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: 2/22/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 22, 2023
1. BASKETBALL Cass City’s girls and boys teams both clinched shares of Greater Thumb Conference West titles, and Saylar Cuthrell went over 1,000 career points – Huron Daily Tribune
2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Undefeated North Farmington defeated Oxford 41-38 to clinch the outright Oakland Activities Association White title – Oakland Press
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Jackson edged Chelsea 83-81 to clinch a share of the Southeastern Conference White championship – Ann Arbor News
4. BOYS BASKETBALL Chesaning earned a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 42-39 overtime win over Ovid-Elsie – Mid-Michigan Now
5. SKIING Traverse City West’s girls and boys teams both finished Big North Conference championship runs – Cadillac News
6. BOYS BASKETBALL Bridgeport claimed the outright Tri-Valley Conference 8 title with a 59-46 win over Essexville Garber – Saginaw News
7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Temperance Bedford earned a share of the Southeastern Conference Red title with a 59-29 win over Ypsilanti Lincoln – Monroe News
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saline in the SEC Red and Whitmore Lake in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference clinched league championships – Ann Arbor News
9. BOYS BASKETBALL Grand Blanc doubled up Midland to clinch the Saginaw Valley League championship – WJRT
10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Colon finished a title run in the Southern Central Athletic Association West with a 78-45 win over Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal
Also of note …
BOYS BASKETBALL Mackinaw City clinched the outright Northern Lakes Conference title with a 51-42 win over Alanson – Cheboygan Daily Tribune
BOYS BASKETBALL Onsted clinched a share of the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship with a 56-36 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram
GIRLS BASKETBALL Lansing Catholic earned one of its best wins of a strong run, 65-38 over Ypsilanti Arbor Prep – Lansing State Journal
BOYS BASKETBALL Detroit U-D Jesuit edged Warren De La Salle Collegiate 54-48 to reach the Detroit Catholic League Bishop final – Detroit News
BOYS BASKETBALL Grand Rapids South Christian ended Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s 75-game league winning streak, 82-54 – Grand Rapids Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Mary Copple went over 1,000 career points in Brighton’s 54-45 win over Belleville – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
GIRLS BASKETBALL Zeeland East’s Mirra Fenlon and Saugatuck’s Kennedy Gustafson broke school records in wins – Holland Sentinel
GIRLS BASKETBALL Olivia Hayes broke the Holland Black River single-season scoring record in her team’s big win over West Michigan Aviation Academy – Holland Sentinel
GIRLS BASKETBALL Maddie Geers went over 1,000 career points in Kent City’s 65-49 win over Morley Stanwood – Local Sports Journal