Welcome to the 21st
century, the age of national obsession with sports of all kinds. Let's face it,
high school, collegiate, and professional sports are a integral part of the
American society and athletes are always on the hunt to advance to the next
level. Gaining a competitive edge may involve higher intensity training or using
a certain pill or powder to enhance athletic performance. But is there another
way for collegiate and professional athletes to achieve a higher level of
athletic ability? Could the answer be as simple as playing multiple sports
throughout the early part of the athletic career?
If you know me, there’s one
thing you know for certain, and that is I love basketball. If you’ve ever met
me, you also know that I don’t look like a basketball player. A natural red
head and standing at only five feet two inches on a good day, obviously my
position as a player was not the post. With that said, I have coached high
school basketball over four years. During my coaching days, multiple times an
athlete would quit other sports, to focus on one sport year round[EV1] . I could never comprehend the concept of specifically
focusing on one sport, and never understood why other coaches and parents would
advocate for it. I think there is a perception among young athletes, as well as
some parents and coaches, that concentrating on one sport will automatically
create the next Kobe Bryant or Mia Hamm. Unfortunately, that perception could
not be more incorrect.
Lets dig deeper to why
coaches and parents need to advocate for multi sports athletes. First, specializing
in one sport year round can lead to a high rate of burn out and increase injury
risk because of repeated use of the same muscle groups. Focusing on multiple
sports can lead to greater athletic and creative ability, a lower rate of burn
out, decrease injuries, and improve mental toughness. In fact, diversified sports
training during early and middle adolescence may be more effective in
developing elite-level skills, according to a recent report from the American
Medical Society for Sports Medicine.
In high school I played
basketball and soccer, followed by AAU basketball in the spring. In retrospect,
I wish someone would have pushed me to participate in track. Track is a great way to increase speed,
endurance and plyometric ability (all traits a small basketball player like
myself need). Still not convinced? I’ll let the professionals speak for
themselves.
Facts:
·
John Elway: NFL Quarterback Hall of Fame: was an exceptional baseball player.
·
Abby Wambach: "Playing
basketball had a significant impact on the way I play the game of soccer,"
Wambach said. "I am a taller player in soccer, in basketball I was a power
forward and I would go up and rebound the ball. So learning the timing of your
jump, learning the trajectory of the ball coming off the rim, all those things
play a massive role."
·
Kyle Rudphol: Minnesota Vikings tight end was an exceptional
multi sport athlete in high school.
·
Urban Meyer: The Ohio State University football coach. Since coaching at OSU 42
of the 47 athletes Meyer recruited were multi sport athletes in high school.
·
Michael Jordan: Arguably the best basketball player to play
in the NBA played triple A baseball. Although Michael never excelled in baseball
as he did in basketball.
·
Russell Wilson: Played professional baseball for the Texas
Rangers before becoming the Seattle Seahawks All-Star Quarterback.
·
Tony Strudwich, Manchester United Performance Coach: “More
often than not, the best athletes in the world are able
to distinguish themselves from the pack thanks to a range of motor
skills beyond what is typically expected in a given sport.”
These are just a few of the many
professional athletes and coaches that have played multiple sports throughout
their career and continue to advocate it. If you are a coach of any sport, for
any age group or parent, I strongly encourage you to promote multiple sports to
young athletes, whether it be swimming, soccer, lacrosse, track, dance or
gymnastics.
Thanks for reading!
Your intern,
Alli Bokenkotter
For more information:
·
http://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf%20files/2014_OverUse_Injuries-Burnout.pdf
[EV1]I
would somehow connect your love of coaching to going back to the one vs.
multiple sport thing. Or separate the paragraphs. Or something. You’ll figure
it out J
