Multi- sport athletes (Jaidon)
One of the biggest debates in sports today is whether athletes should specialize in one sport or play multiple sports. Some people might say that they should not play more than one sport so that they can specialize in that sport. Other people might also say that they should play multiple sports because it increases athletes abilities. It makes the athletes all around players and less prone to injury.
A couple reasons people say that athletes should not play multiple sports is because players skill levels could become higher by practicing that one sport all the time but just because their skill level is high doesnt mean they are fast, explosive or quick enough to play at the highest level. You can coach skill but can’t coach athleticism. Players can be athletic by still only playing one sport it just takes a special type of person to get up and work on things like on agility, balance and speed. Players could be injured playing that other sport or doing the same repetition over and over again. For example, a basketball player plays football in the offseason and breaks his leg at the end of the football season. He is out for half of the basketball season, where as if he wasn’t playing football he could be be getting shots up to prepare for the basketball season.
Most people say that when athletes that play multiple sports create better athletes. First off, multi sport athletes are less prone to injury. Repeating something over and over could injure your body. For example, when you throw a baseball too much you could severely injure your arm. That is why when people do throw they have to take a break for a day or two to let their arm recover. Playing a single sport also makes the sport not fun for the kids that only play that sport. Just playing one sport year round makes kids and young adults bored of only playing that one sport. Once the fun is taken out of a sport it creates a mindset of not wanting to grind and practice as much, or even quit the sport. Different sports can do different things to help develop the all around player. For example, track can make someone faster, football can make someone more explosive, and baseball can give you better hand eye coordination. College coaches look for not only skill but for athleticism. If you play more than one sport you are more likely to be more adapted to being coachable. The coaches can coach you if you are athletic and capable of doing everything, you just have to learn how to do it.
In my opinion, I believe that being a multi sport athlete is better for an athletes health and well being. It definitely increases their chances to get into college because when coaches see that they are willing to grind and put in work they want them. One of the key parts to being a good player is work ethic. If you are the first one in the gym and the last to leave it will make the coaches and teammates respect you more than anyone else. Some of the greatest athletes of all time played multiple sports such as: Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan. Bo Jackson played football and baseball. Bo Jackson’s main sport was football which helped him become a good baseball player by helping him develop strength, speed, and explosiveness.And vise versa baseball could have helped him with his core and explosiveness also. The most modern dual sports athlete is kyler murray. He was selected by the Oakland A’s with the ninth overall selection in the MLB draft. He was also nominated to enter the 2019 NFL draft. Kyler Murray is a great example of a multi sport athlete that has benefited from both football and baseball at a collegiate level.A multi sport athlete is very rare at the collegiate level. When major league scouts see that a college student athlete plays more than one sport shows them that they love the grind of getting better and love to compete. To get a college scholarship you have to put yourself out there. There are events all around the globe for college scouts to come and watch young players play. Most of the time to get a college scholarship players have to be involved in the sport and know people. The more sports that an athlete plays the more connections that he will have with the coaches and scouts. If you think about it when a college coach comes to talk to a certain coach he could talk about multiple kids that the coach then reports back to the athletic department to get that athlete recruited. Also, if an athlete plays two sports it will cost them less money to pay for their tuition because most of it will get paid off because they play two sports.
Anybody that didn’t get involved in in anything when they were a kid regrets not getting involved. That is why nobody who knows the facts about being a multi sport athlete would tell anyone to not go out for a sport that they have never played in their life because it will work different muscles in their body. Not only lifting weights and running can make your whole body strong. There are tiny muscles in the human body that get worked every time someone does a certain type of movement or physical activity.th
Many good athletes believe that being a dual athlete is better than being a single sported athlete. For example here are some great quotes by some of the greatest athletes of all time.
“When you invest your time, you make a goal and a decision of something that you want to accomplish. Whether it’s make good grades in school, be a good athlete, be a good person, go down and do some community service and help somebody who’s in need, whatever it is you choose to do, you’re investing your time in that”- Nick sabbath. This shows what college coaches are looking for. Sabbath says that you should invest your time to get better.
