The other side to the "Multi-Sport Athlete"

[uncdrew]

With 2 you play man to man D. With 3 you have to switch to zone.

It's better to keep it man-to-man by getting a grandparent involved.

 

[_MIA_]

It's better to keep it man-to-man by getting a grandparent involved.

In theory that is great except in our case they live in HI and MA and we are in OK

 

[BT3100]

What a crock of Sheet.... A college coach, who's job it is to win, would prefer a lesser player who plays multiple sports over a single sport athlete who is a better player. You really don't believe that, do you?
If so, I got some some Florida swamp land at a deep discount.

 

[sluggers]

Making a kid played sports the way Daddy wants is just wrong. It is up the kid to decide what she wants to do. It is her journey.

DD#1 lettered in 1 sport. DD#3 lettered in 4 sports.

DD#3 (not the pitcher) always loved competition. She lettered in 4 sports in HS...softball, basketball, track and tennis. She could have lettered in more if there would have been another 4 hours in a day.

There is no $$$ at the end of the line for girl sports. So, let them do what they want to do, and enjoy the ride.

 

[nikkilugi]

So hitting 4/5 and fielding 4/5 days (e.g. she does both when she works out) ?

Dang I actually did some work today and forgot to check the board and look at all i missed. 5 pages later I answer, lol. She hits 5 days a week and fits fielding/throwing/soft hand work in probably 2 of those days in addition to hitting. It’s hard in the winter even in SE VA.

 

[Strike2]

On the macro side, I'd GUESS that out of 100 players starting softball at 6u/8u, 90 will no longer play at 18u. Out of the 10 who still play, maybe 3-4 play in college?? IMO, the parents aren't able (or willing) to honestly evaluate and determine if their DD is one of the 3-4% and pursue it ruthlessly for their kids. Is the juice worth the squeeze if you look at it on the averages?

I tend to agree with your first number, but from what I've seen, the second is larger...more like ~7 out of that 10 play some level of college ball. 75% of seniors on DD's team last year are in a college program now. Probably all of those who graduate this year will be. Not talking about a high level team here, but better than average on most days. Numbers are similar with teams like ours, and on the organization teams that actively cater to higher level talent, the percentages are better. Just getting to 18U is an endurance test, and nearly all playing at that level that I see are at least considering playing in college. There seem to be plenty of small schools that need players, or will at least carry someone on a roster long enough to look at them.

 

[CrazyNani]

There are also other activities besides the standard, team sports, such as skiing/snowboarding, skateboarding, martial arts, swimming, surfing, that could be beneficial as well, in terms of balance, strength, body control and aerobic conditioning. These could help to prevent burn out while dedicating to one team sport that essentially goes all year where we live.

 

[KrisHur]

I tend to agree with your first number, but from what I've seen, the second is larger...more like ~7 out of that 10 play some level of college ball. 75% of seniors on DD's team last year are in a college program now. Probably all of those who graduate this year will be.

Nice! My DD's high school averages out your school's numbers. We send maybe 1 girl a year to college. Most years 0.

 

[Cannonball]

Hopefully, none of you are playing the drinking game for my posts. I have mentioned before that my dd played multiple sports. She won the underclass award for the top freshman in the volleyball program. That was followed by her sophomore year where she showed up with strawberries on her legs from sliding. The coach went ballistic. She sat on the V Volleyball bench for an entire season and did not get in for one second. I'll never forgive that coach for that but the wife and I kept our mouth shut. Keep in mind when you are discussing multi-sport athletes, some HS coaches are like this one and if their sport isn't your dd's main sport, your dd is not going to play. My dd will tell you that she learned a lot that season that helped her in college softball. She didn't quit during that season. Then, she came to play golf for me. She also learned a lot from golf. She did it to help me out. She ended up loving the game. When she went to matches or from practice, we had a system set up for her to get to her TB team practices. She never missed a match and never missed a TB practice or game. Now, she plays golf and is a hot commodity because she can crush the ball. Her boyfriend was a college golfer. This has worked out really well.

I will end with a statement from a former baseball player of mine who also played basketball for me. I asked him why he wanted to play basketball when he was so good at baseball and knew he was going D-I in baseball. He said, "Coach, in baseball, I know I'm a star. In basketball, I am not a star. It helps me keep things in perspective with my teammates in baseball." Smart kid! He had one heck of a HS and college career.

I edited this to add a picture of the dd on the driving range. You can see how she generates her power. She drove 4 greens in HS matches.

 

[radness]

There are also other activities besides the standard, team sports, such as skiing/snowboarding, skateboarding, martial arts, swimming, surfing, that could be beneficial as well, in terms of balance, strength, body control and aerobic conditioning. These could help to prevent burn out while dedicating to one team sport that essentially goes all year where we live.

EXCELLENT point!