE AND THEIR CHOICE - and as coaches (adult role models who are here to SERVE our athletes with great leadership - and reinforce the PROPER PERSPECTIVE) - it is our job to provide that positive time of their life experience. Unfortunately, other coaches who are very self serving, do not see it that way. It was miserable spending the majority of my time as a coach in conflict with other coaches...This is a great article John, and one that needs to be read by both coaches and athletes alike.
While working as the Recruiting Coordinator at Willamette University, when I recruited student-athletes, I only recruited single sport athletes if they were head and shoulders above everyone else or if they fit a specific and urgent need that we had on a yearly basis...I spent 90% of my time recruiting multiple sport athletes...they are always in competition, always training, always committed to their teammates, and have experienced different roles (the star to the bench player or player off the bench) in each sport...If single sport athletes have any kind of failure within their first season, they often do not have the wherewithal to survive it, as it is the first time they have gone through failure of any sort...I wanted athletes who understood what overcoming failure is all about, because in upper level sports, failure dominates the sport - just earning a starting role or reserve role in major college athletics is a major accomplishment - people have no idea how tough it is just to get on the field and play at that level, and those who have, have often had a tough journey over coming a significant level of failure and misfortune to achieve it...that is the true value of being a multiple sport athlete, learning how to take your successes and failures in stride and staying committed with clear eyes, full hearts and total conviction...this is what being a multiple sport athlete in high school truly leads to.
Good luck with that lacrosse ball. Like you I was surprised how hard it was. I can’t tell you how many things our son broke in the house flipping in back and forth with his stick. Ended up getting him a goal and net for outside. Unfortunately he had a few bad shots with that and the rebounds hit the neighbors house and she came over very angry with us. I put the Tim the Tool Man hat on and ended up building him a full blown enclosed cage out of netting and PVC pipe. That kept everything in our yard. Then the next spring he decided to go out for track instead.😀
Your column reminded me: We may have crossed paths when you were at the Gilroy Dispatch many moons ago. I believe Ed Stacy was the sports editor there at the time, and I did some freelance work for him. I remember there was another sportswriter there who did a story about a Little League pitcher whose dad was one of ***those*** parents -- one of those who called in and pestered the staff to write a story about how dominant his kid was. The sportswriter responded by giving the dad what he wanted -- sort of: The sportswriter interviewed a major league pitching coach (or someone like that) about how the kid was going to blow his arm out. I think that sportswriter might have been you.
I have two kids that play varsity high school sports right now. The coaches all act like they support kids playing multiple sports, but they don’t. My daughter is one of just a couple girls to play 3 sports and it’s cost her playing time mostly in volleyball for not playing club year round. There’s no boys that play 3 sports and only a couple that play 2.
Brings to mind the topic of sports participation in general. When I was a hiring manager, I was interested in whether candidates had participated. Teamwork, handling disappointment, coachable, disciplined, on time, rule compliance, extra effort, social skills, self confidence, perseverance, health habits, goal sharing, empathy, accountability, operating in a talent spectrum, mentorship… The competition aspect had additional value over simply group socialization in a non-sports activity, especially for the young women hired who later became managers. One sport better than none, and subject to finances and family obligations two better than one.
John, Sports have changed a lot since I played football in the streets, basketball in the driveway, baseball in the field behind the house, tennis in the new public courts.....and towards the end of high school, this new form of football called soccer. Add in Track and Field (shot put, discuss, and javelin...very fun) in high school, and later in college when I wasn't any good at anything to be on a team, long distance running. We were practitioners of every sport, and for most of us, masters of none. We played with our friends and changed sports by the season. Fall football, Winter basketball, Spring and Summer baseball.
That is no more!
My daughter took up swimming at 3 yrs old and joined a club team at 7. She swam every day and often twice per day for 11 1/2 months per year...high school and club. She had tons of energy, so that worked well for us and she got many opportunities to travel at a young age with a great group of friends (and I became an expert chaperone and timer!).
But I feel like I failed her for not insisting that she try other team sports.
Oh, and she also did violin for many years and sax for a short while.....and we also apparently bought those instruments.