letting kids play other sports

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Feb 27, 2017
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I went to an SEC coaches camp and one of the AC said that she highly recommends that girls play other sports and not to specialize. But this creates a problem, especially for me. I do think "kids" should play around with other sports or dance or cheer. But at a certain age, (14?) you should know what your dominate sport is or could be. I really have a hard time trying to figure out , which sport has more priority. We have a travel tourney this weekend, and I get a call saying that a child has a team fundraiser on Saturday for a middle school sport. really? middle school? is the thought in my head. Softball can carry this girl to college if she worked on a few things, and mentally prepared herself to be a great player. I don't think a middle school team, for anything should come before travel, not even softball middle school team. Thoughts?? am i totally off here?
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My DD loves softball. She's tried basketball, thought it was ok. Played 2 seasons of rec then didn't want to play again. This fall we're making her play soccer. She really only wants to play softball but I think it's important to play other things too. But softball is her sport, I really doubt anything will overtake it. We stick with softball for travel. Other sports, she plays rec for 6-8 weeks, nothing very intense. She's 12U FYI.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
When DD was 6 years old, she started playing basketball, softball, and soccer. She continued with all 3 until she was 10. At that point we realized that there was too much overlap of the seasons and she had to make some choices. She decided to drop soccer. She continued with both other sports through her freshman year in high school. She played varsity and junior varsity basketball (small school...) and found very little time to work on pitching. In fact, since the basketball team was pretty good, she ended up missing the first few "mandatory" softball practices. She was able to switch gears pretty quickly but decided that it was too much of a grind on her. That was her last year of basketball. Now she plays softball only. Now, to be fair, she is also involved with several other things at her school (clubs, etc.) that also take some of her time. And she is very serious about her school work. So it just became time for her to make a choice, and basketball was the thing that was cut.

She was very involved in the decision process the entire time. DW and I kept a very close watch on her grades and her health, and if either seemed like it was suffering in any way, she was asked to make choices. She still has a diverse yet balanced schedule even though there is only one sport involved. Her other activities and clubs are also very important to her. In addition, it is my opinion that being a pitcher played a large role in this process. Compared to other athletes we know, pitching seems to monopolize more time than many other positions. I could say the same about baseball pitching or playing QB in football. A neighbor is a QB for DD's high school and the amount of time he spends working on his craft is even more than DD.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
I agree with playing other sports - gives you more opportunities to experience daddy ball ;)
Seriously, it is good for the kid in many ways. When do you specialize? I don't know. Your kid may be a three sport athlete in HS.
I think the first priority is the sport that's in-season. These AAU teams that play two seasons kind of suck. Around here basketball and soccer play in the same season as softball.
As one wise parent used to say, "they (whatever activities) are all a piece of the pie" sometimes the kid will need to decide that it may be time to take on less activities to allow more quality time to be applied to the activities they actually love.
 
Jan 28, 2017
1,662
83
School ball first. DD just started playing volleyball and we have a great coach that works them hard. It has been a great experience to get away from me. In about 3 weeks I can tell she is in better shape and moving better.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Is school in session? We don't start here for another 2 weeks is why I ask. If this is off season the middle school coach is going to be told "our family is going on a trip for some family time before school starts."

If school has started well then travel ball coaches have to understand you can not expect the same participation level during school as when school is out and they should plan their activities accordingly and they should know what other activities kids have; the key is planning and communication.

But as a rule play many different sports but by the time HS rolls around you probably can't really do more than two well...although I have seen girls that are stud athlete do volleyball, basketball and softball but they only play club/travel in one sport and usually something ends up dropping, they don't like one coach or drama on a particular team and they just walk away with the excuse that they want to focus on another sport
 
Last edited:
Feb 28, 2015
307
28
Heatbox
DD2 went out and made frosh volleyball team. Then at the parent meeting they said they would start practice at 6:00 P.M. Mon-Fri. DD2 figured out real quick she could not make hitting lesson, team softball practice, and agility training. Her friend got her spot on the VB team.......
 
Apr 26, 2015
704
43
DD has played soccer, basketball and softball since she was 4. She started running track 2 years ago as well. She decided this year to give up soccer as it felt too much like a job to her and she wasn't enjoying it anymore. She still plays basketball and runs track and may even give MS volleyball a shot (unfortunately in CO softball and VB are the same season - but her school does not have a SB team). Her TB coaches are all for multisport athletes. They see the benefits of other sports and never penalize girls for playing more than one sport. Basketball has helped DD with her speed and agility on the field. It also works her hand/eye coordination. I am a firm believer in giving kids the opportunity to play more than one sport. They learn to adapt to different coaching styles, play different roles on a team and work different muscle groups.

I have to agree with Quincy - school comes first. However, In our case we would probably skip the fundraiser and play in the TB tourney. In the past we have said - games trump practice and practices trump other events (including social gatherings for other teams). It is definitely a balancing act In DD's case it is really hard to say what sport she is dominate in. She is a great basketball player - being the high scorer for the last 3 years on her travel team and MVP on her school team for the past 2 years. She is also a great little catcher, OF'er and slapper on her softball team. Lead off batter, highest OBP. She collects multiple ribbons in the 800m, 100m, high jump and long jump in track. She is 13 ... never on her phone/ipad but always outside playing with some kind of ball or out for a run. How do you tell her she has to give up one? She breathes sports.
 
May 30, 2013
1,442
83
Binghamton, NY
travel softball club is top priority for us June-July-(early) August.

Before that, school softball season runs mid-March though Memorial Day.
During that season, school ball trumps travel.
And all travel coaches in our region get it.

DD made varsity volleyball this week as an incoming freshman.
Because it's not her main sport, I've set this criteria for conflicts:
School sport games trump all.
School sport practices trump travel sball practices.
Travel sball GAMES trump school sport practices.

This criteria allows her to work on pitching/hitting on her own time,
and still make the few weekend showcases/tournaments/play days her travel sball has scheduled for this Fall.
There may be some repercussions for missing a few school vball practices....
 

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