Multi-Sport Athletes THRIVE!
Sports have become year-round for many athletes. Between school teams, club and nationals, some kids are having to specialize and focus on one sport at a young age. For some, they may make it to college in that one sport and even pro, but some athletes could be missing on golden opportunities and growth through exploring other sports. Every year in the NBA, MLB, NFL and other professional leagues athletes are drafted and become quality prospects in sports they have never played before.
The major concern for younger athletes and parents is lingering injuries and chronic pain. Concussions, surgeries and the mental process from recovery can have long term effects. NFL and NCAA only play a limited number of full contact games for a reason. MLB and NCAA pitchers have rotations and limit innings pitched and pitches thrown for a reason. Tommy John surgery, ACL reconstruction and concussions are at an all-time high. The long-term effects of youth surgeries and concussions have yet to really show their effects.
Playing different sport gives your body and muscles a chance to recuperate and take contact in a different manner. Track, cross country and swimming are all low impact sports that will increase your athlete’s overall athleticism, lung capacity and work ethic. Baseball and volleyball have less athlete contact and force athletes to use different quick twitch muscles than soccer, basketball and football. Rugby teaches football players to be aggressive without using their head as a weapon due to the lack of a helmet.
The best part of your athlete playing different sports is them having to compete and learn a new skill. While some athletes are just naturally great at every sport, many athletes will find a new role on the team and in the pecking order of leadership by changing sports. It has been said that in order to lead you must be able to follow. Your star player will learn so much about leadership when he is looking up to another great teammate in another sport. Often times, athletes take leadership traits from other great leaders they have played with and by being around another dominate player in a different sport they will be able to pick up on their skills.
Stretching, practice and games in different sports expose your athlete to different techniques. There are different routines your athlete may learn in a different sport that influence and increase their abilities and athleticism. Some of these can end up being fun and engaging for the athlete. The down time in athletics leaves room for team bonding and games with your athlete having a plethora of options when hanging with their teammates.
Athletes can burn out. Lack of focus, a loss of love for the game and not wanting to compete can all be side effects of dominating one sport for so long. After playing their 100th basketball game of the year, con you really say your child is always able to go out and give their best? A break and a change in routine while still competing athletically can change your athletes drive and focus.
Sports are always going to be year-round. We are not saying that when they get closer to college that you may want to play more than one season of a sport. Long-term diversifying the sports your child is playing will give them more opportunities to learn new skills, become better athletes and have more sports in which they can earn scholarships and turn pro.