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: 3/15/21
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 15, 2021
Titanic matchups in wrestling and boys basketball filled in just a few spots on a weekend list packed with league champions, including the swimming & diving winner of arguably the strongest conference in the state – regardless of sport.
1. Wrestling: In a rematch of last season’s Division 1 Final, top-ranked Davison downed reigning champ and No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central 36-9 – State Champs Sports Network
2. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer finished first at the Southeastern Conference Red meet, followed by No. 5 Saline, LPD2 No. 3 Ann Arbor Skyline, LPD1 No. 9 Ann Arbor Huron and LPD2 No. 10 Temperance Bedford – We Love Ann Arbor
3. Girls Basketball: Hudsonville earned a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title with a 65-50 win over East Kentwood – FOX 17
4. Boys Basketball: Flint Carman-Ainsworth continued its surge with an 84-76 win over Grand Blanc in a matchup of Division 1 title contenders – WJRT
5. Girls Basketball: Frankenmuth downed Bay City John Glenn 36-25 to clinch the Tri-Valley Conference 8 title – WEYI
6. Hockey: Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills clinched the O-K Fischer title outright with a 4-2 win over Grand Haven – FOX 17
7. Boys Swimming & Diving: Manistee repeated as Coastal Conference champion – Manistee News Advocate
8. Bowling: The Utica Ford boys and New Baltimore Anchor Bay girls finished Macomb Area Conference White championship runs – Macomb Daily
9. Boys Swimming & Diving: Marysville claimed the MAC Gold championship meet title to go with its dual-meet first-place finish – Macomb Daily
10. Boys Swimming & Diving: Brownstown Woodhaven also added a league meet title to a perfect regular season, in the Downriver League – Southgate News-Herald
Also of note …
Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Fenton scored 508 points to win the Flint Metro League championship meet by more than 100 – Owosso Argus-Press
Bowling: The Caledonia boys and Hudsonville girls won O-K Red championship tournament titles – Grand Haven Tribune
Girls/Boys Basketball: Shelby Cade, playing on Buckley’s boys team this season, went over 1,000 points for her career in a 71-61 win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary – Cadillac News
Girls Basketball: Mackenzie Egger went over 1,000 career points as Mount Pleasant downed Bay City Central 39-30 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Boys Basketball: Kevin Pearson went over 1,000 career points as Onaway defeated Pellston 48-40 – Cheboygan Daily Tribune
Boys Basketball: Rogers City’s Nick Freel also went over 1,000 career points, doing so in a 77-69 win over Posen – Alpena News
Athletic Directors: Longtime athletic director and coach Brian Gordon is retiring after more than 30 years in school sports, most recently at Novi – Oakland Press