Many high school athletes today act different from the athlete 20 years ago.  How you ask?  When I was in high school, we would make the transition through all the sport seasons. During football, we got our football and gear out and enjoyed the game.  When football season ended, we picked up our basketball and sneakers and dribbled and shot to our heart’s content.  Then came summer and our gloves and bats were taken to the ball diamond. In between, we would squeeze in some golf, tennis, even bowling. 

Today?  Some athletes want to specialize in their sport only. For instance, a basketball player does not want to play football.  Instead he or she practices basketball in the fall at their home or in the gym.  Then basketball season begins, and they play for their school.  After basketball season ends, they forsake any spring sport to play AAU basketball. It’s basketball, basketball, basketball. Why?  They are setting their goals very high so they can be the next point guard for the Duke Blue Devils. And they honestly think that their only chance of making Duke is by playing basketball24/7.    

The problem is very few people attain that goal.  If you look at stats from around the country,the percent of high school graduates that go on the college and get a degree is around 20-30 %.  The percent that make it to college and play a sport is very, very low. Less than 1 % makes it to a D1 University.  That’s a very small basket to put all your eggs in.

The other part of this problem is that playing only one sport has its drawbacks. First of all, you risk the chance of burning out on your favorite sport.  I am an avid golfer, and I play over 100 rounds a year. But sometimes I get burned out, and I need to take a week or two off.  I come back refreshed and ready to chase that crazy, white ball around

Another important factor is that the multi-sport athlete is simply a better athlete than the one sport athlete.  I firmly believe that the player who wants to suit up for Duke would be a better basketball player if they played other sports.  In any sport there are only so many hand-eye coordination skills and other athletic abilities you can learn.  When a basketball player tries a different sport, they learn some new hand-eye skills. If they also go out for baseball, they would add even more athletic skills to their brain and body.  When they take that all back to the basketball court, they will find that they’re a better player now because they have increased their skill level by playing multiple sports.

Recent research has also added another factor for the one sport athlete:  repetitive injuries.  When you put your body through the same sport with the same motions and muscles used in a specific way, you risk more injuries than if you stopped that sport to play others.

Just look at the best athletes from the major sports.  Did Michael Jordan only play basketball in high school?  Hell, he took a season off from the NBA and played baseball!  Did Payton Manning only play football?  Did Alex Rodriquez only play baseball?  I really don’t know the answer to those questions, but I am willing to bet anyone$100 they played other sports.  That’s why they are world class athletes.  It didn’t hurt any of them to play some other sport. In fact, I believe it helped them become what they are.

I’ve had many kids come back to me a few years after they graduated and say they regretted not playing baseball for me, or not playing football or basketball.  The problem with regrets is that we carry them for the rest of our lives. 

So the off season sports are here to stay, I’m afraid.There’s AAU basketball, club volleyball, club soccer, fall baseball, and the passing league in football.  To me, it’s sad, though.  The multi-sport athlete is becoming the solo sport athlete.  Like the Beach Boys say, “Be true to your school.” Play all the sports you can, while you can.  And if you don’t make it as the Duke point guard, your life will still be filled with many great memories from high school, and very few regrets.