Multi-Sport Athlete: a Dying Breed

The Multi-sport Athlete: A Dying Breed Ever since the first competition of throwing a spear, contests have determined who is stronger, faster, and smarter in a specific skill. The competitors, now better known as athletes, are beginning to specialize in a specific type of competition. Growing up, young athletes participate in a variety of sports, but they often specialize in one before even entering high school. There are numerous exceptions of athletes playing multiple sports, but these multi-sport athletes are becoming a dying breed. These players have become engrossed in a specific sport, not wanting to play others which can sometimes affect their athletic ability as well as the success of the school’s athletic program. Athletes should be encouraged, not deterred, to use their skills and ability to play multiple sports in the adolescence of their life. At young ages, parents register their children for recreational sports with hope that the child will spend energy on a wide open field under the supervision of another adult. If the child does well in the sport or the kid is having fun, the parent feels obligated to do more. Often, the young athlete will begin to compete in Amateur Athletic Unions—a travel league in the area—and eventually, if good enough, around the state and nation. These year round travel leagues consume the nights of a young middle school athlete with practices along with their weekends with far traveling games or tournaments. Year round, the young athlete is held to a high performance standard so that the parent is not disappointed for putting so much time and money into their child’s future. The parent hopes that because of the child’s talented athletic ability, he/she will be able to earn a scholarship to play that sport at the collegiate level. But what if the child is not good enough to achieve the high status of an athletic scholarship in the sport he/she invested so much time, money, and effort into?

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