Managing Multi-Sport Athletes

[chappellestherobot?]

Everyone wants kids who do multiple sports ... until they actually do multiple sports. I'm guessing they made very clear they have multiple sports and the team was like yes we love well rounded athletes.

What we actually want are kids who are GOOD ENOUGH to do multiple sports but then choose us.

I agree with if you are doing things during school season you should let kids play for their school.

Also playing time has NEVER been based solely on who attended the most practices so why are we seriously going to that metric now unless we want to.

 

[murphdog]

DD played varsity softball & soccer her entire 4 years of HS.
Her club coach also coached a HS softball team in his town so spring was never an issue. There were no practices after March 1st and he’d start them up the week after his team finished for the season. DD’s team often went much deeper into playoffs so she didn’t practice or play with the club team until her high school team was done. Her senior year she missed the first 2 showcases because her HS team made it to states and won. It was never an issue.
For fall tournaments/practices her coach just wanted to know as far in advance as possible if players had conflicts so he could pull players up from the 14-16U teams if needed. Almost every player was a multi sport athlete.

 

[Lreeve]

In our state you cannot play the same sport during school season. You can't attend practices either. I'm not a coach, but my daughter is a multi sport athlete. She is currently playing Jr High basketball and won't be able to attend many practices until it is over. Her travel softball coach is very supportive and just wants communication as to when she is available etc. He does expect her to be putting softball first in Spring/Summer. In my opinion playing for your High School is the whole point of doing all this work. Many kids will never make it to college ball. Let them enjoy it while they can.

 

[PJR202]

I understand what you're saying, and I do feel sorry for those kids. The problem is not everyone has a positive school ball experience, so their outlet might be travel. There are more than a few people on this forum whose children did not play in HS because of poor coaching, bad dynamics, or no program.

If my younger daughter could go back and do it all over again, she would absolutely skip her last two years of varsity ball. When she knows far more than Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber, you know it's going to be a bad time. Would it have killed the school program if she didn't play? Probably not. They would not have won nearly as many games, but the program would still be alive.

It's a personal choice everyone has to make with their children.

In that regard, I was more speaking to the kids that play both and are having to play travel during the school season. When the grizzled ballers start having to choose, school teams are either dead or will be so bad that the kids are miserable.

 

[RADcatchers]

They probably need to be careful with that also.

No... They don't need to be careful having a standard for their team. They are teams that will have plenty of players happy to come play for them and make a commitment to a schedule that is showcasing them which includes top tier Nationals!
Along with the presence of a coach who makes College connections regularly.
(In the big picture this t.b. game schedule commitment is only a limited amount of weekends... not every weekend and not all year.)

While I fully understand the predicament the coaches are in,

It includes a financial commitment to play on the travel ball team. But it also won't be a team if players don't show up for the schedule.

These coaches involved with travel ball over 20 years recognize the predicament. The predicament is don't have a competitive team show up.
OR set a standard!

Each of their teams are completely full. Even the bench is full.

 

[NJZoo]

Dealing with this right now, but from my experience the problem is with the HS coaches. Our club team only carries 10 very dedicated girls, so we don't have any playing time issues. Our coach has been very supportive of the girls playing other sports and missing practices for school sports during the week (no one would miss a game/tournament). My daughter played freshman volleyball last year and so managing the schedules wasn't that tough. But, as a sophomore starting on JV, the commitment expectation is becoming absolute. This is making my daughter seriously consider not playing after this year because she knows it will be even worse on varsity.

My daughter was up front about her softball commitments, and the coaches really only pay lip service to wanting "multisport" athletes. We have showcases every weekend from here on out, so my daughter just emailed her coach reminding him of her commitment to the team, but that playing softball in college is her priority. I am fully expecting that her playing time will be impacted and it will make her less interested in continuing with volleyball.

Can't we all just get along?!

 

[RADcatchers]

Dealing with this right now, but from my experience the problem is with the HS coaches. Our club team only carries 10 very dedicated girls, so we don't have any playing time issues. Our coach has been very supportive of the girls playing other sports and missing practices for school sports during the week (no one would miss a game/tournament). My daughter played freshman volleyball last year and so managing the schedules wasn't that tough. But, as a sophomore starting on JV, the commitment expectation is becoming absolute. This is making my daughter seriously consider not playing after this year because she knows it will be even worse on varsity.

My daughter was up front about her softball commitments, and the coaches really only pay lip service to wanting "multisport" athletes. We have showcases every weekend from here on out, so my daughter just emailed her coach reminding him of her commitment to the team, but that playing softball in college is her priority. I am fully expecting that her playing time will be impacted and it will make her less interested in continuing with volleyball.

Can't we all just get along?!

One of my catching students was also an award-winning athlete in multiple Sports.

She went to an Academy High School that you have to test into. Majority of those students want to go to college. They are preparing for it. Would probably think the high school would support a player making a connection with colleges.. except no not really...

She very upfront with her high school sports about her commitment to softball. During end of junior h.s. basketball season She had two college visits scheduled. Just happened to be right before last game before CIF. She went on her College visit and missed one season game. When she came back she was benched from the entire only CIF game.
What happened on the road trip? MIT offered her a spot and she is currently at MIT going to play for them.

 

[Tatonka]

This whole topic brings back some bad memories of some really bad, very stupid decisions and statements that were made by a couple of egomaniac type coaches we experienced as my DD's navigated being multisport athletes involved in both travel and school sports. Some coaches need to be held accountable for their actions and in some cases it needs to be done by an adult (even when the Coach is being childlike).

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Dealing with this right now, but from my experience the problem is with the HS coaches. Our club team only carries 10 very dedicated girls, so we don't have any playing time issues. Our coach has been very supportive of the girls playing other sports and missing practices for school sports during the week (no one would miss a game/tournament). My daughter played freshman volleyball last year and so managing the schedules wasn't that tough. But, as a sophomore starting on JV, the commitment expectation is becoming absolute. This is making my daughter seriously consider not playing after this year because she knows it will be even worse on varsity.

My daughter was up front about her softball commitments, and the coaches really only pay lip service to wanting "multisport" athletes. We have showcases every weekend from here on out, so my daughter just emailed her coach reminding him of her commitment to the team, but that playing softball in college is her priority. I am fully expecting that her playing time will be impacted and it will make her less interested in continuing with volleyball.

Can't we all just get along?!

A local LI HS volleyball coach is absurd about their requirements. He tells the girls that they cannot miss any practices or games for any other sports. If you do, you get cut.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Dealing with this right now, but from my experience the problem is with the HS coaches. Our club team only carries 10 very dedicated girls, so we don't have any playing time issues. Our coach has been very supportive of the girls playing other sports and missing practices for school sports during the week (no one would miss a game/tournament). My daughter played freshman volleyball last year and so managing the schedules wasn't that tough. But, as a sophomore starting on JV, the commitment expectation is becoming absolute. This is making my daughter seriously consider not playing after this year because she knows it will be even worse on varsity.

My daughter was up front about her softball commitments, and the coaches really only pay lip service to wanting "multisport" athletes. We have showcases every weekend from here on out, so my daughter just emailed her coach reminding him of her commitment to the team, but that playing softball in college is her priority. I am fully expecting that her playing time will be impacted and it will make her less interested in continuing with volleyball.

Can't we all just get along?!

That is crazy. Ten players? Injuries? Weddings? Funerals? Camps? 16U teams need 16 or more players. Players have to go to camps if they want to play college ball. Unless you are an absolute stud throwing 65 plus MPH or hit homeruns every game players we need to attend camps in order to get recruited.
A lot of girls playing HS flag football now in SoCal. They have weekend tournaments, too. It is not easy playing two sports. Both coaches want commitment. Even playing two HS sports (basketball and softball) the coaches are complaining about commitment.