Your mileage may vary. My DD played travel softball and started in Vollyeball and Basketball for her HS varsity. She sure missed out on schoolwork (valedictorian), and activities (marching band, wind ensemble, NHS, Student government,)I'm not saying we need to forgo other sports, but how does one merely get away with playing one season of rec softball per year and hope to have a shot at making a competitive varsity team in high school.
Not only the reps, but youth who play a sport year round have access to much better coaching and much better teams than the kid who plays for a random volunteer dad that drafts her in a spring rec season. The difference in development is astronomical even at the younger ages.
I suppose a stud athlete can bounce between several sports at a young age and be good enough to specialize in high school and be a varsity contributer, but for mere mortals, playing a season of rec ball from ages 8-14 puts them so far behind in mechanics and game knowledge that they'd need to dedicate so much time to catching up in high school when free time is scarce (schoolwork, other extracurriculars, social events).
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