Specialization Isn’t Always the Best Scenario
November 12th, 2008 - byStudent Athletes and parents often face the difficult question, “Should I specialize in one sport to increase my chances of receiving a scholarship?” There is no 100% correct answer, but consider the opinion from former NFL QB Jake Plummer, 
who credits handball and other sports as a major factor in his athletic development.
“I guarantee it helped my career by rounding out my ability: hand-eye coordination, endurance and mental toughness,” Jake says. “My ultimate goal is to get coaches to stop specializing their athletes, telling them they can’t play other sports because it’ll hurt their football. I played all three sports and handball whenever I could. That’s why I made it in the NFL — that rounded me out as an athlete.”
Jake has always been a somewhat unorthodox player, but his point is very valid. I hope that athletes deciding whether to take the specialization leap consider every possible benefit from playing multiple sports.
