Multiple Sport Athletes

[Anonymous]

Here's the question that's never asked when bringing up specialization of foreign born players in soccer:

1) Did they have any options to even play another sport - think South American and Africans have a ton of lacrosse or gymnastic options, or other sports.

In Europe, there are other options, in particular, winter sports that are popular, and basketball is coming on.

But I'm willing to bet that for many, soccer is all they know because soccer is all they have the opportunity for.

2) How many played soccer as a means to get out of their existing environment (i.e. simply to improve their lives and those of their families).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure that most athletes in the olympics specialized in 1 sport

71% of DI men’s football players were multisport athletes in high school.

Football isn’t a International sport and skills are developed upon athletes well after puberty.

This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it

I keep forgetting soccer is special --- with rules that apply strictly soccer because its different than any other sport.

7 out of 10 US Olympic athletes surveyed grew up playing multiple sports and found the experience valuable.

About 88% of D1 lacrosse players, played another sport in high school.

US Youth Soccer surveyed more than 500 college soccer coaches and asked if they prefer an athlete who played multiple sports. Of the 221 Division I coaches who answered, just 16 — 7 percent — said they would prefer a player who played only soccer and was not a multi-sport athlete.

Good to know if your goal is to impress college coaches, which is the best most of our kids can hope for. I have to say though that it's kind of annoying that so many of these college coaches answer the survey one way, and then go out of their way to recruit (and give scholarships to) all these foreign players who only ever played soccer growing up.

Has anyone done a survey on what the coaches for the top professional teams in the world think about this question? Seems like that would be helpful information.

You're a cherry picker. That's your biggest flaw and the reason your argument fails time and time again.

So your argument now is that college coaches are going overseas to find international players to fill the role of student athletes because they specialized in one sport and are therefore better?

Let me help you out. The kids with international level talent will typically specialize. However, they make up less than 1 percent. That's your focus? Fine! We are talking about the 99 percent.

What's with the personal attack? There are many of us here making similar points on both sides of what I think is a pretty interesting discussion, and no need for anyone to get defensive.

With respect to your comment about the 99%, you are certainly entitled to keep your focus there, but many of us actually are very interested in the 1% (or 10-20%, because it's not clear when kids are young which ones may make it to the top) and how they got there, and what helped or hurt along the way. That's certainly who Raymond Verheijen is talking about, which makes perfect sense given that he was a pro and focuses on training pros.

[Anonymous]

Most successful athletes of current times have parents who also were very athletic. So one should tame any ambitions unless that is the case, multi-sport or not. Internationals soccer stars might be different because of economics. US parents that did not play in college or beyond should probably just take it easy with their kids and focus on life long fitness where multi-sport is preferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it
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More likely, men's soccer is a blip on the American sports radar. People just don't care.

It is a soccer forum so people here do care. Comparing developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country is what is stupid.

The two sports do not resemble one another at all. Success in football after starting the sport after 15 years old does not equate similar success in soccer on the same timeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it
-------------------------

More likely, men's soccer is a blip on the American sports radar. People just don't care.

It is a soccer forum so people here do care. Comparing developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country is what is stupid.

The two sports do not resemble one another at all. Success in football after starting the sport after 15 years old does not equate similar success in soccer on the same timeline.

Nobody's comparing the "developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country" [I bet you worked a long time on that sentence and must feel pretty proud of it]. The point has to do with athletes playing multiple sports and being successful.

In the point above, football was an example --- which if you kept reading was followed by other examples.
If you think american kids start football after 15 years old and that's when they start developing, I'd invite to visit summer camps in Florida, Texas, and California --- you might learning something.

In any event, my point was that I believe multi-sports athletes can be as successful than specialized athletes with less risk to their bodies and minds.

[Anonymous]

Euro Academy's do have their players specialize in soccer but expose them to other sports on a recreational level. Ajax and barca academies have options for the kids that live there To play other sports for fun because they see that it is beneficial to their development. But not on a competitive elite-level

[Anonymous]

sport at the elite level at the same time. Playing other sports for fun and at the recreational level is perfectly okay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it
-------------------------

More likely, men's soccer is a blip on the American sports radar. People just don't care.

It is a soccer forum so people here do care. Comparing developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country is what is stupid.

The two sports do not resemble one another at all. Success in football after starting the sport after 15 years old does not equate similar success in soccer on the same timeline.

Nobody's comparing the "developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country" [I bet you worked a long time on that sentence and must feel pretty proud of it]. The point has to do with athletes playing multiple sports and being successful.

In the point above, football was an example --- which if you kept reading was followed by other examples.
If you think american kids start football after 15 years old and that's when they start developing, I'd invite to visit summer camps in Florida, Texas, and California --- you might learning something.

In any event, my point was that I believe multi-sports athletes can be as successful than specialized athletes with less risk to their bodies and minds.

American football is a poor sport to use as an example of success off multi sport athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it
-------------------------

More likely, men's soccer is a blip on the American sports radar. People just don't care.

It is a soccer forum so people here do care. Comparing developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country is what is stupid.

The two sports do not resemble one another at all. Success in football after starting the sport after 15 years old does not equate similar success in soccer on the same timeline.

Nobody's comparing the "developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country" [I bet you worked a long time on that sentence and must feel pretty proud of it]. The point has to do with athletes playing multiple sports and being successful.

In the point above, football was an example --- which if you kept reading was followed by other examples.
If you think american kids start football after 15 years old and that's when they start developing, I'd invite to visit summer camps in Florida, Texas, and California --- you might learning something.

In any event, my point was that I believe multi-sports athletes can be as successful than specialized athletes with less risk to their bodies and minds.

American football is a poor sport to use as an example of success off multi sport athletes.

Why would say that? There are numerous examples at the pro level...as indicated, many college players played multiple sports at the high school level.

[Anonymous]

I don’t get it.

There are countless soccer players from Europe, South and Central America that solely played soccer since childhood without any problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get it.

There are countless soccer players from Europe, South and Central America that solely played soccer since childhood without any problems.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This constant comparison of soccer to American football is why folks just don’t get it
-------------------------

More likely, men's soccer is a blip on the American sports radar. People just don't care.

It is a soccer forum so people here do care. Comparing developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country is what is stupid.

The two sports do not resemble one another at all. Success in football after starting the sport after 15 years old does not equate similar success in soccer on the same timeline.

Nobody's comparing the "developmental models of successful European soccer academies, in a internationally competitive environment to the development methods and cycle of a completely different sport played only by one country" [I bet you worked a long time on that sentence and must feel pretty proud of it]. The point has to do with athletes playing multiple sports and being successful.

In the point above, football was an example --- which if you kept reading was followed by other examples.
If you think american kids start football after 15 years old and that's when they start developing, I'd invite to visit summer camps in Florida, Texas, and California --- you might learning something.

In any event, my point was that I believe multi-sports athletes can be as successful than specialized athletes with less risk to their bodies and minds.

American football is a poor sport to use as an example of success off multi sport athletes.

Why would say that? There are numerous examples at the pro level...as indicated, many college players played multiple sports at the high school level.

MLS is a Looooong way from Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get it.

There are countless soccer players from Europe, South and Central America that solely played soccer since childhood without any problems.

Right because those who had problems get reported on --- especially in south and central america.
You think anybody cares or hears about any kid who blows out an ACL --- he's passed over like yesterdays news.
And there's another kid to take his place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get it.

There are countless soccer players from Europe, South and Central America that solely played soccer since childhood without any problems.

And there are likely thousands of others who started out just as talented but washed up due to injuries.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read too much on this subject. It seems like the posters on this thread are mostly saying that it's better to be a multi sport athlete because it helps to prevent injuries. Is that the only potential benefit, or are there claims that it improves soccer performance (putting aside the injury issue)?