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

[chinamigarden]

I am from PA and have no bias towards or against specialization. I look at it as a personal decision. My only bias is that I think the child should be part of that decision. In many cases I see parents that push their children into specialization in pursuit of an unrealistic dream. To make matters worse, oftentimes the child isn't even interested in the dream, but pushed anyway.

That and the kid who wants to play multiple sports but gets punished by coaches who want her to specialize. Thats my biggest issue with specialization, the kid who is looked down upon for playing other sports. I have seen it on here even, comments about the kid on the team who isn't "invested" in her team because she plays basketball in the winter, or volleyball part of the year.

My dd's original travel org tried to make a rule that you couldn't be on their roster and play other sports. This was a B org that only played 5 tourneys a year and played in a 8 week league with other travel groups. But they were discussing it because they wanted to do what other orgs did... I about came unglued at a meeting. And it was put up to a vote by parents who wanted to force out the athletes who were keeping their daughters from starting. Dumb, 1 year later my dd and 6 other girls split off and joined another org.

 

[chinamigarden]

If I have the choice to be good at 3 varsity sports, I would choose to be good at 3 varsity sports.

But what if my choices were to be good at 1 varsity sport, or mediocre at 3?

I'm pro do what you want. Unfortunately advice given and directions kids are pushed aren't always toward what the kids want, or what coaches at higher levels want.

 

[TorontoCFE]

Let me ask yo this. If Tiger Woods didn't specialize in golf at age 2 but instead played basketball, soccer, and golf at different times of the season, do you think he would have become the #1 golfer in the world (and quite possibly the Top 3 golfer of all time) ?

Nicklaus played basketball through high school, football, tennis and Track and didn't start golf till 10 but ended up pretty good too

 

[riseball]

Nicklaus played basketball through high school, football, tennis and Track and didn't start golf till 10 but ended up pretty good too

But he is no Tiger Woods. Maybe if he had he would have been.

 

[chinamigarden]

But he is no Tiger Woods. Maybe if he had he would have been.

I can't remember, whose major record is it that Tiger is chasing? Some guy called something Bear I think.

 

[riseball]

Multi-sport or specialized really does not matter. You will either have the goods or you won't. Just enough of the nonsense that coaches prefer multi-sport athletes. They recruit outstanding athletes and could care less how they got that way. Participation in multiple sports is a common trait found in those athletes not a prerequisite for becoming one.

As to specialization, this usually comes from coaches desiring a certain level of commitment that some parents/players may not be willing to accommodate. It is up to the individual to decide the path best for them. For every path people come up with and proclaim as the best there are endless examples of others who did it differently. When it is all said and done it is about where you end up as a player not how you got there.

 

[Ken Krause]

Last I knew (when my kids were there) our local high school didn't expose kids to any sports in gym class. It was all "fitness for life" which basically meant running and weight lifting. I personally think the kids miss out when they don't the opportunity to sample in gym class.

The issue isn't specialization versus multi-sports. The issue is how seriously we take our youth sports. If we took math and science that seriously we'd all be driving solar-powered flying cars by now.

 

[riseball]

I can't see any of my former players ever being the type to sit in a lab and design and build a solar powered flying car. They were more the type to create and run the company that employed the folks that designed and built the solar powered flying car. I will take much more pride in what my DD accomplishes in the board room over what she will on the softball field.

 

[reagansdaddy]

But he is no Tiger Woods. Maybe if he had he would have been.

Tiger is obviously a great player and the only player to approach the greatness of the Golden Bear, but Jack Nicklaus stands alone.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Multi-sport or specialized really does not matter. You will either have the goods or you won't. Just enough of the nonsense that coaches prefer multi-sport athletes. They recruit outstanding athletes and could care less how they got that way. Participation in multiple sports is a common trait found in those athletes not a prerequisite for becoming one.

As to specialization, this usually comes from coaches desiring a certain level of commitment that some parents/players may not be willing to accommodate. It is up to the individual to decide the path best for them. For every path people come up with and proclaim as the best there are endless examples of others who did it differently. When it is all said and done it is about where you end up as a player not how you got there.

^ +1 ^

Specialization is a two-edged sword. Done right, it only guarantees achieving your potential - it doesn't guarantee becoming an elite athlete in the sport. Done wrong, it can prematurely end a playing 'career' due to burnout and/or overuse.