Youth athletes these days continue to make the mistake of specializing in one sport way too early. That is why many professional athletes make it a goal to prove how playing multiple sports as a kid put them on the path to their success. It may sound counterintuitive, but here are three ways playing multiples sports can make you a better athlete:
1. Keeps Things Interesting
One of the main benefits that these athletes talk about is how playing multiple sports prevented emotional burnout. Rather than dreading doing the same practice over and over again, playing a secondary sport will keep that desire and hunger alive for the primary sport. Playing multiple sports also gives athletes a mental advantage by creating greater mental toughness, expanding competitive edge, and building more focus and resilience from dealing with various sports situations. All of these things develop a more all-around athlete.
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2. Prevents Overuse Injuries
Of course there's the higher risk of getting injured when playing more than one sport. However, working the body in different ways actually causes fewer overuse injuries. I noticed this first hand with my varsity volleyball team in high school. Almost every specialized player had some sort of nagging injury while all of the multi-sport athletes, including myself, stayed perfectly healthy and in top shape. Also, athletic movements transfer–this includes running, jumping, agility, throwing, etc. So the extra competition isn't breaking down your body negatively. That jumping in basketball can help the explosion out of blocks in swimming, or the endurance from soccer can make it easier to be a distance runner in track.
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3. More Opportunities
Simply put but just as crucial, playing multiple sports opens more doors for young athletes. A sport that was the base of all your dreams at age 10 won't necessarily be the best route at age 17. Therefore, it's a much better situation to be able to switch main sports than to have to stick unhappily with the specialized sport or stop playing all together. Avoid those dramatic situations by giving you more opportunities at an early age by being a multi-sport athlete.
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4. Coaches Love Multisport Athletes
The biggest benefit to a high school recruit is that college coaches actively look for multi-sport athletes. Pure athleticism can't be taught, so that already makes a multi-sport recruit a gem in a coach's eyes. It makes coaches excited to use that athleticism as an opportunity to develop the athlete to have a specific skill set once they get to campus.
All said, specialization is out and multiple skill sets are in. Playing more than one sport in your recruiting process can be the best way to mentally and physically stay ahead of your competition.
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* Originally published on January 30, 2023, by 2aDays Staff
