Myth #2 Playing one sport year round helps you get a scholaraship

Myth #2 A child should play one sport year round to get the athletic scholarship.

One sport year round is needed to make your child a better athlete, really? Let’s take a look at the reasons this is happening. There are many many children playing one sport year round. It certainly is a paradigm that has taken hold and grown over the last thirty years.  More and more youth sports organizations, including USA Soccer, adhere to this policy of having children commit to this level of participation. They actually ask for the family to submit a calendar of their “outside” activities and make sure that the parents know that their child, if he or she does not want to fall behind, needs to make this commitment to a year round “training” program. It is also inferred by some of these coaches that failure to make this level of commitment will cause the child to be benched. Interestingly though, it is never the star player that receives this sort of demand. Excuses are commonly made for this player.

“Mandatory” camps are held during the “off” season. While not being exactly mandatory, it is made clear you better attend if you want to keep your spot. Families are told that the team must stay together and play together if they want to win.  It becomes a partnership with the parents and the children, a “lifestyle” I am told.

I would much rather be home, with a home cooked meal. My family eats together 6 times a week and I am confident it is a major reason we are such a close knit family. Plus it would save a lot of money.

 Let's insert an interesting fact hare. ALMOST all these teams and organizations speak this mantra and yet many of them don’t win as much as they would lead you to believe with the importance they put on winning. Oh sure if you play enough games, go to enough tournaments you will eventually win or get “close,” thus providing the impetus to play fewer kids and to go out and recruit better players.

Few parents realize when this is happening that their child may be losing playing time to the new kid. AND this new kid, the new “chosen one” comes in and is given  ‘cart blanch” and special treatment by the coach on many occasions, thus undermining the team concept and the mantra that we must stick together and play together.

Sometimes I hear that the parents allow this because the children really “love” the sport and the parents are letting their children “take this as far as they can.” ( I LOVE ice cream. But I can’t eat it every day, it’s not healthy for me.) Other times I hear that the “pros” do it this way so should I. The   athletic scholarship mantra is repeated where this child got a scholarship playing one sport year round. My kid is as good or close so why not, more is better. BUT IS IT?

Let’s look at the science, psychology and data.

First there are two to eight times more injuries for those who play one sport year round. Health, according to Dr. James Andrews considered being the TOP Orthopeadic sports surgeon in the country says the most important thing for an athlete’s success at each level, is their health. Next, children change their mind all the time. So having them do something, anything year round, is against their nature and will begin to wear on them and they won’t continue to grow and benefit. It’s called the law of diminishing returns. That may initially want to play the sport year round. They may even enjoy it. But soon, it will wear on them. They are kids, and kids want to do different things. They will continue on to please their parents and avoid the stigma of quitting, but then injurious start to pop up and their bodies and minds tell them that they need rest and soon you have a child not having any fun.

Lastly the drive for athletic scholarships or a pro career is not dependent on one sport year round according to professional teams. The Minnesota twins look for multi sport athletes. Their top prospect, Byron Buxton, and the #1 prospect in ALL of minor league baseball was a basketball star in high school also. Three out of the four quarterbacks in this 2013 AFC and NFC championship game were drafted by MLB teams. And Peyton Manning, the one quarterback who wasn’t drafted, played shortstop in high school through his senior year and continued to play baseball in the summer. Ryan Callahan, captain of the New York Rangers played soccer growing up and advocates time away from hockey in an interview with me at frozenshorts.com. Brian Gionta, captain of the Montreal Canadiens takes three months off from skating after every season. See his interview also, at frozenshorts.com.

 Absence does make the heart grow fonder. Abby Wambach, considered to be the top female soccer player in the world, was a high school basketball star.

Besides, doing something year round for 20 hours a week is considered a job.