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: 3/16/22
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 16, 2022
1. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 9 Rockford earned its first Semifinal trip with a 54-43 win over No. 14 East Lansing in Division 1 – FOX 17
2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Overall top seed Detroit Edison will return to the Division 2 Semifinals after a 53-35 win over reigning champion and No. 3 Portland – MLive-Detroit
3. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 7 Madison Heights Bishop Foley will be making its first Semifinal trip after a 55-48 win over No. 14 Reese in Division 3 – Oakland Press
4. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 4 Hartland avenged last season’s Quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Midland Dow with a 56-51 overtime win – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
5. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 8 Grand Rapids West Catholic advanced to the Division 2 Semifinals with an 82-27 win over No. 6 Edwardsburg – FOX 17
6. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 5 Kent City will be returning to the Division 3 Semifinals after a 34-33 win over No. 6 Schoolcraft – Local Sports Journal
7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Ludington advanced in Division 2 with a 30-27 win over No. 5 Frankenmuth – Ludington Daily News
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Reigning Division 4 champ and No. 3 Fowler advanced its chance to finish a repeat run after a 58-26 win over No. 8 Gaylord St. Mary – Lansing State Journal
9. GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 10 Baraga will be making the trip to the Division 4 Semifinals after a 57-40 win over No. 7 Pickford – UP Matters
10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Overall No. 1 seed Plymouth Christian Academy will advance to the Division 4 Semifinals after a 54-44 win over Genesee Christian – Flint Journal
Also of note …
GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 16 Wayne Memorial earned a return to the Semifinals with a 44-33 win over Riverview in Division 1 – Detroit News
GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 6 West Bloomfield downed Troy 67-32 in Division 1 to earn its first Semifinals trip in nearly two decades – Oakland Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Detroit Country Day earned a repeat trip to Breslin with a 59-55 win over Marysville in Division 2 – Oakland Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Overall top seed Ypsilanti Arbor Prep also earned a return trip to Breslin with a 69-51 win over Dansville in Division 3 – Ann Arbor News
GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 8 Maple City Glen Lake advanced in Division 3 with a 50-29 win over Lake City – Up North Live
GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 4 Adrian Lenawee Christian is returning to the Division 4 Semifinals after a 69-36 win over Muskegon Heights Academy – Adrian Daily Telegram