Joe Madden's view on Travel Baseball vs the multi sport athlete.

[John T]

Maybe if Tiger Woods would have played other sports he would still be #1 in the world and not hurt from overuse injuries...

Ever notice that the people speaking FOR specialization are heavily invested in a particular sport/organization. That argument cuts both ways and both sides think they are correct.

I do not think it makes a player that much better if they practice one sport 24-7 because they will get to the point of reaching their potential and the rest is a waste of time. Let's face it, there is only one Finch, Woods and LeBron...all of the rest have either maxed out or do not have the work-ethic of that group.

Check out the book "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell, there is a lot more to it than practice...

 

[RetiredCoach]

The Cubs are a great organization. Many years ago my Great Grandfather used to tell me about them winning the World Series. He does not remember all the details since he was quite young.

One of my favorite jokes from a late nite show involved the Chicago Cubs. It went something like this:

Congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks for winning the World Series! Of course you've got to
feel some sympathy for the Chicago Cubs. The last time they won a World Series was when Arizona
was still a territory!

 

[chinamigarden]

Ever notice that folks who speak against specialization are from locations where climate or other factors prevent playing year round? It is about where you end up, now how you got there.

Ever notice the people who are pro specialization are from locations where factors encourage playing year round?

 

[chinamigarden]

Let me ask yo this. If Tiger Woods didn't specialize in golf at age 2 but instead played basketball, soccer, and golf at different times of the season, do you think he would have become the #1 golfer in the world (and quite possibly the Top 3 golfer of all time)?

But let's use a more realistic example. DD is 12YO. She is a pitcher. She has been pitching and taking lessons since she was 7YO. She has had some success in Rec, All-stars, Western Nationals, and now Travel ball. She plays in SoCal which is one of the most competitive softball areas of the country (if not the world). She gave up dance and drama when she started playing travel ball last year because she has to practice a lot just to keep up with her softball peers. She also has religious school 2X a week and is a straight A student in honors classes. There is only so much time in the day, you have to pick and choose your priorities.

Maybe your area is different, but around here you pretty much have to specialize in fastpitch to stay competitive otherwise you will fall to far behind your peers (this is true in most of the major sports).

Coach Inouye-Perez (UCLA) told us at a softball camp she likes multi-sport athletes but what she doesn't discuss is all of the time and effort that her pitchers like Ally Carda and Jessica Hall and world-class pitchers like Jennie Finch put in over the years. Tell me those players didn't start specializing when they were at a young age?

Jennie Finch was a 3 sport varsity athlete in High School.

 

[TorontoCFE]

Ever notice that folks who speak against specialization are from locations where climate or other factors prevent playing year round? It is about where you end up, now how you got there.

Around here you could probably play hockey year round but if you advocated that then you'd be considered crazy.

Did you ever notice the people who believe in specialization are people who had success doing it another way and discount other ways simply because it worked for them?

 

[chinamigarden]

 

[CoogansBluff]

However, do you think that if Tiger Woods hadn't specialized in golf from the age of 2, just maybe his body wouldn't have broken down and betrayed him before he turned 35?

Or what if Bo Jackson had specialized in baseball, maybe his body would not have needed a new hip? He might've been the Tiger Woods of MLB.

Forgive my Central Ohio bias, but Jack Nicklaus is clearly the greatest golfer of all time, and I believe he was a heck of a high school football player. I also believe he was an All-Ohio basketball player and played youth baseball as well. No specialization for the GOAT. I concede we're talking about vastly different eras.

There are some athletes who are so outstanding that they can do that, even today. But most kids are ordinary, of course. If my daughter had not made softball a major priority by age 10-11, she would not be able to make her high school team today. And remember that's high school team, where at this particular school every varsity member will be a long-time travel player. That's how competitive youth sports have become in many places.

I'm not saying you can't play other sports, especially through middle school. Mine could've played JV basketball or run cross country. But she's not athletic enough to be a starter on a high school softball team or make a college roster without putting almost all of her sports energies into softball, IMHO.

 

[FP26]

I am from PA and have no bias towards or against specialization. I look at it as a personal decision. My only bias is that I think the child should be part of that decision. In many cases I see parents that push their children into specialization in pursuit of an unrealistic dream. To make matters worse, oftentimes the child isn't even interested in the dream, but pushed anyway.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Jennie Finch was a 3 sport varsity athlete in High School.

If I have the choice to be good at 3 varsity sports, I would choose to be good at 3 varsity sports.

But what if my choices were to be good at 1 varsity sport, or mediocre at 3?

 

[TorontoCFE]

Let me ask yo this. If Tiger Woods didn't specialize in golf at age 2 but instead played basketball, soccer, and golf at different times of the season, do you think he would have become the #1 golfer in the world (and quite possibly the Top 3 golfer of all time)?

But let's use a more realistic example. DD is 12YO. She is a pitcher. She has been pitching and taking lessons since she was 7YO. She has had some success in Rec, All-stars, Western Nationals, and now Travel ball. She plays in SoCal which is one of the most competitive softball areas of the country (if not the world). She gave up dance and drama when she started playing travel ball last year because she has to practice a lot just to keep up with her softball peers. She also has religious school 2X a week and is a straight A student in honors classes. There is only so much time in the day, you have to pick and choose your priorities.

Maybe your area is different, but around here you pretty much have to specialize in fastpitch to stay competitive otherwise you will fall to far behind your peers (this is true in most of the major sports).

Coach Inouye-Perez (UCLA) told us at a softball camp she likes multi-sport athletes but what she doesn't discuss is all of the time and effort that her pitchers like Ally Carda and Jessica Hall and world-class pitchers like Jennie Finch put in over the years. Tell me those players didn't start specializing when they were at a young age?

Tiger could have been #1 if he still spent time doing something else. Last I heard his edge came from his dedication to physical fitness and his power. He took strength further than other golfers and had a tremendous work ethic.
Neither are precluded if you do other activities.

Why do you think guys like Rick Rhoden became top golfers after their baseball career? Transferable skills? He didn't get serious about golf until his 30s and managed a 0 handicap.

Of course you can be a top athlete by specializing. But there can also be gains from doing other activities.
If you lift weights , do yoga and do speed training you already agree since hey are not strictly part of one sport and you realize that no matter how much you work at say softball, there are these other things that can be added to enhance performance.

My questions are
No matter how much you practice or play, why don't you do more? Isn't more better?
After practice or a game, would you tell a girl to go home and not be active or be ok if she chose other sports? Do you thinks other sports harms the girl?
Why do you think that doing another activity would hinder development? Doing other activities does not preclude dedicating time to the primary activity unless you spend all of your time in softball?
Do you think there might be transferable skills that would help at the primary sport?
How easy do you think it would be to pick up the other activities in 3 years if she decides not to play softball any more?

Why do many pro athletes recommend multisporting? Wayne Gretzky credited baseball as helping his hockey.
Clara Hughes won Olympic medals at mountain biking and switched to speed skating and medaled in the next Olympics despite never skating competitively. Why do national bobsled teams recruit football and track stars right into Olympic teams?

No one said you have to multisport. I find it hard to believe there are no benefits to it though when so many who reach the top say it helped hem and there are obvious transferable skills that may help either improve primary sport performance and no need to reduce time spent at the primary sport very much.
There isn't a whole lot of difference in 100 hours of softball practice and 90 hours of softball practice but if you then have 10 or 20 hours doing X, you might find they are better at softball too.