The scholarship is getting more and more valuable. A full ride these days is worth $150,000 or $300,000--3 to 6 times more valuable than what my DD got.
It is hard to fault parents these days from selling their kids into sport servitude.
Is the female multi-sport HS athlete a thing of the past?
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The scholarship is getting more and more valuable. A full ride these days is worth $150,000 or $300,000--3 to 6 times more valuable than what my DD got.
It is hard to fault parents these days from selling their kids into sport servitude.
- Dec 11, 2010
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I think it’s harder to be a three sport athlete than is was a mere 6 years ago when my dd was a hs freshman. Even then, only the top 1% could really excel at all three. What I see today are good athletes whose bodies are tired and whose time is so carved up between the three that they are average in all three IF their bodies can take it... There was one kid in particular who was one of the most athletic kids I was ever around. Her parents insisted she play every sport she could. Made it to sophomore year before she couldn’t play ANY sport. Not basketball, not softball, not volleyball, not track, all of which she was capable of being a championship performer.
The best reason to play sports is fun. My wife reminds me of this constantly and she’s right. Yet I can’t help looking at some of these 5’4” volleyball players that can’t jump on a mediocre hs volleyball whose time is eaten up by year around practice, club and tournaments and I can’t figure out why they put in so much work to be so average. Probably because it’s fun. And you can’t beat fun.
The best reason to play sports is fun. My wife reminds me of this constantly and she’s right. Yet I can’t help looking at some of these 5’4” volleyball players that can’t jump on a mediocre hs volleyball whose time is eaten up by year around practice, club and tournaments and I can’t figure out why they put in so much work to be so average. Probably because it’s fun. And you can’t beat fun.
- Jun 8, 2016
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25 years ago my sister started Varsity all 4 years in softball, basketball and volleyball and was all conference in softball and basketball her Jr. and Sr. years and all-state in volleyball her Jr. and Sr. years. She has told
me if she had to do it all over again she would have only played 1 maybe 2 sports. She got burned out (mentally) but she never told my parents. Interestingly enough, the sport she chose
to play in college (D1 Volleyball, she had offers to play the other two at D1/D2 I think) was the sport she had played the least amount of time (only starting in 8th grade). She had been playing baseball/softball/basketball since she was 7 or 8 years old...
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I think the multi-sport athletes male and female are becoming a thing of the past. I don't believe this is beneficial for our young athletes mentally or physically. We are seeing more and more major joint injuries at younger ages than we ever did 20+ years ago. Kids aren't allowing their bodies to rest and recover and aren't playing different sports which build up different muscle groups. My daughter is 13 and has been pitching for 4 years now. She loves it and would do it year around if I let her, but I have to force her to play other things and take a break to let her body recover. She is on the MS swim team from mid-Dec until mid-Feb and then is ready to get back after it.
I'm not sure she will swim once she's in HS, that season is pretty long and demanding, but right now it's a good break and allows her to reset physically and mentally for spring-summer-fall softball.
I'm not sure she will swim once she's in HS, that season is pretty long and demanding, but right now it's a good break and allows her to reset physically and mentally for spring-summer-fall softball.
- Dec 11, 2010
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Pattar, I think it’s interesting that she got burned out playing multiple sports, especially back then.
I have always operated under the assumption that the cure for burnout is change. Shows how much I know, lol
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- Jun 8, 2016
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Thing about my sister is that I don't think she really ever loved to play a sport, I mean she played and was obviously really good at it
but in my family that is what you did. My uncle was a HS all-american in basketball at our HS and played for Holy Cross in the 50's when they
were a powerhouse. My father played baseball and basketball at that HS and played both in college. My cousin who was 5 years older
than me won two state championships in basketball at that HS and played D1 basketball (he also still has the high jump record at the HS, 30 years later).
It was sort of expected.
I, on the other hand, was obsessed with both baseball and basketball and it probably was my undoing..Both her and my
brother had much healthier attitudes towards sports than I did.
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You don’t even need a full scholarship, a partial is still serious money.
There are far more pressures on current students than there were 25 years ago, it is really hard to relate the two. The constant race to be first with more or better has made kids lives insane.
Kids now do more homework, there is more testing, more standardized testing, more pressure to be involved be that voluntary work or clubs. Parents even start kids in academic programs earlier. High school kids still work though I suspect maybe some do less than previous generations because I don’t see where the time comes from. Add 3 sports to that which take a much larger commitment, I mean it’s not like they practice once a week or just in season. No coach here wants the kids to be touching glove for the first time on the first day of tryouts. Add in individual lessons which are commonplace now.
A current 3 sport HS student could be playing varsity basketball, gearing up for softball and club volleyball is just getting into full swing. If they are a junior they are doing ACT/SAT prep, looking into scholarships, colleges and they need to be emailing coaches. Some might still be working on drivers license and on top of it all they need to post that they have the perfect life on Snap Chat or Instagram.
If you can handle all the mental and time constraints then all you have to worry about now is the body not breaking down from going 24/7 and not getting enough sleep.
Going home to hug DD...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There are far more pressures on current students than there were 25 years ago, it is really hard to relate the two. The constant race to be first with more or better has made kids lives insane.
Kids now do more homework, there is more testing, more standardized testing, more pressure to be involved be that voluntary work or clubs. Parents even start kids in academic programs earlier. High school kids still work though I suspect maybe some do less than previous generations because I don’t see where the time comes from. Add 3 sports to that which take a much larger commitment, I mean it’s not like they practice once a week or just in season. No coach here wants the kids to be touching glove for the first time on the first day of tryouts. Add in individual lessons which are commonplace now.
A current 3 sport HS student could be playing varsity basketball, gearing up for softball and club volleyball is just getting into full swing. If they are a junior they are doing ACT/SAT prep, looking into scholarships, colleges and they need to be emailing coaches. Some might still be working on drivers license and on top of it all they need to post that they have the perfect life on Snap Chat or Instagram.
If you can handle all the mental and time constraints then all you have to worry about now is the body not breaking down from going 24/7 and not getting enough sleep.
Going home to hug DD...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Feb 17, 2014
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I think this is sort of getting overblown a bit. Not by the folks in this thread, but in general.
On DD's softball team, there are quite a few girls who play multiple sports in HS. Only one of them plays more than 1 travel sport though.
A lot of it depends on the coaches involved. I have seen situations where coaches say they support multi-sport athletes, but when their sport isn't the players #1 choice, then they're not really in support of it. My DD encountered this with her second sport. We were told by the HS Varsity HC that if she didn't participate in the off season program with the rest of the girls, then she wouldn't see much playing time. She was judged before she even got started. And this isn't me being a crazy dad either. She grew up playing with 6 other girls and out of the 7 this sport was #1 for only 3 of them. The other 4 all received the same treatment.
The HS softball coach on the other hand totally supported it. Go play your other sport. I don't care if you miss the off season program. We'll see you in softball season.
I think this might also have something to do with school population. DD goes to one of the largest HS in the state. Girls that I know that go to much smaller schools who are good athletes, the schools need them to play multiple sports.
On DD's softball team, there are quite a few girls who play multiple sports in HS. Only one of them plays more than 1 travel sport though.
A lot of it depends on the coaches involved. I have seen situations where coaches say they support multi-sport athletes, but when their sport isn't the players #1 choice, then they're not really in support of it. My DD encountered this with her second sport. We were told by the HS Varsity HC that if she didn't participate in the off season program with the rest of the girls, then she wouldn't see much playing time. She was judged before she even got started. And this isn't me being a crazy dad either. She grew up playing with 6 other girls and out of the 7 this sport was #1 for only 3 of them. The other 4 all received the same treatment.
The HS softball coach on the other hand totally supported it. Go play your other sport. I don't care if you miss the off season program. We'll see you in softball season.
I think this might also have something to do with school population. DD goes to one of the largest HS in the state. Girls that I know that go to much smaller schools who are good athletes, the schools need them to play multiple sports.
- Jun 8, 2016
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True, my SAT prep 25 years ago was making sure I went to bed early enough the night before so that I didn't miss taking the exam the
next morning..LOL
- Dec 11, 2010
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Spleen, I think that your statement about it depending about the coaches involved is absolutely right.
