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

[CoogansBluff]

Almost 100% of Womens Soccer National team...multi sport athletes.

Which proves the more athletic/gifted you are, the later you need to specialize.

If you're talented enough to make U.S. national teams in soccer, you might even wait until college.

 

[RetiredCoach]

No doubt you have to be dedicated to your main sport and put a lot of time into it do develop your potential but, I suspect, there are a lot of dedicated girls out there overdoing it. There are a lot of stories about stress injuries and burning out on this forum, perhaps from overdoing it?

 

[SandlotMom]

No doubt you have to be dedicated to your main sport and put a lot of time into it do develop your potential but, I suspect, there are a lot of dedicated girls out there overdoing it. There are a lot of stories about stress injuries and burning out on this forum, perhaps from overdoing it?

But....but....but....you HAVE to specialize to get a scholarship, right? (Sarcasm)

If the only reason why kids are playing softball is to get a scholarship, then we are doing them an injustice. I wish travel ball was not allowed until 14U because it gives kids more time to be kids and by the time 14U begins, you can see the talent and dedication to play at that level...not just because they are slightly better than rec and they can afford it.

 

[marriard]

Almost 100% of Womens Soccer National team...multi sport athletes.

And ALL of them can be considered ultra-elite athletes to be playing at that level. No different to the OSU football example I used.

It isn't hard to be a multi-sport athlete when you are that athletic. As I said, if you are athletic you can rely on those talents to be pretty good at another sport without a lot of effort or even training. Athletic ability crosses most sports boundaries.

 

[SandlotMom]

And ALL of them can be considered ultra-elite athletes to be playing at that level. No different to the OSU football example I used.

It isn't hard to be a multi-sport athlete when you are that athletic. As I said, if you are athletic you can rely on those talents to be good at another sport without a lot of effort or even training. Athletic ability crosses most sports boundaries.

Not when they were young. So, all the kids that love multiple sports and are good at it are ultra-elite???? Are you kidding me??? No...it's called be allowed to play sports they are interested in because they are KIDS!

 

[CoogansBluff]

No doubt you have to be dedicated to your main sport and put a lot of time into it do develop your potential but, I suspect, there are a lot of dedicated girls out there overdoing it. There are a lot of stories about stress injuries and burning out on this forum, perhaps from overdoing it?

I'm sure you are correct, that there a lot of dedicated girls over doing it. But that doesn't mean they need to be multi-sport athletes. They can find balance in other ways (ie, drama, robotics, spending more time doing fun stuff w/ friends/family).

But....but....but....you HAVE to specialize to get a scholarship, right? (Sarcasm)

If the only reason why kids are playing softball is to get a scholarship, then we are doing them an injustice. I wish travel ball was not allowed until 14U because it gives kids more time to be kids and by the time 14U begins, you can see the talent and dedication to play at that level...not just because they are slightly better than rec and they can afford it.

It seems there is the assumption that parents are forcing specialization. Maybe some do. But it could be what the kid wants. That is, the kid doesn't want to play other sports. You are correct that the goal of getting a scholarship (tuition discount) by itself probably isn't worth it. But what about the goal of playing college softball for a kid who really wants to do that? Some consider that to be a great experience, one worth sacrificing and working hard for. And what about the enjoyment of trying to be good at something? The enjoyment of the process, the training?

 

[SandlotMom]

I'm sure you are correct, that there a lot of dedicated girls over doing it. But that doesn't mean they need to be multi-sport athletes. They can find balance in other ways (ie, drama, robotics, spending more time doing fun stuff w/ friends/family).

I totally agree with this. I don't think it should necessarily be multisport....but multiactivity. I think kids need a break from the games, games, games routine. When we stop softball season, it doesn't mean we stop softball. We do trainings and focus on mechanics during this time but are only meeting every other week or so.


It seems there is the assumption that parents are forcing specialization. Maybe some do. But it could be what the kid wants. That is, the kid doesn't want to play other sports. You are correct that the goal of getting a scholarship (tuition discount) by itself probably isn't worth it. But what about the goal of playing college softball for a kid who really wants to do that? Some consider that to be a great experience, one worth sacrificing and working hard for. And what about the enjoyment of trying to be good at something? The enjoyment of the process, the training?

If parents said "you will only play until the end of July", I'm sure the kids will be fine. A parent needs to parent and not put the decision on the kids all the time either. I believe that a child's season should not be as long or longer than a professional season (i.e. MLB). I think that if the child only wants to play one sport.....fine but they cannot just play games all year long. They can take it easy on their body, still train here and there, and give the games and hard practices a rest (a minimum of 3 months for kids in my opinion). The joy of competing and training SHOULD be the #1 reason they play....not to see if they get a scholarship.

For my oldest (since she seems to be the one that has the biggest goal of playing in college), I am actually taking this approach with her (as a parent and her coach)....we are going to work on her softball skills and knowledge to the point that she can, if she wants, walk-on for any college team. Notice I didn't say scholarship. If that happens....it happens. I'm more focused on her academics anyway.

 

[FP26]

But....but....but....you HAVE to specialize to get a scholarship, right? (Sarcasm)

If the only reason why kids are playing softball is to get a scholarship, then we are doing them an injustice. I wish travel ball was not allowed until 14U because it gives kids more time to be kids and by the time 14U begins, you can see the talent and dedication to play at that level...not just because they are slightly better than rec and they can afford it.

I don't disagree with you concerning the potential risks with travel ball or with specialization, overuse, etc. But this is not restricted to softball. I have a neighbor with a 10 year old son currently involved in travel ice hockey. His travel schedule makes ours look like a picnic. Then there is travel soccer, AAU basketball, etc. It seems like most sports have some type of "elite structure" for the players to participate in.

My concern with the multi-sport conversation is how it can possibly detract from DDs true specialization - her grades. Truth be told, she is not playing softball in order to get a scholarship. She is not playing basketball in order to get a scholarship. If one comes along, I doubt she will turn it down. But that is not her motivating force. She plays because she enjoys both sports. What she doesn't enjoy is when the basketball coach continually schedules practices during softball season and the softball coach continually schedules practices during basketball season. Then she is forced to choose and risk upsetting one or both of them. One thing that will not change, is her dedication to her school work and grades. Basketball and softball will continue to take a back seat to that.

NOTE: I will add that pitching is also part of the conversation for me. DD has one more week of softball remaining before she starts her annual break. She will take off the next 6 weeks from softball completely. No pitching, no hitting, no fielding, period. Once that break is complete, we will ease her back into practicing all three. We will do our best to do this around basketball and her school work. But when basketball is 6 days per week, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time left to work on other things. Just seems to me that many high school sports are more "year round" than they used to be.

 

[SandlotMom]

I don't disagree with you concerning the potential risks with travel ball or with specialization, overuse, etc. But this is not restricted to softball. I have a neighbor with a 10 year old son currently involved in travel ice hockey. His travel schedule makes ours look like a picnic. Then there is travel soccer, AAU basketball, etc. It seems like most sports have some type of "elite structure" for the players to participate in.

My concern with the multi-sport conversation is how it can possibly detract from DDs true specialization - her grades. Truth be told, she is not playing softball in order to get a scholarship. She is not playing basketball in order to get a scholarship. If one comes along, I doubt she will turn it down. But that is not her motivating force. She plays because she enjoys both sports. What she doesn't enjoy is when the basketball coach continually schedules practices during softball season and the softball coach continually schedules practices during basketball season. Then she is forced to choose and risk upsetting one or both of them. One thing that will not change, is her dedication to her school work and grades. Basketball and softball will continue to take a back seat to that.

NOTE: I will add that pitching is also part of the conversation for me. DD has one more week of softball remaining before she starts her annual break. She will take off the next 6 weeks from softball completely. No pitching, no hitting, no fielding, period. Once that break is complete, we will ease her back into practicing all three. We will do our best to do this around basketball and her school work. But when basketball is 6 days per week, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time left to work on other things. Just seems to me that many high school sports are more "year round" than they used to be.

My daughters are also in soccer....believe me, I know it's in all sports. We are lucky to have soccer coaches believe that they do not need to be year round in soccer and actually have a start/stop point in their season. School is absolutely #1 in our family. If your grades are not there, they need to slow it down in other activities until grades get back up. Luckily, I have not had to do this because they are doing good right now but I will not hesitate if it does need to get to that point.

I will say it over and over and over again....I wish travel ball didn't start until 14U. This way kids can feel more comfortable in being able to make decisions to do other activities without pressure and by the time they are 14U, you can see the commitment and skill level for travel ball.

 

[rdbass]

I wish travel ball didn't start until 14U.

Travel ball doesn't have to start at 14u if one doesn't want it too.