Multiple Sport Athletes

[Anonymous]

This is great!

https://fcmentoring.kartra.com/page/vja34

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is great!

https://fcmentoring.kartra.com/page/vja34

This actually makes a ton of sense. I think people will hang onto the fact that he's saying that playing multiple sports at a high level is problem and not just playing multiple sports but I think he's 100% spot on when he says that the media only talks about the multiple sport athletes that make it but don't talk about all those that don't and that the media doesn't talk about all the single sport athletes that do excel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great!

https://fcmentoring.kartra.com/page/vja34

This actually makes a ton of sense. I think people will hang onto the fact that he's saying that playing multiple sports at a high level is problem and not just playing multiple sports but I think he's 100% spot on when he says that the media only talks about the multiple sport athletes that make it but don't talk about all those that don't and that the media doesn't talk about all the single sport athletes that do excel.

And all the single sport athletes who do not make it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great!

https://fcmentoring.kartra.com/page/vja34

This actually makes a ton of sense. I think people will hang onto the fact that he's saying that playing multiple sports at a high level is problem and not just playing multiple sports but I think he's 100% spot on when he says that the media only talks about the multiple sport athletes that make it but don't talk about all those that don't and that the media doesn't talk about all the single sport athletes that do excel.

And all the single sport athletes who do not make it.

Hmmm. So I guess everyone should stop making either point.

[Anonymous]

Consider the source and the stream of revenue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great!

https://fcmentoring.kartra.com/page/vja34

This actually makes a ton of sense. I think people will hang onto the fact that he's saying that playing multiple sports at a high level is problem and not just playing multiple sports but I think he's 100% spot on when he says that the media only talks about the multiple sport athletes that make it but don't talk about all those that don't and that the media doesn't talk about all the single sport athletes that do excel.

And all the single sport athletes who do not make it.

There is no guarantee on anything in life, especially high level play in a sport. However, the best chance a player has of "making it" is to focus on one sport. The other point not mentioned for youth athletes here is that it is not possible or at least very difficult for parents of the athlete to logistically cart the player to multiple venues, especially in the DMV. If a player is playing soccer just as a recreational activity for physical exercise, then multiple sports are fine, however, if the kid is serious about soccer and talented enough to make it to a high level, he should only play soccer. That gives him the best chance or "making it".

Many conversations on this board try to generically fit our little players into one bucket, however, parents with serious players with talent are very different than parents of recreational players or players who lack the high level of talent or desire to get to the top level. There is no shame in that. People have various abilities. Just because a kid is not playing at the top level is no judgement on the kid or the parent. The kid could have another high level talent that top level soccer players don't have. That is what makes life so great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider the source and the stream of revenue.

The source is a guy who specializes in fitness training and injury prevention at top clubs in Europe and who has a lot of coaching experience as well. His income stream depends on whether his training methods result in well-conditioning, successful athletes who avoid injury. Seems like a good person to weigh in on the matter. What about him do you find suspect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the source and the stream of revenue.

The source is a guy who specializes in fitness training and injury prevention at top clubs in Europe and who has a lot of coaching experience as well. His income stream depends on whether his training methods result in well-conditioning, successful athletes who avoid injury. Seems like a good person to weigh in on the matter. What about him do you find suspect?

1. He's not a doctor
2. He makes his living feeding soccer clubs players --- these clubs want their players focused on soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the source and the stream of revenue.

The source is a guy who specializes in fitness training and injury prevention at top clubs in Europe and who has a lot of coaching experience as well. His income stream depends on whether his training methods result in well-conditioning, successful athletes who avoid injury. Seems like a good person to weigh in on the matter. What about him do you find suspect?

1. He's not a doctor
2. He makes his living feeding soccer clubs players --- these clubs want their players focused on soccer.

I don't think most doctors have any kind of background that would help them in determining whether single-sport specialization vs multi-sport participation is more likely to enhance soccer talent. Orthopedists and certain other specialists would have insights as to which training regimens lead to or reduce injury. All the teams this guy and others like him work with would be consulting with the team doctors as well.

He seems to have worked primarily with soccer clubs in Europe (plus Australia and Russia). There is zero need for anyone to provide additional incentives for kids in those countries to focus on soccer. He is clearly right that the arguments for multi-sport participation in the U.S. and elsewhere tend to gloss over the fact that the vast majority of the world's top soccer players only ever played soccer growing up.

I personally think playing multiple sports is a fun way to spend your time as a kid, and I'd guess it can be helpful for developing talent for some sports. But I'm glad OP posted this, because I've always wondered why the multi-sport enthusiasts (who often seem to just quote American college coaches) overlook the reality of how soccer talent is developed in countries that have always produced large numbers of world-class soccer players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the source and the stream of revenue.

The source is a guy who specializes in fitness training and injury prevention at top clubs in Europe and who has a lot of coaching experience as well. His income stream depends on whether his training methods result in well-conditioning, successful athletes who avoid injury. Seems like a good person to weigh in on the matter. What about him do you find suspect?

1. He's not a doctor
2. He makes his living feeding soccer clubs players --- these clubs want their players focused on soccer.

I don't think most doctors have any kind of background that would help them in determining whether single-sport specialization vs multi-sport participation is more likely to enhance soccer talent. Orthopedists and certain other specialists would have insights as to which training regimens lead to or reduce injury. All the teams this guy and others like him work with would be consulting with the team doctors as well.

He seems to have worked primarily with soccer clubs in Europe (plus Australia and Russia). There is zero need for anyone to provide additional incentives for kids in those countries to focus on soccer. He is clearly right that the arguments for multi-sport participation in the U.S. and elsewhere tend to gloss over the fact that the vast majority of the world's top soccer players only ever played soccer growing up.

I personally think playing multiple sports is a fun way to spend your time as a kid, and I'd guess it can be helpful for developing talent for some sports. But I'm glad OP posted this, because I've always wondered why the multi-sport enthusiasts (who often seem to just quote American college coaches) overlook the reality of how soccer talent is developed in countries that have always produced large numbers of world-class soccer players.

Thank you for your post and that is exactly why I posted it.

[Anonymous]

^^I thought it was a great interview. I feel like the people who claim that it is always better to be a multi-sport athlete are often the same ones who tell you that "I love watching you play" is the only acceptable thing to say to a kid after a game. A lot people believe and repeat these things without giving much critical thought to their validity or relative importance in the scheme of things.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

You should do some research into the Olympics and particularly GB and Australia in recent years. It's definitely not true and many Olympic Gold medal winners changed sports even as adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^I thought it was a great interview. I feel like the people who claim that it is always better to be a multi-sport athlete are often the same ones who tell you that "I love watching you play" is the only acceptable thing to say to a kid after a game. A lot people believe and repeat these things without giving much critical thought to their validity or relative importance in the scheme of things.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^I thought it was a great interview. I feel like the people who claim that it is always better to be a multi-sport athlete are often the same ones who tell you that "I love watching you play" is the only acceptable thing to say to a kid after a game. A lot people believe and repeat these things without giving much critical thought to their validity or relative importance in the scheme of things.

+1

and "we don't keep scores" and "win/loss doesn't mean anything as long as you're having fun"