Subscribe to the NCSA BlogCoaches Should Consider a Multisport Player’s Preferences First
July 6th, 2009 - byThe question arises as to whether or not a coach should push for an athlete to simply concentrate on one sport in high school. The answer to this is a resounding “NO”. NCSA CEO and founder Chris Krause says in his book Athletes Wanted that:
College coaches also want to get the most bang for their buck. An athletes who brings skills, techniques, and that extra edge of playing two or more sports is always going to win out over a single-sport athlete costing the same amount of scholarship dollars but with less diverse skills.
From a coach’s standpoint, when recruiting a player you should know what sport is their preference.
A student forced to choose between two sports should choose the sport the athlete loves most which may or may not be the stronger sport. During college, playing a sport can be a full-time job, so being passionate about the sport is critical to success and longevity.
The “edge” that a multisport athlete develops from varied competition can help them to close the gap between the sport they enjoy and the sport they are more talented at. Their work ethic will be focused upon one sport which will allow them to develop themselves more.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I have always LOVED sports. I love the competition and I love being part of a team. When I went to high school my mom made me start to make choices. I had to focus on one sport per season so I am down to volleyball, basketball and track and I want to be the best I can be at all of them. I know that it helps to have playing time outside of the regular high school season so I play club sports as well. My high school and club coaches encourage me to focus on their sport and I feel bad because I know I could really help their team by choosing them only and that I would be better if I focused on one sport but I love them all. It is hard to know what to do.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Agreed that multi sports are a good choice. As John Madden said “I always looked for football players that were good wrestlers is high school. I knew that if they wrestled they would be tough and work hard and give you all they had and ignore injuries that others could not handle.”
July 8th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
My daughter is now a sophomore in high school and also a multi-sport athlete. Out of all the club and school coaches she’s had, there was only one who supported her playing more than one sport. If we, as parents, are willing to put the time and money into these athletes, why can’t these coaches be a little more open and understanding? In my opinion, playing more than one sport truly does make them better athletes……what coach wouldn’t want that?!?
July 8th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
What should you do if you are a multi-sport athlete, but your best sports are in the same season? I play soccer and basketball, but since they are both winter sports, I can only play one in my high school. How should I approach this from a recruiting standpoint. I’m better at soccer, but I prefer basketball slightly.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Sinead:
How tall are you? If you’re average height, pursue soccer. Also, college coaches recruit more from club/AAU teams than high school teams. Do you play on a highly competitive summer travel team in either sport? If so, that’s the one you should pursue.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I have 2 boys they are 2-3 sports athletes. Some ot the coaches works with them being like that. When it comes to scholarships they only recognize one. Why can’t they scholar in both it could help their school and the student out as well.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Mom of 2 sports….
D3 colleges love 2 sport athletes. They can make it affordable to attend even though they don’t have athletic scholarships. At the more competitive D1 and D2 levels, those college coaches have off-season activities that make it difficult for most student-athletes to play more than one sport. There are exceptions, of course, such as Deon Sanders and Bo Jackson.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Mother of soccer-basketball daughter.
I have seen how playing both sports has enhanced each other. For instance, playing basketball you learn to ‘box out.’ Well this technique has helped my daughter in boxing out soccer players when there’s been a one-on-one fight for the ball. Also, having good footwork from playing soccer helps on the basketball court, laterally and for making moves. As they say, most injuries from sports is from doing repetition. Well I am in favor of two sports (or more) in highschool, because of repetition. All highschool coaches should think of the kids first, work together, and let our children play any sport they want. Highschool is the only time our children get to play the sports the want. Once they leave highschool, their world changes and don’t always get the opportunities.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I lettered in three sports as a freshman, cross country, basketball and track and field. My favorite is basketball, but the other two keep me in shape so that I am a better basketball player and have lots of speed and endurance on the court. I agree that athletes shouldn’t limit themselves to one sport only because different sports enhance one another and help make them better all-around athletes.
August 5th, 2009 at 8:49 am
my son plays baseball..
he was cut from the varsity team, but plays on 2 summer teams..
he is looking at giving golf and basket ball a try..
how does he get noticed in basbell, if he is not on school team?
we have been emailing college coachs, with no replys.
we figured that will school is out, the college coachs may come out and see him, do they go to club games?
not all players play for their school teams, so how do you get noticed?
August 5th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
mom of 4 – If your son got cut from the HS team as a junior, chances are he’s not good enough to play in college. Only 8 out of every 100 HS baseball players do play in college. To answer your specific question, college coaches do attend summer games. However, their recruiting budgets are so small that they will only go to see kids they are really interested in. They don’t attend those games with the idea of “discovering” a player. They don’t have the time or resources to spend that way.
If your son wishes to play golf in college, he’ll need to have at least a 3 handicap. If he wishes to play college basketball, only 4 out of every 100 HS basketball players get to play in college at any level. So it’s even more competitive than baseball. And, as you can imagine, it helps to be very tall.
You can see the recruiting guidelines for all sports here: http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools Just select a sport and select the “recruiting guidelines” link you’ll see on the right side of the page.
August 18th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
how do you tell a young man, that being cut from his HS team as a junior he may not be a college player.
My son attends a large HS, has also been cut from his HS team, played as a Senior, and to say a starter, went on to a D1 school, to play baseball.
He didn’t get a scholarship, but we are able to cover tuition.
Many of the boys who tried for team, should have played, but didn’t make cut.
The coach does have his favorites.
So to that HS boy, do not give up.