I'm with JS and TM on this one. It's tough now days but I look back at my freshman year in the early 90s and it wasn't much different really. I got out of football on Fri had basketball the next day. Basketball was over on Sat and had baseball that Monday. I dropped basketball before my Soph year. My parents were good about never letting me quit anything I started but giving me the option to go the route I enjoyed in sports. They made me stay involved in something to keep free time off my hands. If it wasn't sports then it was work. I really get ticked off when coaches only let kids play "their sport". I say do what you enjoy. Life is short! You can get better at a skill if you have time to practice it but I'd argue too that you learn from different sports. Our football kids playing basketball have good latterall movement and the basketball kids that come out for football toughen up a lot. TM hit it on the head! The kids are happy but the parents with false dreams are sometimes a real problem.

]I would highly recommend against directing kids toward one sport only' date=' if for no other reason than it's extremely unlikely they will get a full scholarship in any sport[/b']. Only the best of the best in the state get full scholarships, and usually full scholarships are only given out in basketball and football (revenue sports), and that's only at the big D-I schools. Smaller schools, such as the Lindsay Wilsons and Campbellsvilles of the world have choice few full scholarships to award.

 

The dirty little secret about college athletics is that too many parents invest all this money taking their kids around to camps and traveling team tournaments with the idea their kid is going to get a free ride to college, and they're shocked, frustrated and disappointed when it doesn't happen or the kid only gets a partial scholarship.

 

S3, I know you are keenly aware of this and are a good judge of talent, but a lot of other parents who might read this are not, and should be warned ahead of time against putting all their kids' eggs in one basket too soon.

 

My son played two sports till his soph. year. It was his choice to only play one after that. The coach of the sport that he stopped playing wanted him to continue to play but he wanted to concentrate on one sport, AND he wanted some time off. His thinking was that both sports were too time consuming and he had other interests including work (his choice). Now as he is entering his Senior year, I think that he has not regreted his decision but looks back and sees that he had just as much fun playing one. The Really funny part is he chose the sport that he not as good in, but he really just enjoyed it more.

 

The point of that longwinded story is that kids normally make the choices that are right for THEM although the parents may or may not really agree.

 

No truer words have ever been spoken.

 

 

WAKE UP AMERICA! (In honor of Earl Pitts)

My son who was the best athlete of my kids wanted to go to a small school so he could play 3 sports. No way he could've done that at a big school. A lot of coaches place way too much pressure on kids to play that one sport.

I'm with JS and TM on this one. It's tough now days but I look back at my freshman year in the early 90s and it wasn't much different really. I got out of football on Fri had basketball the next day. Basketball was over on Sat and had baseball that Monday. I dropped basketball before my Soph year. My parents were good about never letting me quit anything I started but giving me the option to go the route I enjoyed in sports. They made me stay involved in something to keep free time off my hands. If it wasn't sports then it was work. I really get ticked off when coaches only let kids play "their sport". I say do what you enjoy. Life is short! You can get better at a skill if you have time to practice it but I'd argue too that you learn from different sports. Our football kids playing basketball have good latterall movement and the basketball kids that come out for football toughen up a lot. TM hit it on the head! The kids are happy but the parents with false dreams are sometimes a real problem.

 

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

This one deserves 5 thumbs up stick, great post and I especially agree with the bolded part and your last sentence.

My son who was the best athlete of my kids wanted to go to a small school so he could play 3 sports. No way he could've done that at a big school. A lot of coaches place way too much pressure on kids to play that one sport.

Then imo those coaches are not in it for the kids and should not be in coaching.

I believe that you should probably only play one sport only if you have a solid chance of securing a scholarship, like many have already mentioned.

 

I ran myself ragged in high school, lettering in four different sports. But then I settled down to just three...I kept rather busy and will probably pay for it later in life.

 

Here was a typical year for MJ...

 

Starting in July soccer training and basketball open gyms

Soccer season started in August and went til about October

The very next day after soccer was over basketball began until about March

The day Basketball was over, Tennis started, as did my spring soccer season

Then in May open gyms and leagues again for basketball, as well as soccer still

And in July it starts all over again

 

Playing sports in high school is year round, especially if you play more than one.

Sometimes we all forget that the sports programs both boys and girls are there to enhance their high school experience, the lure or a scholly is just a benifit for those gifted enough to earn one. I think that earn is the key word there. I like the TV ad I saw during the CWS and the final 4, it had college athletes talking about "going pro" not in their sports but in the real world of work. I think that can be said of alot of high school athletes, they are going to next level (college) just not playing sports, they are going to get an education.

 

The key whether you are a gifted athlete or a guy who guts it our for four years becuase you love the game, just have as much fun as you can, you only get 4 years of high school.

 

 

 

I just noticed this was my 100th post!!!!!!!YEAH

I personally try to encourage my children to play every sport they can. I also encourage them to mantain above average grades too. I see this as a hopeful opportunity for them to maybe get a scholarship to a college to further their education while also getting the opportunity to keep playing a sport that they enjoy. Its hard to focus on one spport anymore - IMO - because there are too many opportunities out there now - you can't sit back and hope that one sport is going to get you somewhere. Back in my younger days there wasn't a great deal of opportunities for a athlete. You either made it big or settle for going to NKU.

You either made it big or settle for going to NKU.

 

I don't know how long it was, but these days playing at NKU is pretty solid. It has become one of the most talented D-II schools in the nation, doing extremely well in my girls and guys sports.

When my kids were in grade school I encouraged them to play all kinds of sports. Over the years, they decided which ones they wanted to pursue and which ones they didnt.

 

Sometimes that decision is made for them by getting cut from teams. In the end, they all participated in a sport they loved.

 

I will say that smaller schools depend on kids playing more than one sport. Not enough athletes to go around!