- Feb 20, 2019
- 109
- 28
I think the "evolution" of youth sports now vs. even 5 years ago, much less 10 years ago, needs to be taken into consideration. What kids experienced 5-10 years or more ago cannot be compared to today's kids. Year-round travel, club, AAU, etc. programs have taken over youth sports. The traditional fall, winter and spring sport seasons have gone the way of the dodo bird. Competitive kids/parents feel compelled and pressured to specialize in one sport early or be left behind
That is spot-on. I was talking to a parent with a DD playing her 2nd year of 10U travel ball the other day. His DD decided she was interested in pitching but he told her she was too old to start trying pitch. What?? One of the best pitchers of all time didn't start pitching until she was almost 12. Things have changed since Cat's little league days, but the pressure parents feel is real.
I support the multi-sport approach 100%, especially at the younger ages. Different sports require different sets of skills, but allow players to become better, well-rounded athletes. Some skills will translate from one sport to another without the player even realizing it. Sort of like Mr. Miyagi's karate drills...some of the best volleyball servers just so happen to play a lot of softball. Additionally, younger kids don't/can't really know which sport they'll enjoy, or excel at without trying them for a few seasons. They will eventually figure out which is their best sport, but they should be allowed to do that on their own, without a parent pushing them to play only one sport. 14-15 is about the right age for that decision to be made and, even then, the best athletes will still be able to play multiple sports at the varsity level.
Your kids only get one childhood and they should get to experience as many sports as they like and have as much fun as they can. Any lost ground can be easily recouped in high school, with a lot of hard work and dedication.