Youth and Multiple Sports- Navigating the Waters (1 Viewer)

[Chadstroma]

Specializing in 1 sport can be risky for young athletes, experts say

Experts say playing one sport alone is "not necessary" to reach an elite level.

www.goodmorningamerica.com

This is definitely a self fulfilling prophecy that may have already gone over the tipping point. While specializing on one sport is not required to be elite (elite athleticism is actually the requirement) it has become somewhat necessary for the lesser athletes to stay competitive at a young age. The problem is the specialization does lead to burn out and repetitive movement injuries but if you aren't doing it you are falling behind and if you aren't one of the best athletes for your age you are at a disadvantage. The sport matters as well. The article identifies rowing and I would guess that the intricacies of rowing mechanics/sport strategy aren't critical to develop from a very young age. It is more of a coordinating/strength sport that you can develop somewhat quickly as an older start.

It has become the norm because if you don't you do fall behind and unless you are one of the super athletically gifted athletes you will be at a disadvantage. This is the unfortunate byproduct of this trend. How much it affects you is also contingent on your area and how competitive/number of kids trying to play that sport are. Essentially, are you a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond? That has just as much influence on the need for year round as almost everything else.

It would be nice if there was an overarching youth sports tzar that would limit the seasons to 3 months (four seasons for the year) so that kids can participate in more than one sport without falling far behind. It really will take the cooperation of youth coaches to not be selfish and require their players to play year round or "lose their spot". It needs to be more cooperative.

I think it is important to start with an understanding of age groups. The younger the child, the more harmful and less helpful I think specializing in one sport can do. I don't think that any child under 12 should ever be a one sport athlete. But what does that mean too? I mean, if a kid only likes basketball, plays basketball for a season and then maybe does a summer league too, I don't think that there is any harm in that. I would encourage them, still, to try other sports- again, specially under the 12 year age group. When I say specialize in one sport, what that means to me is that they are playing year round basically. In back to back leagues and constantly training on their own or with private coaches etc. They have very little in the way of time off from the sport. Now, for someone who wants to be competitive at the highest levels for a sport, that is something that is close to a must at a certain age, so I think the real question is when is that age appropriate.

Another area that I think can change things a bit is the sport itself. One sport that I think is more natural to specialize in is gymnastics as the peek age is about 16. However, I don't think it is a coincidence that gymnastics has such a reputation for being a harsh, unforgiving and psychologically burdensome with high rates of anxiety, depression and chronic stress. On the other end of that spectrum is probably football where it seems consistently about 90% of the NFL draftees every year played two or more high school sports. Football simply is not a year round sport (though flag football as it becomes more popular and is all year round or can be, might bridge that gap). Track and field is a popular second sport as is basketball and I am sure as Lacrosse continues to gain popularity that will be a sport many will take up too in the football offseason. You mentioned rowing as that was mentioned in the article (which I think was just as a 'for example' case). Rowing is a very specific mechanical repetition that you do over and over. The whole point of being good is that each stroke is exactly the same and in synch with your fellow rowers. That repetitive nature and the stress put on those muscles, joints and overall body can easily lead to injury. The younger the athlete, the more I think it is harder for the body to hold up. As a different example, basketball has a full range of motion but it puts a lot of strain on the knees and ankles which can lead to injury.

Most of the kids I know 12U through my daughter and my son play multiple sports. There is one kid that I know from being in some basketball clinics with my son that specializes in basketball. It is not because of pressure from him Dad, I have talked to him, it is because the kid is basketball crazy. I mean, to the level that he gets in trouble because when he is supposed to be sleeping at 1am, he is under his bed sheets watching old Wilt Chamberlain games (that is an actual example his father gave me). His Dad supports him in his passion for basketball but we have spoken about him trying to get his son to try other sports and from my last conversation with him, no luck. My son is a better athlete but this kid is far superior basketball player. When they were pitted against each other, my son could hold his own but the other kid would win out as his ball handling and shooting skills (gained from a lot of practice) were just way better than my kid. They are both 10 year olds so who knows what will happen to my son and this other kid. My last conversation with the Dad, he was really worried about injury and burn out from specializing so much and really wanted to get him exposed to other sports.

I saw recently in swim, (this is a rough estimate of what I saw as I don't remember the specifics) out of the top 100 worldwide youth swimmers, only something like 3 will make it to the Olympics. My guess is the vast majority of those swimmers were one sport athletes that focused on swimming. So, why the fall off? If they are doing so well early and focused on swim, what happens for such a dramatic fall off? There are multiple studies out there around this subject. I have not seen one (if you know of one, I would love to see it) that suggests that one sport athletes have a clear advantage over multi sport athletes. The studies all seem to be in broad agreement that multi sport athletes will:
1. Tend to experience more long term success than their one sport counterparts.
2. Limit over use injuries compared to their one sport counterparts.
3. Suffer a much lower rate of burn out than their one sport counterparts.
Many professional athletes will say that they are much better athletes overall because they played multiple sports.

I believe firmly that for 12U athletes, being a one sport athlete is a disservice to the child in most cases. I think that many one sport athletes are being driven by their parents desire to have them achieve the most they can in whatever sport. Of course, these parents are not evil and are making choices that they think is best for their child. I think they see potential in their child (what parent doesn't?) and want them to fulfill that potential. And as you put it, with all these other kids specializing in this one sport, we have to as well or we will fall behind. I am a huge proponent of multi sports for younger ages and in my mind the question of one sport athlete is really about what is the appropriate age for that.

 

[Chadstroma]

It would be nice if there was an overarching youth sports tzar that would limit the seasons to 3 months (four seasons for the year) so that kids can participate in more than one sport without falling far behind. It really will take the cooperation of youth coaches to not be selfish and require their players to play year round or "lose their spot". It needs to be more cooperative.

That would have to be a world wide edict if it were to happen to make it fair across the board.

Even if it feels at times the US is going overboard with too singular a focus on sports, we don't even compare to how the vast majority of the world works when it comes to development and a focus on a single sport from a young age.

Most of the world just plays soccer.... some countries throw in hockey and then you have cricket and rugby type sports in the old British colonies san the US. Obviously that is a way over simplification but a huge part of this is socio-economics. In the US, we have opportunities to play pretty much whatever sport you want to. There are certainly going to be social constructs that encourage certain sports in certain areas (think football in Texas) but that is even more amplified in most of the world. Go to Central or South America and try to find kids playing something other than soccer (occasional baseball maybe?)

 

[Snotbubbles]

Other sports are the opposite. Baseball and soccer if you are “only” playing 1 season per calendar year, it’s close to impossible to compete with the kids that do it year round. If you try to ramp it up later, it’s probably too late. Maybe that’s ok, though. It just depends on your goals.

yes, this is very true. Some sports you can literally pick up as a late teen and still become a pro. Other sports like the ones you mentioned, take many many more years of development to hope to become a pro.

As you said, it all depends on goals. A young kids goal is usually "I want to be a pro", with no understanding of what it takes to be one of the few. And a parents goal, at least in the US, is almost always "scholarship!", with out realizing just how much money and time they will shell out for their kids over the years who has no chance at a scholarship.

Or worse, my daughter could have went D1 with a scholarship for softball. I shelled out a ton of time and money. She tore her labrum and never went back to softball.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Most of the world just plays soccer.... some countries throw in hockey and then you have cricket and rugby type sports in the old British colonies san the US. Obviously that is a way over simplification but a huge part of this is socio-economics. In the US, we have opportunities to play pretty much whatever sport you want to. There are certainly going to be social constructs that encourage certain sports in certain areas (think football in Texas) but that is even more amplified in most of the world. Go to Central or South America and try to find kids playing something other than soccer (occasional baseball maybe?)

I agree with all your points but just wanted to acknowledge you forgot about basketball which is a massive sport and continuing to grow world wide. It dwarfs almost all sports not named soccer.

 

[Gally]

I saw recently in swim, (this is a rough estimate of what I saw as I don't remember the specifics) out of the top 100 worldwide youth swimmers, only something like 3 will make it to the Olympics.

I would think a huge contributing factor for this is growth specifics. Meaning for youth sports those that grow to be bigger stronger quicker than other kids will dominate the youth levels but as they taper off and the other kids catch up the skill/mechanics become much more important and you can just win on sheer size and strength.

I know there have been studies on this and I believe there was a large one done on soccer around the world as to why the kids pegged for elite programs as a youth tend to peter out and get surpassed as they get older because while they relied on size and strength to carry them early the smaller kids had to develop skills to adapt against the stronger/bigger kids to compete. That skill development ended up being a difference maker once they get into the early to mid twenties when size/strength evens out and skills become more important.

Overall I completely agree that there is an age where specialization is appropriate but I would put it even longer than you alluded and say that college is where decisions should be met. You can ease into it into high school but you shouldn't shut doors to being a multi sport athlete although with others specializing it is almost a necessity (unfortunately).

I also believe (like you) that the sport matters. Some are able to be picked up without needing the nuance of the game only gotten by playing hundreds of games and others that is a requirement to be competitive at a high level.

 

[Chadstroma]

Most of the world just plays soccer.... some countries throw in hockey and then you have cricket and rugby type sports in the old British colonies san the US. Obviously that is a way over simplification but a huge part of this is socio-economics. In the US, we have opportunities to play pretty much whatever sport you want to. There are certainly going to be social constructs that encourage certain sports in certain areas (think football in Texas) but that is even more amplified in most of the world. Go to Central or South America and try to find kids playing something other than soccer (occasional baseball maybe?)

I agree with all your points but just wanted to acknowledge you forgot about basketball which is a massive sport and continuing to grow world wide. It dwarfs almost all sports not named soccer.

Oh yea, I was thinking of tons of others.... which is why I pointed out it was an tragic over simplification. Eastern European gynmastics. China, Australia, Phillippines basketball are exploding. Those were two that also came to mind when I was writing it.

 

[Chadstroma]

I saw recently in swim, (this is a rough estimate of what I saw as I don't remember the specifics) out of the top 100 worldwide youth swimmers, only something like 3 will make it to the Olympics.

I would think a huge contributing factor for this is growth specifics. Meaning for youth sports those that grow to be bigger stronger quicker than other kids will dominate the youth levels but as they taper off and the other kids catch up the skill/mechanics become much more important and you can just win on sheer size and strength.

I know there have been studies on this and I believe there was a large one done on soccer around the world as to why the kids pegged for elite programs as a youth tend to peter out and get surpassed as they get older because while they relied on size and strength to carry them early the smaller kids had to develop skills to adapt against the stronger/bigger kids to compete. That skill development ended up being a difference maker once they get into the early to mid twenties when size/strength evens out and skills become more important.

Overall I completely agree that there is an age where specialization is appropriate but I would put it even longer than you alluded and say that college is where decisions should be met. You can ease into it into high school but you shouldn't shut doors to being a multi sport athlete although with others specializing it is almost a necessity (unfortunately).

I also believe (like you) that the sport matters. Some are able to be picked up without needing the nuance of the game only gotten by playing hundreds of games and others that is a requirement to be competitive at a high level.

In my mind 12 is the rock bottom. Even if they are super serious about one sport, I think at least getting them exposed to other sports should be a priority for parents.

My kids will be multi-sport athletes through Jr High for sure.

My daughter may or may not make basketball in HS. I think she has the skillset and athletic talent to have a shot but her severe lack of confidence and aggressiveness holds her back significantly. I think she has a decent shot at making the volleyball teams for HS.

My middle son, without doubt, will be involved in multiple sports up to HS and I am sure he will continue to play multiple sports in HS. For fall, he will choose football over soccer as football is his favorite. Winter will be a choice between basketball and swim. And then in spring will be interesting... he might do track (he plans on starting track this year) but I could also see him do lacrosse (he has not yet played) or water polo (again, has not played but is a strong swimmer and if he did basketball I could see him try water polo). With him playing football, basketball, soccer and swim now.... the only one that I am confident he will play in HS is football.

My youngest is way too early to tell. He is in swim now and did his first flag football season. Next year will start basketball, tackle football and soccer.

 

[Gally]

In my mind 12 is the rock bottom. Even if they are super serious about one sport, I think at least getting them exposed to other sports should be a priority for parents.

I would put that to 16 in a perfect world although once you get to high school sometimes the decision may be made for you if you don't make teams of certain sports. This is also where the big fish in a small pond aspect comes in. Our HS only has about 1100 students so many kids play multiple sports because they kind of have to in order for the sport to survive at the school. Other schools in our area have over 3500 kids and are a lot more competitive for making teams. For example, our football team only has about 25 kids on the varsity squad and some of those are off the JV team and shouldn't be playing varsity level football.

The fact is most kids won't play beyond high school no matter what. With that realization it really is silly to try and specialize so early and take away the fun of sports so early.

 

[Chadstroma]

In my mind 12 is the rock bottom. Even if they are super serious about one sport, I think at least getting them exposed to other sports should be a priority for parents.

I would put that to 16 in a perfect world although once you get to high school sometimes the decision may be made for you if you don't make teams of certain sports. This is also where the big fish in a small pond aspect comes in. Our HS only has about 1100 students so many kids play multiple sports because they kind of have to in order for the sport to survive at the school. Other schools in our area have over 3500 kids and are a lot more competitive for making teams. For example, our football team only has about 25 kids on the varsity squad and some of those are off the JV team and shouldn't be playing varsity level football.

The fact is most kids won't play beyond high school no matter what. With that realization it really is silly to try and specialize so early and take away the fun of sports so early.

Our local HS is about 2500 I think. We are unsure at this point if our kids will go to private HS or go to public. The HS we are leaning towards having my daughter go to right now is a powerhouse girls volleyball school.... so, if she goes there, she will need to step up her game a bit. I think she is on the fence of being able to make it or not.

Football isn't a problem. Basketball I lean towards him making it but he isn't a lock. Assuming continued development of about the same from here to then, it would be a bit surprising to me for him not to make it but also not out of the realm of possibility. Even more so if he doesn't spend time on ball handling. He is excelling in swim currently so if he didn't make basketball then he could easily go to swim.

The thing that is really is crazy is the parents that have their kid on like three teams of the same sport and the weekend is them going from one game to the next to the next as a normal weekend.

 

[Gally]

The thing that is really is crazy is the parents that have their kid on like three teams of the same sport and the weekend is them going from one game to the next to the next as a normal weekend.

I don't mind that as far as a busy weekend of watching my kids play. That is a great weekend to me.

However, I would never have my kid on three different teams of the same sport at the same time no matter what. I also wouldn't be committed to three teams of different sports at the same time either. My kids had overlap but one sport took precedent each "season". I was lucky enough to be part of my son's travel baseball scheduling and we were all like minded in that we wanted our kids to do other things. So we played from March thru August for baseball, Left the fall for soccer/football and the winter for basketball/rest. Overlap occurred so there might be some weekends with multiple games in multiple sports but the current season took precedent.

 

[Chadstroma]

The thing that is really is crazy is the parents that have their kid on like three teams of the same sport and the weekend is them going from one game to the next to the next as a normal weekend.

I don't mind that as far as a busy weekend of watching my kids play. That is a great weekend to me.

However, I would never have my kid on three different teams of the same sport at the same time no matter what. I also wouldn't be committed to three teams of different sports at the same time either. My kids had overlap but one sport took precedent each "season". I was lucky enough to be part of my son's travel baseball scheduling and we were all like minded in that we wanted our kids to do other things. So we played from March thru August for baseball, Left the fall for soccer/football and the winter for basketball/rest. Overlap occurred so there might be some weekends with multiple games in multiple sports but the current season took precedent.

My point about the busy weekend was not about the parents watching it.... I mean, that is basically my weekends now. It can be tiring but I have no complaints. I much rather go watch my kids doing whatever than most other alternatives. Other parents will ***** and moan about it.... for me, I enjoy it. Furthermore, I know that it is a time that will not last forever. There will be a time that I miss it. So, I make sure to remind myself to enjoy it while it lasts. And my weekends being like that are more about having three kids. If you are constantly, consistently doing all sports, all weekend for one kid, something is wrong.

Also, sometimes it can get crazy and there is going to be some overlap in multiple sports and my daughter does play club volleyball and school volleyball. This is going into the busiest sports time for us as my daughter will be doing both club and school volleyball, my middle son will be doing school basketball (I coach) and club swim and my little one is still in swim lessons and club swim. A crazy weekend of going from one event to the next is the norm. We did it last year and there really wasn't a ton of schedule conflicts. The only real overlap we have is the swim seasons over the other sports and usually the other sports get priority when there is conflict. That has all been communicated to the swim club. They know when he isn't at practice then he is doing football or basketball or soccer so it is kind of like dryland practice for him anyways.

I am ok with doing two teams for a sport over a season. I had a couple of kids on our basketball team last year that played a club team and our school team. They missed a few club games and then missed only one school game (which they asked if they could miss). Both of those kids are multi sport athletes as well and are not playing year round basketball. My point about the multiple games over a weekend is these parents that are bragging that their kid is playing 6 or more baseball games this weekend because of all these different teams he is on. You know what, you can get by a weekend where it is crazy but if that is a common thing you are running your kid in the ground. Even more so with a sport like baseball where they are going, not maybe but a matter of time, get a repetitive injury with over use of their arm.

 

[Chadstroma]

On the way home from swim practice last night, I brought up the HS seasons and the conflicts of the sports he plays. I told him Fall is Football and Soccer- his immediate and emphatic reaction was "FOOTBALL!" which was not a surprise. Football is by far his favorite sport. Right before he went off to an hour and a half swim practice, he had me throw him the ball where he was running routes non-stop for 15 min.

Then winter is basketball and swim. I was actually surprised that he had a pause and thought for a second and then answered basketball with a "well, then basketball." so it was closer than I thought it would have been. I told him that that basketball will be competitive to make the team, so the nice thing is that if he doesn't make the basketball team, he had swim as a fall back. He asked me if HS has A and B teams like in JR High and I told him I didn't think so and started to try to explain varsity, and JV etc. We didn't talk about it but another consideration when we closer to it would be if he makes the team (I think he should based on what I know of the basketball players in the area his age) then how much would he contribute? If he isn't getting a lot of playing time then it would make perfect sense for him to swim instead, if he wanted to. Plus, unless he really develops in basketball, he isn't going to get scholarship offers for college in basketball but if he continues to develop like he has in swim, that would be a real possibility.

We didn't talk about it because the conversation stuck on basketball for a while but it will be interesting to see what he does with spring. It is very possible he takes the spring season off but I doubt it. Track probably is the front runner right now. He will start Jr High track this year (they allow the 5th graders in) but I can see lacrosse or water polo being choices. Baseball could be an dark horse option as he has wanted to play baseball but just hasn't.... it would be massively hard for him to come to the sport that late though. Volleyball could be an even more remote option as he has not shown interest in it and opted not to play at school but I am figuring he will be 6'1-6'3" come HS time so he will have some good height to play. The last and final option which is probably a strong possibility is esports. We happened to go by the esports room at the local HS when he was going from a basketball clinic to swim practice and he got all excited.

 

[Gally]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

 

[Gally]

t will be interesting to see what he does with spring. It is very possible he takes the spring season off but I doubt it. Track probably is the front runner right now. He will start Jr High track this year (they allow the 5th graders in) but I can see lacrosse or water polo being choices. Baseball could be an dark horse option as he has wanted to play baseball but just hasn't.... it would be massively hard for him to come to the sport that late though. Volleyball could be an even more remote option as he has not shown interest in it and opted not to play at school but I am figuring he will be 6'1-6'3" come HS time so he will have some good height to play. The last and final option which is probably a strong possibility is esports. We happened to go by the esports room at the local HS when he was going from a basketball clinic to swim practice and he got all excited.

In Spring here it would be choosing between; track, swim, volleyball, & baseball. I am not sure if our school even has Lacrosse but I would imagine it would be a spring or winter sport.

If he hasn't played baseball much I would doubt he could make a HS baseball team unless it's a really small school and they just don't have the numbers.

 

[Chadstroma]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

Odd for maybe a place that doesn't snow all winter.

 

[Gally]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

Odd for maybe a place that doesn't snow all winter.

What is the snow thing you speak of?

 

[Chadstroma]

t will be interesting to see what he does with spring. It is very possible he takes the spring season off but I doubt it. Track probably is the front runner right now. He will start Jr High track this year (they allow the 5th graders in) but I can see lacrosse or water polo being choices. Baseball could be an dark horse option as he has wanted to play baseball but just hasn't.... it would be massively hard for him to come to the sport that late though. Volleyball could be an even more remote option as he has not shown interest in it and opted not to play at school but I am figuring he will be 6'1-6'3" come HS time so he will have some good height to play. The last and final option which is probably a strong possibility is esports. We happened to go by the esports room at the local HS when he was going from a basketball clinic to swim practice and he got all excited.

In Spring here it would be choosing between; track, swim, volleyball, & baseball. I am not sure if our school even has Lacrosse but I would imagine it would be a spring or winter sport.

If he hasn't played baseball much I would doubt he could make a HS baseball team unless it's a really small school and they just don't have the numbers.

Yea, that is why I listed baseball as a dark horse. I could see him wanting to and maybe even trying out but can't imagine he would make the team being that he hasn't played and won't play until then. The local HS is a mid sized school I would say with a little short of 3K enrollment. He may end up going to one of the Catholic schools in the area but that would likely be even harder to make the team though the enrollment numbers are lower. I can't see a path for him that way.

 

[Chadstroma]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

Odd for maybe a place that doesn't snow all winter.

What is the snow thing you speak of?

It is kind of like the mythical thing some Californians have heard about called 'rain' but just colder.

 

[acarey50]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

Different states run some sports at different times, usually for weather from what I've been told. I know soccer is a fall sport in a lot of states, especially east coast as I recall, and winter in many others like here in California where you usually don't have to deal with snow, etc. The different high school soccer seasons make the club soccer schedule interesting. At least in California, it is a CIF violation to participate in any contest with your high school team if you are still playing with your club team. The high school season begins November 13th. There are some large national club tournaments the first week in December, so for a lot of high school teams, they may be short handed and without some of their top players for the first 3 weeks of the season.

For boy's sports in California:
Fall - Football, Water Polo, Cross Country
Winter - Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling
Spring - Baseball, Volleyball, Track, Swimming, Golf, Lacrosse, Tennis

 

[Chadstroma]

I told him Fall is Football and Soccer-

Then winter is basketball and swim.

This is odd. For us Fall is football. Winter is Basketball or Soccer. Spring is swimming.

Different states run some sports at different times, usually for weather from what I've been told. I know soccer is a fall sport in a lot of states, especially east coast as I recall, and winter in many others like here in California where you usually don't have to deal with snow, etc. The different high school soccer seasons make the club soccer schedule interesting. At least in California, it is a CIF violation to participate in any contest with your high school team if you are still playing with your club team. The high school season begins November 13th. There are some large national club tournaments the first week in December, so for a lot of high school teams, they may be short handed and without some of their top players for the first 3 weeks of the season.

For boy's sports in California:
Fall - Football, Water Polo, Cross Country
Winter - Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling
Spring - Baseball, Volleyball, Track, Swimming, Golf, Lacrosse, Tennis

If we were in California, that would be perfect for him. Football, Basketball and Swim.

Though in many ways it would be nice to be back.... I have no desire to move back even for that.

 

[Chadstroma]

And so it begins....

Football season isn't hard because by the time swim starts, football is winding down and we can just miss swim practices for a bit. My daughter plays basketball, I don't coach and it is all very manageable.

Soccer season is a breeze because they barely even practice (rained out all the time or the fields are in to bad of condition from the previous rains) and my daughter is just playing club volleyball at the beginning and swim has some overlap.

NOW is where it gets real.

We are in the middle of swim season. Basketball, which I coach my sons team, starts. My daughter starts Volleyball and plays both school and club teams. As crazy as it is... it will only get worse next year when my younger son starts basketball too.

So, today, first basketball practice of the season. When it ends, I immediately am taking my sons to a dual swim meet. Also, somehow, I have to figure out how to drop off the football equipment when the drop off times are exactly the same as the basketball practice... which since I am HC, can't exactly just leave.

Good times.

 

[Dickies]

Middle school basketball just wrapped up for my son, but gone are the days of one sport per season. He is playing travel soccer and travel baseball, plus he subs for another travel baseball squad if they need an extra body for tournaments. This past weekend he had 2 soccer games, 3 baseball games and a baseball practice. Counting down the days until soccer ends so that I can get some semblance of my life back.

 

[Chadstroma]

Middle school basketball just wrapped up for my son, but gone are the days of one sport per season. He is playing travel soccer and travel baseball, plus he subs for another travel baseball squad if they need an extra body for tournaments. This past weekend he had 2 soccer games, 3 baseball games and a baseball practice. Counting down the days until soccer ends so that I can get some semblance of my life back.

I just focus on enjoying them and reminding myself... this is only a season and when it it gone, I am going to miss it so it helps me refocus on the my first point again.

 

[Chadstroma]

Today was a day that will be what happens not uncommonly this year.

Daughter has school vball practice from 4-5:30 then she had club practice 5:30-7:30
My son had bball practice (which I coach) 4-5:30
Swim practice starts 6-7 for my youngest son and then the older one is 7-8:45

As a big bonus this year, two of my daughters school mates are playing vball with her on the club team. One of the parents of the other girls offered to take her with them from the school to club practices. So, that worked out.

My wife nixed the practice for the little guy because he had a spelling test she wanted him to study for tomorrow. So, dropped off the daughter then took my son to bball practice, we had more court time so we extended the practice a bit. Took my youngest home (he came to the practice and does the sprints with the big boys) and then turned around and took my son to swim. Came home. Breathed and then picked up my daughter. Took her home, ate dinner and then got my son.

Today, I asked my older son "If you had a choice between making the basketball team and riding the bench or being a star on the swim team, which would you choose?" He was quick and emphatic that he would choose swim. I wasn't sure if he would or not. He is a better than average basketball player at his level. He should make the A team for Jr High but unless he really develops his skillsets more in basketball, he will most likely be a fringe player that would not get a lot of playing time. While in swim, I project him to be a pretty good swimmer. I did prod him a bit to work more at home on his basketball skills and he has been doing some more work on it. Who knows.

 

[Kuz]

Today was a day that will be what happens not uncommonly this year.

Daughter has school vball practice from 4-5:30 then she had club practice 5:30-7:30
My son had bball practice (which I coach) 4-5:30
Swim practice starts 6-7 for my youngest son and then the older one is 7-8:45

As a big bonus this year, two of my daughters school mates are playing vball with her on the club team. One of the parents of the other girls offered to take her with them from the school to club practices. So, that worked out.

My wife nixed the practice for the little guy because he had a spelling test she wanted him to study for tomorrow. So, dropped off the daughter then took my son to bball practice, we had more court time so we extended the practice a bit. Took my youngest home (he came to the practice and does the sprints with the big boys) and then turned around and took my son to swim. Came home. Breathed and then picked up my daughter. Took her home, ate dinner and then got my son.

Today, I asked my older son "If you had a choice between making the basketball team and riding the bench or being a star on the swim team, which would you choose?" He was quick and emphatic that he would choose swim. I wasn't sure if he would or not. He is a better than average basketball player at his level. He should make the A team for Jr High but unless he really develops his skillsets more in basketball, he will most likely be a fringe player that would not get a lot of playing time. While in swim, I project him to be a pretty good swimmer. I did prod him a bit to work more at home on his basketball skills and he has been doing some more work on it. Who knows.

Man - I loved taking my kids to sports but I sure don't think I could handle your schedule.. Props to you & your wife..

 

[Chadstroma]

Today was a day that will be what happens not uncommonly this year.

Daughter has school vball practice from 4-5:30 then she had club practice 5:30-7:30
My son had bball practice (which I coach) 4-5:30
Swim practice starts 6-7 for my youngest son and then the older one is 7-8:45

As a big bonus this year, two of my daughters school mates are playing vball with her on the club team. One of the parents of the other girls offered to take her with them from the school to club practices. So, that worked out.

My wife nixed the practice for the little guy because he had a spelling test she wanted him to study for tomorrow. So, dropped off the daughter then took my son to bball practice, we had more court time so we extended the practice a bit. Took my youngest home (he came to the practice and does the sprints with the big boys) and then turned around and took my son to swim. Came home. Breathed and then picked up my daughter. Took her home, ate dinner and then got my son.

Today, I asked my older son "If you had a choice between making the basketball team and riding the bench or being a star on the swim team, which would you choose?" He was quick and emphatic that he would choose swim. I wasn't sure if he would or not. He is a better than average basketball player at his level. He should make the A team for Jr High but unless he really develops his skillsets more in basketball, he will most likely be a fringe player that would not get a lot of playing time. While in swim, I project him to be a pretty good swimmer. I did prod him a bit to work more at home on his basketball skills and he has been doing some more work on it. Who knows.

Man - I loved taking my kids to sports but I sure don't think I could handle your schedule.. Props to you & your wife..

Thanks. It is a lot at times.
It is mostly me doing all the sports stuff. For the last year plus my wife has been either completely unavailable or I would try not to have her do any as she is immunocompromised and tired/worn out. She has either not been at work or when at work a full day of work wipes her out.

Having girls from my daughters school on the club team is going to be a HUGE help. Last year, it was a little rough as I didn't know any of the parents enough to be comfortable having my 12 year old daughter with them for extended periods of time as all the girls were new to us. I really don't remember how I made it work last year.... I think a few times I reached out to my sister and brother in laws to help out because that was when my wife was unavailable.

I think a few things make me fine with it.... the first was my wife going through what she did makes it very easy to focus on family. Also, next to wanting to support my wife my biggest priority was to do everything I could to make my kids lives unchanged by my wife going through her medical issues. Beyond that, I really enjoy it. I enjoy watching my kids play sports. Even more so with the school sports because I know all the kids on the team as well. Like my daughters basketball team, the girls dubbed me their "#1 fan" because I was so loud but also I think because I interact and encourage the other girls doing things like give each a high five after the games... except the short one, I give her a low five. I also enjoy coaching the boys basketball. But also, I am very mindful and appreciative that this is a season in life. I know that as they get older this time will go away and I will miss it. So, I am very cognizant of being in the here and now and enjoying it while I can.

It can get tiring and wear me down. My wife laughed at me when I came home before going to get my daughter. She asked "when are you going to get our daughter" after I walked through the door.... I looked at her and was like "uh... in about 5 minutes."

Next year will get even more crazy... as my youngest will start school tackle football, basketball and soccer along with swim. Along with my other son also doing the same (and I believe he wants to do track this year too) and my daughters basketball and school/club volleyball.

 

[Chadstroma]

Spring has been the 'easy' time period. In the past we went from my daughter playing school and club volleyball and my middle son in swim and basketball with my youngest doing swim to my daughter just having club volleyball, my son going to soccer (which has significantly less games and practice compared to basketball) and then a break from swim for about a month and a half.

This year my middle son added track and my youngest just started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Even so, it is still our slow season compared to summer, fall and winter.

A couple of weeks ago, I actually had an entire weekend that I didn't have anything for any of the kids. It felt odd.

 

[Chadstroma]

At my sons track meet yesterday. He is enjoying track, prob mostly because a bunch of his friends are there... then he does an event or two and gets to hang with his friends again. Anyways... one of his buddies starts trying to recruit him to the Cross-Country team. To my surprise, he was open to it.... maybe peer pressure? I don't know. He isn't really a long distance runner in build or mentality. Much more of a sprinter. All I could think was "Geesh, Fall will be crazy". My wife would tell me no for sure if I said something to her.... not that I want him to do it..... but not sure if she will tell him no. She tends to cave to him easily. If he does....


FALL:
Football: Both boys
Cross Country: Middle son
Basketball: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

WINTER:
Basketball: Both boys (coaching)
Volleyball- School: Daughter
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SPRING:
Soccer: Both boys
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Track: Middle Son
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SUMMER:
Swim: Both boys
Numerous Sports camps for all three

 

[Gally]

FALL:
Football: Both boys
Cross Country: Middle son
Basketball: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

WINTER:
Basketball: Both boys (coaching)
Volleyball- School: Daughter
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SPRING:
Soccer: Both boys
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Track: Middle Son
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SUMMER:
Swim: Both boys
Numerous Sports camps for all three

I think that is insane and I am 100% all for kids playing multiple sports. My caveat to that is that you only do one sport at a time (with minimal overlap as allstar/playoffs require). Doing two or three sports all at the same time is a recipe for burnout, being unfair to coaches/teams (because of the inevitable conflict) and overuse injury possibilities.

There is being active and there is being insane. This is insane.

 

[The Z Machine]

Sounds like overload as a parent. I get what you say about this "season of life", but what you listed would be too much for me.

 

[Chadstroma]

FALL:
Football: Both boys
Cross Country: Middle son
Basketball: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

WINTER:
Basketball: Both boys (coaching)
Volleyball- School: Daughter
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SPRING:
Soccer: Both boys
Volleyball- Club: Daughter
Track: Middle Son
Swim: Both boys
Jiu-Jitsu: Youngest son

SUMMER:
Swim: Both boys
Numerous Sports camps for all three

I think that is insane and I am 100% all for kids playing multiple sports. My caveat to that is that you only do one sport at a time (with minimal overlap as allstar/playoffs require). Doing two or three sports all at the same time is a recipe for burnout, being unfair to coaches/teams (because of the inevitable conflict) and overuse injury possibilities.

There is being active and there is being insane. This is insane.

Burnout: I am mindful of this and watch it. The key on that to me is that other than swim (two roughly 4 month seasons) and Jiu-Jitsu which is ongoing and then my daughter doubling up VBall for a bit they are going doing different sports and not just one sport all season long. I talk to my kids all the time and though the conversation isn't me "Are you feeling burned out" I do have a purpose behind some of those conversations where I am looking at hints and insight on how they think/feel including things like being burned out. Currently the only one that my son is 'in danger' of being burned out on is swim... and I wouldn't say it is burn out. It is more that it is the least favorite sport and since it is not a school sport, he doesn't have all his friends like he does with all the other sports (though he has friends on the team). I think there is a decent chance that this may be his last season... it may not be.... but after this season he ages up to 12U and all the winning he has been doing which I think he has rejuvenated him for swim.... will go away for a bit. But overall, I don't think burnout potential is the same with multiple sports than it is with one main sport that you do all year long like baseball or basketball and then maybe thrown in something else. As they boys get older, they will drop some of the sports they like least but I am confident that they will not just drop all of sport because they are active.

Unfair to Coaches/Teams: Really this is a non-factor. For all except swim, Jiu-Jitsu and club volleyball- these are all school teams. For the boys basketball, I am coaching and for all the others- I know the coaches very well as our kids have been at the same school for however long they have been going. Unlike public schools, it is a close community and you get to know a good portion of the other parents in your kids grade and gender. Every single kid does the school sports and has this or that sport or musical instrument or Greek or Polish school or whatever going on. For Fall, the only overlap is a couple of weeks where football is ending and swim starts. The swim club already knows that football is the priority and he will miss those practices. (last season, he did not go to a single practice before he went to his first meet.... and dropped time on his events.) For Spring, basketball has the priority again and he misses some swim practices but makes almost all the dual meets (in two years missed 1) and we pick and choose the optional ISI meets. Again, the club knows this and I have communicated with them. Even if he misses a meet, it isn't like you are letting your team or coach down in swim either. Jiu-Jitsu is a come when you can to the sessions kind of thing. So, there really isn't a ton of overlap/conflict. Other than swim missing out to football and basketball the only other bit of conflict is my daughter doing school and club volleyball. But it mostly works out that school volleyball is ending when club volleyball starts to really get going. She missed some club volleyball practices for school games.

Overuse: This is the only area that I have concern over and watch like a hawk. And this is more for my middle son than the other two... which he is the one thinking about Cross Country. For the most part, I don't think it is too worrying as other than swim, he moves from one sport to the next in seasons versus playing other sports. For swim, as the sport he does all year round, it is basically the PERFECT sport to help avoid injury as he gets phenomenal conditioning and strength building from it and the least amount of potential for injury out of any exertive sport. The only real thing to worry about for swim is repetitive injuries but because of the other sports, he spends WAY more time out of the water than swimmers that are his peers on a competitive and age level. Cross Country added to football makes me a little more concerned since that is a lot of running but I know of numerous kids that do both for the school and have not seen any injury. Football and cross country end about the same time so he would go from that to swim until basketball season started and then those overlap.

For the summer, I am planning on giving them all more down time than I did last summer. I work from home so honestly a primary goal was selfish in that I wanted to 'get them out of the house and when they came home their energy would be drained'. That ended meaning I did a ridiculous amount of driving, shuttling one kid here and then picking up the other there etc, It drained me and since there was no real 'watching them' like in their sports, that wore on me through the summer. Other than swim they don't have anything else going on really than those camps.

 

[Chadstroma]

Sounds like overload as a parent. I get what you say about this "season of life", but what you listed would be too much for me.

I work from home so I think that helps too. It isn't like I work at an office from 9-5 and drive 45 minute commute to come home and then do all of this.

Yesterday, I was not happy.... well, at first. I think that reflecting on it gave me a glimpse again into how I approach this. What had happened was that my son had a track meet which is about 45-60 min drive away. My younger son had therapy session so I unloaded my middle son on my SIL who was going since my niece was at the meet to take the little one. My wife decided to tell my SIL that she didn't have to take him home.... at one point, it looked like I would drop off my son and then drive there making it nearly an hour and half of driving to get there in time to miss his events and get him and turn and come home. Turned out that I could drop my son off at home with my daughter (saving the added half hour) and then traffic wasn't that bad so it took me about 45 to get there. I missed his hurdles, saw him in the relay and then it had been lightly raining for a bit and he said that the coach said he could leave and skip his 200M. It was kind of miserable out there so I let him decide. So, we went home after me seeing one event. I was ok with that. But the idea of doing all of that and not seeing him do anything had me fuming.

And yes, it is a season and I enjoy them enjoying whatever it is that they are doing. It is a lot but to me, it is worth it.

 

[Gally]

Unfair to Coaches/Teams: Really this is a non-factor.

From your description it is 100% a factor. You are having to prioritize one thing over another meaning you are missing something. That is a factor for that team and coach. Even with good communication where the coach knows when you will or won't be there it is not fair to the other players. It may be a non-factor to you and even the coaches/friends understand it is not fair to them.

don't think burnout potential is the same with multiple sports than it is with one main sport that you do all year long like baseball or basketball and then maybe thrown in something else.

Burnout comes in different forms. It's good you are communicating with your kids but sometimes kids need to just chill. Going 100 mph's 12 months a year is going to burn them out because they don't get a break. I know my kids needed time off during the year. Just to mentally reset, figure out what they like, play with friends doing things that parents aren't always around for. Being kids.

I mean you are well involved and not forcing things but I look at what these kids are doing and I just couldn't do that. Mostly for the overlap of things that isn't fair to the teams they are on.

 

[Dickies]

If my son did three sports all year round I would be more burned out than him. That sports schedule looks insane.

My son's #1 sport is baseball, which he plays year round, but is only the #1 priority in the spring/summer. We will let him do one additional sport, but that additional sport takes priority over baseball when they overlap, but he will fit in the baseball when he can.

 

[Chadstroma]

Unfair to Coaches/Teams: Really this is a non-factor.

From your description it is 100% a factor. You are having to prioritize one thing over another meaning you are missing something. That is a factor for that team and coach. Even with good communication where the coach knows when you will or won't be there it is not fair to the other players. It may be a non-factor to you and even the coaches/friends understand it is not fair to them.

don't think burnout potential is the same with multiple sports than it is with one main sport that you do all year long like baseball or basketball and then maybe thrown in something else.

Burnout comes in different forms. It's good you are communicating with your kids but sometimes kids need to just chill. Going 100 mph's 12 months a year is going to burn them out because they don't get a break. I know my kids needed time off during the year. Just to mentally reset, figure out what they like, play with friends doing things that parents aren't always around for. Being kids.

I mean you are well involved and not forcing things but I look at what these kids are doing and I just couldn't do that. Mostly for the overlap of things that isn't fair to the teams they are on.

No, unfair to coaches/teams is 100% a non-factor. Maybe I did not explain well. Football- He has not missed a game or practice for any other reason than school load, not feeling well or a family emergency in his 3 years of playing... and that likely adds up to about 3 or 4 missed practices total. Basketball- He hasn't missed a single game (only kid on the team to play every game last season), he missed 1 practice for a swim meet. Soccer and Track- there is no overlap and doesn't miss any. For swim, he has missed a lot of practice. I think he has missed 1 dual meet over 3 years because of a basketball overlap that he went to the basketball game instead of a dual meet. For the ISI meets, Iet him pick and choose which he wants to go to and which he doesn't mostly except a couple I told him you have basketball game then anyways. For swim... it is a 'team' but it isn't like a basketball or football or baseball team.... I guess technically you could add up points for dual meets and have a winner but that isn't how they are ran. I have no clue of which club won any of the dual meets for the 5 or 6 seasons he has swam. The ONLY meet that team matters with swim is the conference meet where all the teams are competing to win the conference. 90% of the club does not attend the ISI meets and it is really about you and your time not the team. So, over the 3 years that he has been doing this... I can say confidently that he has not let down any coaches, teams or teammates.

For swim... which has been the sport he has missed the most of.... but mostly missing practice.... he was awarded the MVP for 10U boys. I have had long conversations with the President of the Board and the HC about him and missing time for practice. As I explained above, his absence isn't hurting the coach or team because that just isn't how it works.

He gets chill time. I don't ever make him practice on his own and mostly he will play video games for hours (like he has today since getting home) and then hanging with friends etc. I think the big reason he wants to do the cross country is just hanging out with his friends. All of his friends are on the football, basketball, soccer, track, cross country teams. I do believe one reason why swim is his least favorite is because though he has friends on the team they aren't his core friends like are on all the other teams he is on.

 

[Chadstroma]

If my son did three sports all year round I would be more burned out than him. That sports schedule looks insane.

My son's #1 sport is baseball, which he plays year round, but is only the #1 priority in the spring/summer. We will let him do one additional sport, but that additional sport takes priority over baseball when they overlap, but he will fit in the baseball when he can.

I get it.

It just doesn't wear on me like I think it does for others. I much rather watch my kids play whatever sport than anything else I can do otherwise. I think another thing that the things I mentioned above that also helps is that when I was a kid, I had to choose. At one point, I had baseball, basketball, scouts and karate. I was told I had to choose two. I went with baseball and basketball. I didn't get exposed to a lot of other sports. I prob could have done soccer if I asked but I had no interest. Now, it isn't like I was deprived but we were always in the zone of poor-middle class. Money didn't allow for me to do a ton of things. I do wish I did more as a kid. That also might help my internal drive on not being so rough on me.

 

[MAC_32]

I've coached middle school track and XC for the better part of a decade. There's a line, but we've had a lot of success being priority #2 with those balancing two sports at the same time. If anything, doing track or XC by itself leads to burnout. I've begun to coach each type of athlete differently in recent years - needing to challenge our multi sport athletes more when they attend practice and backing off our every day participants more frequently. There's a time and place to specialize but as long as the kids are having fun and competing and the parents communicating and prioritize championships it generally goes well.

 

[Chadstroma]

Another point on where I am not worried about burn out and overuse:

Soccer, track at his school are very low commitment. It isn't like doing club soccer or even rec soccer. Last year they literally had no practices. This year, they have had three. They have had three games played and I think 3 more. Because soccer has gone so downhill for the league with teams not even fielding teams... I am not 100% sure they will have playoffs.

Track has had like 2 practices a week for the last few weeks. Meets started the week before last with one and then there were 4 last week. They have another 3 this week and I think sectionals after that.

The schools football and basketball programs are on level with a club team in terms of commitment with practices and games being what you would get at most club teams. Swim is high commitment but is flexible.

 

[Chadstroma]

And for me... things got a tad easier as my daughter broker her wrist today. So the rest of club vball is now scratched.