Senior Maria Pitt has dedicated her high school career to playing multiple sports. She is involved in soccer, water polo, swimming, and basketball. Photo Credit: KAYLA LOKEINSKY
Athletes have always been taught to be motivated, dedicated and to push themselves to their highest potential. They are taught to focus and to train hard for the sport that they excel at in hopes of being the best. However, recently it has been made known that putting all your energy into one sport is not always the best thing, and that it’s better to try and play more than one sport. So, when it comes to athletics, is it better to specialize, or diversify?
From Jackie Robinson to Deion Sanders, athletes have been playing more than one sport for decades. However, athletes have always had it drilled into their minds that it’s more important to specialize in one sport than to experience the world of athletics as a whole. Coaches encourage their players to focus solely on their specific sport in order to keep up with the rest of the competition, but instead of keeping up, specialization can tear down athletes.
Many problems are associated with playing only one sport. According to the American Academy of Pediactrics, seemingly minor injuries can lead to more serious joint and ligament problems as kids grow and continue playing one sport. Other potential problems include burnout and missing out on the valuable experiences of playing other sports. Also, playing year-round doesn’t always translate to playing right. Many kids form bad habits and fail to properly learn fundamentals playing youth sports much of the year.
“When children begin training for only one sport at a young age, it can usually end in a string of long-term injuries,” Memorial Medicare pediatric doctor Jennifer Grover said. “It’s much better for their bodies to play multiple sports.”
Now there is a new breed of superior athletes known as the multisport athlete. They can swim 50 laps then score 5 goals on the soccer field, spike a volleyball then hit a grand slam. Being a multisport athlete not only prevents the injury risk of high-intensity training in one specific sport, but also it can improve your athletic abilities as a whole.
“I think that playing multiple sports definitely improves ones performance,” senior Maria Pitt said. “I do swimming in the fall, soccer in winter and water polo in spring. At some points throughout the course of high school, I also simultaneously played basketball, travel soccer and club water polo. Playing multiple sports improves ones endurance and some cross training is always good.”
Multisport athletes, however, do face their own obstacles. Juggling more than one sport is no easy task, and it can also lead to its own string of medical problems. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, cross training between two different spots can cause strain on the muscles that are most utilized, leading to conditions such as tendonitis and hyperextensions.
“The injuries that you can get in one sport definitely effect your performance in another,” sophomore Bethany Williams said. “That’s why I stick to one sport, so that cross training won’t even be a problem for me and I can put all my focus on one thing.”
When it comes to playing more than one sport, athletes can also find it leading to controversy between themselves and their coaches or teammates. By splitting your time between one sport and another, especially if they take place during the same season, it’s nearly impossible for athletes to dedicate themselves completely to either sport.
“It’s hard to work together as a team when you have athletes who play two different sports at the same time,” CCHS volleyball coach Meghan Sano said. “By playing more than one sport you’re not 100% dedicated.”
However, multisport athletes have the benefits of not only diversifying themselves as an athlete, but the different training allows for them to experience sports in an entirely different way.
“Playing more then one sport gives me a chance to improve as an athlete as a whole,” junior Simon Shuham said. “Getting to play two very different things is what makes me good in all aspects of the sports I play.”
Whether they specialize or diversify, athletes are truly immersing themselves in the world of athletics. Both single-sport and multisport athletes are capable of pushing themselves to their highest potential.
