Multi-Sport Athletes

Balancing Concurrent Participation in Two or More Sports

February 11, 2008

by Jeff Spicoli

So many young people participate in sports these days that any kids that don't are almost viewed by their peers as weird or strange.  What's more, many of these young athletes participate in two or more sports during the same season.  For the kids, the reasons are usually no more complicated than, "My friends are doing it.  Why can't I?"  And in this age of the SUV and of parents granting their children their every wish, is it any wonder that so many children are playing on two or more teams at the same time?  But, if the kids are being kept physically active (while so many others struggle with weight and other health issues), wherein lies the problem?

The "problem" centers around two diametrically opposed ideas:  The first is the young participant's freedom to do what he or she wants.  The second is loyalty and responsibility to a particular team (meaning one team, or, more accurately, one team at a time).  Most coaches out there don't care too much if their athletes play on other teams and/or do other sports just as long as they don't do it during their own season.  Once in awhile, an athlete can swing two concurrent sports without either affecting the other.  But, the more common result is that there are times of conflict when the athlete (and his or her parents) must decide which team's event to go to.  The team that misses the athlete for that particular event (game or practice) is unfairly inconvenienced.  And a coach would be well within his or her rights to begin taking action in response.  The player in question may be prevailed upon to give up playing time or may have a lesser role imposed on him or her.  And that, in turn, could lead to the athlete being eventually turned off to that sport and giving it up entirely.  But, this is how a young person learns that life is a series of choices.  And with choices come consequences. 

Being a member of a team is much like being a soldier in an army.  The games and practices are the "battles" that "army" fights.  The "general" is, obviously, the coach.  He or she needs to be able to count on all the "soldiers" showing up for every "battle."  When a player does one team's event at the expense of another's, it is as if that athlete "deserted" the second team.

So, the best way to summarize my view is this:  You're only young once.  You should, during your youth, try many different things.  At the same time, it's in a young person's best interest -- long term -- to develop and cultivate valuable characteristics such as loyalty, duty and seeing things through.  When it comes to sports, I have no problem with the number of sports a kid might play in a year, or the number of months out of the year that he or she is doing sports.  However, I just as firmly believe that every young athlete should only do one sport at a time to avoid setting up possible conflicts.

Posted February 11, 2008