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Apr 6, 2017
328
28
Dd is 12. She likes both sports. Each travel team wants full
dedication. I’m tempted to devote this winter to training (again like
last year) to performance training/ basketball and softball and
just have her play school basketball again this year.

How do you guys manage more than one sport ?
Thoughts?
Talking to coaches just pulls you towards what they want. I think
softball is the most demanding as they want you all winter and
summer.
 
Feb 13, 2018
162
28
It frustrates me as a 12 year old she is already having to pick a single sport. I realize that may be an unpopular opinion here. I just feel like doing one thing year rounds leads to burnout for many kids, and also overuse of the same muscles/ligaments/tendons constantly. I'm not a professional, but I am a parent and I would probably tell any team at 12u no thanks if my kid couldn't ever do other things she wanted to do.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
It frustrates me as a 12 year old she is already having to pick a single sport. I realize that may be an unpopular opinion here. I just feel like doing one thing year rounds leads to burnout for many kids, and also overuse of the same muscles/ligaments/tendons constantly. I'm not a professional, but I am a parent and I would probably tell any team at 12u no thanks if my kid couldn't ever do other things she wanted to do.

hear hear . . . wont add anything else, summed it up, 12 is too soon to ask a kid to do just one (if they absolutely want that, that is a different story).
 
Jul 4, 2013
126
43
Agree 12 is too soon to choose. Our coach worked it out with some of our softball/basketball players that before a given date b-ball will have priority in case of a conflict and after that date softball will have priority. That helped everyone make plans. Coach and players both knew what to expect.
 

Top_Notch

Screwball
Dec 18, 2014
512
63
DD plays both. We weigh what is more important and the time of season. Typically, softball wins out because DD is a pitcher and not as easily replaced as a point guard. Sometimes she will do both in a day, bless her competitive heart.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
Our coach worked it out with some of our softball/basketball players that before a given date b-ball will have priority in case of a conflict and after that date softball will have priority. That helped everyone make plans. Coach and players both knew what to expect.

we basically do the same thing, after fall softball games are over, swim will be priority, softball training second. but now her winter swim is a lot easier, looks like we will be doing a new org for swim (not going to call it a team) that will be more individual based, ie meets are open meets, any registered swimmer can go, no team scoring/ranking. come spring time, softball will become priority
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
My daughter plays both, although she's strictly a rec-level basketball player. She just has fun running around with her friends, and I see it as a good way to stay in shape in the offseason and use some different muscles & skills. As far as second sports go, basketball does concern me as an injury risk. DD can't shoot at all, but she's got a nose for the ball and grabs rebounds and creates turnovers with the best of them.

This fall, DD went out for the school field hockey team. I feel like I'm being a bad parent if I encourage her to specialize in one sport at 12 years old. But she didn't really like playing field hockey, and the practice and game schedule threatened to cut into her practice time. She's a pitcher, so I try to get out and catch her at least three times a week, plus she has softball team practice three times a week. Since pitching is demanding and requires a lot of practice, and she wasn't thrilled with the field hockey, she decided to give it up. It was her choice, and she definitely recognizes that softball is her game and other sports will probably always take a back seat.
 

JohnnyO

Began this habit in 1980
May 13, 2015
270
18
Midwest
from the college scout side I would not be looking at kids running a single sport at age 12. By also having a 3 sport athlete myself I see other kids in multiple sports through out the year and watch their athletic abilities and how they get along with their coach and teammates is various different sports even though they may not be participating in softball at that time. The body also needs to be worked in various actions. To be working on hitting or pitching 24/7/365 is not going to help the overall athlete. They need to be going thru activities in other sports to work other muscle groups, etc.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
How do you guys manage more than one sport ?
Thoughts?
T.

Good question, one I am going to need figure out soon. DD is 9 and has outgrown the local rec basketball league. To be honest she is just as good at basketball as she is at softball, but has spent a lot
more time working on her softball skills. She plays TB in softball and I don't see any way, at least right now for her, to be able to manage both not to mention us being able to afford both. I think I may just have
her play rec basketball till MS and continue to work with her on my own along with taking her to the local open gym where she can play against older boys in pickup games. Her TB softball coach is pretty lenient right now with regards to basketball but the Rec commitment hasn't been that much.
 
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