Let's Play 2 (or 3, or 4)
February 16, 2012
A few conversations I had at last week's Women In Sports Leadership conference further affirmed a point I've been making for years -- high school athletes, if they'd like, shouldn't hesitate to play multiple sports.
Doing so does not hurt, but might just help their chances at landing that prized college scholarship -- on top of adding another layer to the high school sports experience.
Reaffirming this for me last week was Michigan State softball coach Jacquie Joseph, who spoke on that subject at the WISL conference. She's heading into her 24th season as a head coach at the Division I college level -- so she's been around for some of the evolution of both high school sports specialization and college recruiting. Plus, she coaches a sport that sees its share of athletes playing just that one.
Later, I spoke with a high school coach who leads teams in three sports and also played one at the Division I college level. She's a believer in this as well.
Some of the things I've been told over the years about playing more than one sport:
- It allows an athlete to learn more skills and hone more parts of his or her athleticism.
- Using another range of movement further helps condition an athlete's body and make it more resistant to injury.
- It's hardly rare to see a college football coach watching a prospect's basketball game -- coaches like to see how athleticism transfers across sports, and sometimes will see something from an athlete playing basketball that he didn't show on the football field. (Football and basketball are used in this example, but the same applies to a number of similar situations.)
- Athletes get an opportunity to play whatever they'd like only this once (unless they turn out to be that rare college athlete who takes on more than one sport at that level).
These are hardly new arguments. But they are always worth repeating -- especially when the people frequently making them (college coaches) are the ones single-sport athletes often are trying to impress.
Today in the MHSAA: 5/22/24
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 22, 2024
1. SOFTBALL Division 1 No. 10 Brownstown Woodhaven edged No. 6 Allen Park 10-9, ending the Jaguars' 14-year reign as a Downriver League champions with its first outright league title in this sport – Southgate News-Herald
2. TRACK & FIELD Kingsley swept championships at the 62nd Northwest Conference championship meet and in the Stags’ last season in the league; the Kingsley girls are ranked No. 6 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. SOFTBALL Zeeland West clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title with a 3-2 walk-off win over Division 1 honorable mention Muskegon Reeths-Puffer – Holland Sentinel
4. TRACK & FIELD The Midland Dow girls and Midland High boys claimed Saginaw Valley League championship meet wins – Midland Daily News
5. BASEBALL Division 2 No. 6 Saginaw Swan Valley clinched a share of the Tri-Valley Conference Red title with a 10-inning win over No. 8 Frankenmuth, and will attempt to reign outright today – Saginaw News
6. BASEBALL Division 2 top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic swept Midland Dow on a record-setting day to claim its first SVL championship in this sport – WJRT
7. SOFTBALL Marysville downed Utica 8-6 to clinch the Macomb Area Conference White title – Macomb Daily
8. TRACK & FIELD Brownstown Woodhaven continued girls and boys championship streaks in the Downriver League; the Woodhaven girls are No. 6 in LPD1 – Southgate News-Herald
9. TRACK & FIELD The Saugatuck girls and LPD4 No. 2 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep boys won Southwestern Athletic Conference championship meets – Holland Sentinel
10. SOFTBALL/BASEBALL The Division 2 No. 7 Goodrich softball team and Flushing baseball team won overall Flint Metro League championships – WJRT Softball | Baseball
Also of note …
BASEBALL Muskegon Oakridge swept Montague to finish as outright champion in the West Michigan Conference – Local Sports Journal
TRACK & FIELD The Monroe Jefferson and Erie Mason girls and Ottawa Lake Whiteford and Milan boys won league meets – Monroe News
GIRLS SOCCER Saugatuck and Holland Black River played to a 1-1 draw to share the SAC Lakeshore championship – Holland Sentinel
SOFTBALL Division 3 No. 5 Evart earned a share of the Highland Conference title with a sweep of Roscommon – Cadillac News