Why You Should Encourage Multiple Sports

Michael Jordan played baseball in high school and even left the NBA briefly to pursue a baseball career. Joe Nieuwendyk, MVP of the 1999 Stanley Cup NHL championship, was an all-star junior lacrosse player. Troy Aikman, three time Superbowl quarterback, played football, basketball and baseball while growing up and only began focusing on football in high school. Cal Ripkin, Jr., the legendary Iron Man of baseball, played multiple sports in high school and did not specialize in baseball until he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. In professional sports, there are numerous examples of players who did not specialize until much later in their youth development. In fact, early specialization actually decreases the chances of later sports success.

Between the ages of 10 and 14, the human body undergoes tremendous physical changes. Players at these ages often struggle to regain coordination lost through growth spurts or to take advantage of new abilities arising from an increase in muscle, height and bone mass. During this time, it is vital that players seek a broad diversity of athletic experiences to fully develop their capabilities. As body changes slow past the age of 14, players can begin more specialization. Paul Hornung, Heisman Trophy winner and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, advises young athletes to delay specialization for the following reasons:

• Each sport develops different physical skills, coordination and conditioning—all of which will result in overall athletic growth.
• Each sport requires a different mental approach, yields a variety of experiences and breeds discipline that can be applied to other sports.
• A variety of coaches, in different sports, can provide a broader background of fundamentals, strategies and performance tips.
• Playing different sports can help youngsters avoid mental burnout, injuries and a sport becoming work, instead of fun.
• Playing different sports early on can give athletes an edge, because of their well-rounded experiences, when they are forced to specialize later on.
• Besides playing different organized sports, young athletes should have time to play plenty of pick-up games for fun and peer competition, with no adult supervision, because these promote creativity and freedom to improve, instead of the pressure to always successfully perform.

The sports learning process should be similar to the one that kids go through in school where class time is divided among many subjects. Parents should encourage their kids to seek this variety of sports education knowing that the more well-rounded they are with all skills, the better kids will play in any sport they choose.

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the booklet Sports and Your Child by Frank L. Smoll and Ronald E. Smith.