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: 11/15/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 15, 2023
1. VOLLEYBALL No. 10 Clarkston Everest Collegiate earned its first Semifinals trip with a Division 4 sweep of No. 6 Marlette – Oakland Press
2. VOLLEYBALL Milan continued its program-best run with a sweep of Dearborn Divine Child in Division 2 – Monroe News
3. VOLLEYBALL After they split four matches during the regular season, honorable mention Farmington Hills Mercy defeated No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian in a Division 1 Quarterfinal – Detroit News
4. VOLLEYBALL No. 4 Kalamazoo Christian swept No. 2 Pewamo-Westphalia to advance in Division 3 – WWMT
5. VOLLEYBALL No. 10 Cass City lost a set for the first time this postseason, but came back to defeat No. 8 Saginaw Valley Lutheran 3-1 in a Division 3 Quarterfinal – Mid-Michigan Now
6. VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked North Branch is headed back to Battle Creek after a Division 2 sweep of No. 7 Frankenmuth – WJRT
7. VOLLEYBALL No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern also is returning to Kellogg Arena after sweeping honorable mention Grand Haven in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
8. VOLLEYBALL No. 4 Leland swept No. 5 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in a Division 4 Quarterfinal – MI Sports Now
9. VOLLEYBALL No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis lost the first set but won the next three to get past No. 7 Calumet in Division 3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central swept No. 3 Plymouth Christian Academy to move on in Division 3 – Monroe News
Also of note …
VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Clarkston swept Macomb L’Anse Creuse North to advance in Division 1 – Oakland Press
VOLLEYBALL Grand Rapids West Catholic advanced in Division 2 with a win over honorable mention Ludington – FOX 17
VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Crystal Falls Forest Park will be returning to the Division 4 Semifinals thanks to a four-set win over Newberry – Upper Michigan Source
VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Adrian Lenawee Christian earned a trip to Battle Creek with a sweep of St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic in Division 4 – Adrian Daily Telegram
VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian swept Edwardsburg in a Division 2 Quarterfinal – Niles Daily Star
VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Northville swept Portage Northern to make the Division 1 Semifinals – Twitter
VOLLEYBALL Pewamo-Westphalia’s Taylor Smith was named this year’s Miss Volleyball Award winner – Lansing State Journal