Switching Sports at Age 15

Can a young athlete change sports at age 15 and find success?

My son's baseball career came to an abrupt end after playing at the highest level from age 9 to 14. A nagging elbow injury limited his ability to throw hard enough to compete on elite teams anymore. He could have moved to a lower level team, but he had lost his love for the game after three years of constant ice and physical therapy.

He decided to concentrate on golf and set his sights on making the high school team as a freshman. It was an ambitious goal for a kid who has spent more time on the baseball diamond than on a golf course, especially considering the school he was going to attend. The school of 800 boys only has two golf teams of 12 golfers (JV and Varsity). The team only took 4 freshman. Nic's score after 4 days of tryouts had him ranked 5th. He was the last freshman cut.

After he was cut, I asked him what sport he was going to play. He was discouraged and did not want to tryout for any sports. I told him that he needed to play at least one sport in high school because it is such an important part of connecting to the school and making friends. I talked him into trying out for the volleyball team. Nic tried to convince me that he could not make the team that wins state championships often. I talked to the coach and the coach told me that while the program is one of the best in the state every year, a good athlete with little experience can still make the freshman team.

While that is what I was hoping to hear, I was a bit surprised because my perspective was baseball and soccer. Boys baseball is a very developed sport and it would be impossible for a player new to the sport to compete with kids who have been playing travel ball for 5 to 7 years. Soccer is also very developed. High school players have been honing their skills on elite club teams since they were 8, so it would be very difficult to jump into soccer and expect to make a team at a big high school with competitive sports programs. The coach explained that boys volleyball is different. While girls volleyball is very developed in our area with 10 to 15 clubs training girls from age 8 on, boys volleyball is not. So a good athlete can pick up the game and compete in a relatively short amount of time.

Nic signed up for a winter volleyball club team to prepare for the tryouts. He came home from the first practice and said he felt like a fool. He knew how to bump, serve and spike, but he did not know the positions. The game was much more complicated than it looks. The coach and the guys on the team gave him the business in a lighthearted way. They called him Kobe because he was the only one wearing basketball shoes. Still, they taught him the game, he improved quickly and he started to love the game.

Nic tried out for the freshman volleyball team at his HS and made it. He did not play a single point until match number 9. Then he got his chance and he did not sit out another point all season. This year, he made the JV team and plays outside hitter and middle back.


Oh yeah, he was also named the team captain.

The Main Point

Keep competing and trying new things. You never know what it is going to lead to.

Youth Sports: Should Your Kid Specialize in One Sport

The question is should your kid specialize in one sport?

First a definition of specialization. Specialization in youth sports is year round training in one sport and one sport only. My oldest son specialized in soccer from age 12. (More on that later.) Some parents select a sport for their kids to specialize in at ages as young as 5.

The alternative to specialization is sampling according to Sharon Chirban, Ph.D, a Psychology Instructor at Harvard Medical School, in a piece for the Huffington Post. Sampling in this case means involvement in multiple sports.

She argues that the dangers of specialization outweigh the advantages. Read Specialization Vs. Sampling in Youth Sports: Which is healthier?

She talks about the physical side:

Overuse injuries are among the biggest risks to young athletes who play a single sport. Training and working the same muscles and joints year-round allows no time for the child's body to rest and recover -- which is essential for healthy development.

She talks about the mental side:

In fact, the psychological threats of sports training can be just as serious as the physical injuries. Children who spend too much time training for a particular sport year-round often find themselves experiencing burnout before they reach high school, leading them to withdrawal from sports. Additionally, the increased pressure and stress that comes with this highly intensive and competitive training can be mentally wearing for young athletes.

What she doesn't talk about is my daughter's situation:

My daughter specializes in two sports year round, select soccer and AAU basketball. She also samples in CYO volleyball. She is getting the cross training benefit of sampling and the specialization benefit of year round training.

                     

What she is not getting is time for her body to rest and recover. And my daughter is not alone. Most of the star players on her elite teams are gifted multiple sports athletes who play multiple sports year round.

I worry about specialization. How can you tell at age 10 what sport will provide the most enjoyment, success and confidence / character building long term?

I worry about not specializing. If she does not participate in year round select soccer or basketball other players who do specialize will advance ahead of her.

I worry about overuse injuries. Cross training allows her to develop many different sets of muscles, but she has little time to recover.

What to do?

The Main Point

We are allowing my daughter to play multiple sports year round. We do not want her to specialize at this age. We also do not want her to fall behind in one sport or another. We are not as concerned about overuse issues because my daughter's motor is running non-stop whether she has an organized game or practice or not. She rushes home after basketball games to play basketball on our little basketball court on the side of the house. On days off she begs me to go to the gym where there is an indoor basketball court. I could not slow her down if I tried.

Back to my older son who specialized in soccer. He was a small and agile in his younger years. He would have been considered a finesse player. A midfielder who could defend the middle third and distribute the ball. He was good enough to make the freshman team of his HS. Then he started to grow and the growth robbed him of his speed and agility. The key to HS soccer is speed so he did not advance to play on the JV or Varsity teams. He grew to 6ft 3in. Perhaps volleyball would have been a better choice.

In the case of my daughter, what would you do? Let her play multiple high level, high stress sports year round or specialize in one. She is equally good in both sports.

Youth Volleyball: Unhappy Parent Confronts Coach

Crazy Youth Sports Parents Series

My wife and coach of my daughter's 4th grade volleyball team was confronted by an unhappy parent after the last game of the season yesterday.

The situation

• The first year 4th grade team struggled all season long. 
• Most schools in the area start volleyball in 3rd grade. The extra year experience gave many of our opponents a competitive advantage.
• My wife and her co-head coach were dismayed that they could not help their team win more games.
• My wife and her co-head coach played all the girls equally all year long regardless of ability.
• Typically each girl would play two games and sit one. The parish rule is that every player must play one entire game of the three in the regular season. Playing time is at the coaches discretion in the playoffs.
• During the regular season, a match would consist of 3 games even if one team won the first 2 games. 
• During the playoffs, the matches are best 2 of 3. A match is over when a team wins two games. A third game is not played if a team wins the first two.
• Friday night, my wife and her co-coach spent an hour on the phone setting the line ups for all three games of their first playoff match.
• They decided to rotate in the best 7 players in the first game instead of 8 like they have done all year long.
• They did this to give the team the best chance to win the first game to give the team a chance to play 3 games and perhaps advance.
• Unfortunately, the team lost the first game against a much better team. (15-9)
• Three girls did not play the first game, but were scheduled to play in games 2 and 3.
• Unfortunately the second game was a lopsided loss. (15-3)
• Because the game was so one sided, our team did not get to rotate much.
• One of the three girls that did not play the first game did not get to serve in the second game because her serving slot did not come up during the short one-sided game.
• After the game, this player cried her eyes out.
• I thought she was crying because they lost the game. No she was crying because she did not get to serve the entire day.
• This obviously upset the parent.
• The parent confronted my wife and the co-head coach to share his discontent about his child's lack of playing time.
• My wife and her co-coach were completely taken by surprise. Dumfounded, they did not have much to say.
• Both caring and sensitive coaches walked away greatly upset.
• This dad needs a serious reality check.

The Main Point

This disgruntled parent was completely out of line. First he violated a team rule that states an upset parent  cannot approach a coach until after a 24 hour cooling off period. If he had, maybe he would have realized that his daughter did not play a lot because the team only played 2 games. Maybe he would have realized that his daughter did not get to serve only by happenstance and not some evil plot by the coaches to thwart her opportunity to serve.

Listen there are unfair coaches in this world and I think that parents have every right to approach the coach with concerns or questions or even complaints, but this must be done in a respectful manner. I think that the 24 hour cool down period is a good idea.

My daughter had a great year and loves the game. She will eventually need to pick one sport over another, but for now we are happy that she is playing multiple sports.

Bump Set

First Spike

Winner Inside the Line

Youth Sports Interferes with Family Time. I Think Not.

The University of Minnesota conducted research on Youth Sports. The report is called Parents perceptions of how frequently youth sports interferes with family time. 

They conclude that "done right" youth sports can provide a positive and meaningful context for youth development and family engagement. They also express concern that the amped up youth sports world of today can place the health and well being of the children at risk. Overuse injuries, parental pressure to succeed and compromised family leisure time are the main issues.

I agree with the overuse injuries and pressure being potential issues. But I disagree with the argument that the amped up youth sports world of today hinders optimal development because meals, family outings and simple discussions between families and children are sacrificed. 

On the contrary, I think that youth sports has brought my family closer together. Due to our crazy schedule - last month we had 18 practices and 30 games between two kids - my wife and I spent countless hours in the car with our kids. Do you know what we do in the car? We talk. We have also spent countless hours at restaurants after games. Do you know what we do while waiting for our meals and eating? We talk. Travel tournaments draw us even closer together. Just last year, we visited Cooperstown and Disney. We are seeing the world and bonding. 

The following charts are from the report which I encourage you to visit via the link above.

As I look at the data, I can report that youth sports does interfere with Sunday religious service. I talked about this in my post called I Used to Wear Soccer Shin Pads to Church.  My kids go to Catholic schools so they are creating a strong religious foundation. The kids go to a service every Thursday during school. My wife and I, however, miss church more than we would like.


Late practices often pushes homework later in the evening, so I would agree that sleep is sometimes compromised. 


School is number one in our house and my kids do well, but I must admit that sometimes homework is compromised. My older son has ADHD and school did not come as easily. We restricted him to one sport per season.


Youth sports does interfere with vacations in one aspect - for example we would love to visit family out west in the summer, however, travel baseball and AAU basketball tournaments take up all of my vacation time so we have not been able to see extended family as much as we would like. On the other hand, youth sports travel tournaments also inspire vacations for us. This year we will go to Disney and to Gulf Port Mississippi. 


Youth sports does not interfere with Family time, in fact I think that we spend more time together than the average family because of sports. When we have the rare an off weekend from sports, I do not see my kids. They are off to sleepovers or hang in the basement playing video games.


Youth sports do interfere with the traditional family meal at home,  but we do eat out together a lot after games. I think that the point about family meals is the time spent together talking and we do that frequently at restaurants.

The chart indicates which sports interfere the most. Funny this chart does not have a bar that represents my daughters schedule - she is playing school volleyball, AAU basketball and Elite soccer all at the same time. 

The Main Point

So you can look at youth sports as a negative and in some families it can be, but the overbearing parent with unrealistic expectations is most likely the problem and not the schedule. I look at youth sports as a huge enriching positive for my kids and our family. 

Youth Sports Fanatics by Nature or Nurture?

I was recently interviewed via phone by Mark Hyman, professional journalist and blogger (Youth Sports Blog) about youth sports. He asked me fairly basic questions. The questions were not difficult to answer, but they made me stop and think and think. I will post about some of my answers over the next couple of days.

One thought provoking question was Why do we invest so much time and money in youth sports? After the call, I wondered if the real question was - Why would you subject your kids to this hectic schedule? Is it for you or them? Let's face it, if you read this blog we're nuts. But why are we nuts? was the thought provoking question that I wanted to answer for myself. I thought about it all last night and could not wait to write it down.

As I answered Mark's question, I am sure that I rambled on before I articulated the pure and simple answer which is - we're a sports family. My wife and I come from sports families. We love sports and either by nature or nurture our kids love sports too. None of us can get enough of it.

My wife and I do not have grand illusions of our kids playing pro sports or even getting college scholarships. My kid's 529s are at the ready. We would love it if our kids had a chance to play in high school because my wife and I both have fond memories of HS sports. My kids are considering HS programs with very competitive athletics, as such, playing HS sports is not a given. So as long as they have the desire to play sports, we will invest the time, energy and money to help them advance as far as they want to go.

As a kid, I played sports non-stop year round. I played organized soccer, baseball, lacrosse, tennis and basketball. I got consumed in the sports season that I was in. If it was baseball season, my friends and I played baseball (or some form of it) day and night. If we were not playing in an organized league, we were playing pick-up baseball games or stickball or whiffle ball. When it rained we played ruler ball. Ruler ball was a form of baseball played in a basement on rainy days. A 12 in. ruler was the bat and wadded up tin foil was the ball. We played baseball in one form or another non-stop and never once thought about pitch counts.

During basketball season, if I was not playing on an organized team, my friends and I (or my dad and I) would play at a park or on driveway somewhere. We played pick up games, from 5V5 full court to 1V1 half court, it all depended on how many kids we could find to play on any given day. Additionally, we played horse, pig, 5-3-1 and Around-the-World all day long and at night under spot lights. In the winter, we would shovel snow off the driveway to play.

When I wasn't playing sports I was watching sports on TV or live at a stadium. In other words, I had no time for Boy Scouts or Indian Guides and that was just fine with me.

My dad

I was probably obsessed with sports because my dad was. My dad was a tremendous athlete. Much better than I was. At 6ft 5in, he was bigger, faster and more athletic than me. Heck he was bigger, faster and could jump higher than most people of is era. He played 3 sports in college (baseball, basketball and golf). He was simply good at every sport he picked up and loved nothing more than to teach me how to play each game to my potential.

JJ's Great Grandmother

My wife was a multi-sport athlete as a kid. She played boys baseball, basketball, volleyball, softball, golf and also participated in track and field (hurdles and high jump). She played softball in college. Athletics were ingrained in her by her family. Get this, her great grandmother, played college basketball at Waldorf College in Iowa from 1913-1916 not too long after the first ever women's college basketball game was played. Her grandfather and mother's first date was a tennis match. Her grandmother beat her grandfather.

I wouldn't be married to my wife if not for sports. 

The Cincinnati Sports and Social Club formed the year I moved to Cincinnati in the early nineties. The club was based on a simple principle, co-ed sports for young adults followed by co-ed drinking at a sponsor bar.

The first year of the club, I played volleyball against my wife. The next season I recruited her to play on my team. Together, we won the Cincinnati Sport and Social Club Volleyball Championship several years in a row. We traveled to places like Atlanta, Orlando and Phoenix to represent the Cincinnati Club at the Sport and Social Clubs National Finals. We also won a softball city title and countless floor hockey city titles. We did not stop playing when we had kids either. We would bring a playpen and put it in the corner of a gym or the end of a dugout and play sports 3 or 4 days a week year round. We did this until our kids schedules precluded this.

The Main Point

I guess my kids are sports fanatics because they come from a long line of sports fanatics. We are motivated by the love of sports pure and simple. It's a passion. We do not see sports as a path to stardom and money. It's about lifelong enjoyment.

Before you jump to any conclusions. Academics come before sports in our family.  Thankfully, my two young, over-scheduled athletes are great students. Perhaps, they got that from me. I brought my competitive nature to school. I graduated number 5 in my engineering college and earned an Ivy League MBA. Like athletics, we will invest the time, energy and money to help our kids advance as far as they want to go in school too.

Finally to answer the question, Is this for us (parents) or for them (kids)? Just yesterday, my daughter asked me if she could join the Girl Scouts. I said, "Sure honey but you will probably need to cut back on your sports schedule to do Girl Scouts." Without hesitation she said, "Oh - no way dad, forget it." And that was that. Like father, like daughter.

Youth Soccer: Winter Training

This is a note from my daughter's soccer coach regarding winter training. 

Dear Team,

 I am sending this out to clear up some questions.  I have been getting notes from confused parents on what to do over the winter months if anything.

In this day and age we cannot stress enough how important it is to continue to train as much as possible at these younger ages. (The kids are 10 years old). These younger ages are when the kids develop the necessary skills (technical skills ) needed to play at a high level when they are older.

Right now with our age groups the girls are focusing on ball control and individual ball skills (Basically the proper techniques needed to play the game at the next level) which includes High school.  

As you have all seen this year the U10 age group has already started to be introduced to the tactical side of the game, which is includes roles and positioning on the field , how to make runs , etc . We only train 3 hours per week, so as we start to focus on the team (tactical) there is not much time to spend on the individual player (tecnhical).

The foundation must be built at these younger ages or your kid will only go so far before they hit a wall. All of our players are very talented and capable of playing at a high level as they get older.

I know for some, this is all new and are not sure what direction to go. I have been in this for a long time now. I can tell you that players are made! They just don’t wake up one day as a great soccer player. It takes a long term investment and you will see the rewards.

So hopefully that helps everyone understand how they can help their children be better at this sport , it is the training that will get them there.

Coach

The Main Point

The best players play the game year round. If your kid wants to play soccer in high school then they will need to play year round. Why because that's what all the other players vying for those few high school roster spots are doing.

One caveat. I think that kids should play multiple sports at a young age. Lessons learned on a basketball court can help on a soccer field. Endurance gained on a soccer court will help a volleyball player. Muscles developed playing volleyball can help on a basketball court.

Youth Soccer: The Differences Between Select (Travel) and Recreational Soccer

Are you trying to decide between recreational soccer and select soccer? I am a D licensed soccer coach with years of experience coaching both recreational and select soccer teams. Here are the major differences between recreational and club select soccer.

1) Training Select soccer players typically get better training. Training is conducted by paid licensed coaches. However please note, select soccer does not automatically guarantee quality training. You need to know the credentials of the coach and / or trainer before you commit your money to a club. Ask the trainer if he / she has a license to coach or what experience he / she has? Recreational soccer is usually coached by volunteer parents who may participate in a short pre-season coaching clinic or given links to coaching tips on line.

2) Better players to compete with and against If you believe that your kid will only get better by playing with and against better players, then select is probably the right place for your child. However please note, select soccer does not automatically guarantee strong teammates and competition. Large regional select soccer clubs will typically have several levels within each age group, Premier (1st Division), 2nd division, 3rd division, etc. I can tell you that the 4th and 5th level teams in most clubs are not strong. If you looking to club soccer for stronger competition to challenge your kid you may actually find better competition in a recreational league verses the lower divisions of a select club. Why? Select typically requires a year round commitment and there are many good athletes who do not want to make that commitment because they want to play other sports too. These multi-sport athletes playing rec soccer are often better than the full time soccer players playing on a 4th or 5th division club team.

3) More Games The big difference between select and rec is the tournament schedule. A typical select team will play in a preseason, mid-season and post season tournament in addition to the regular season games. Recreational teams usually play in one single elimination tournament at the end of the season. A typical select tournament guarantees three games so a select team may play 6 to 9 more games per season than a rec team, but these extra games are completed in 2 or 3 weekends. Select soccer does not automatically mean more practice. Most clubs hold practices two times per week.

Please note: There are several levels within select programs too, when kids get older the best kids may compete in ODP, CUP and Super Regional leagues. These are very serious leagues with lots of games, practices and travel.

4) Select soccer is a year-round commitment. Typically 20 games in the fall, 10 indoor games before Christmas, 10 indoor games after Christmas, 20 games in the spring. This is my biggest issue with soccer. If you want your kid to advance in soccer and play in HS, your child will most likely need to play on a select team year round from the age of 9 to high school. Why? Because that is what the competition for those coveted high school spots are doing.

5) Emphasis on winning - Good sportsmanship and fun are promoted in recreational leagues and players are guaranteed to play 50% of every game. All teams are randomly selected and there is no attempt to separate the better and experienced players from the new players. While good sportsmanship and fun are a goal for select soccer coaches too, select soccer is more competitive. They have tryouts and some players may be cut. Playing time is not guaranteed and there is a stronger emphasis on winning games. In our select league, there are eight teams in each division (Premier - first division, 2nd Division, 3rd Division, etc.) The top two teams in each division move up and the bottom two teams in each division move down. A club's status is based on how many teams they have in the upper divisions, so they emphasize winning.

6) Cost - Select soccer can cost anywhere from $600 per year to $2600 per year (even more for CUP). Recreational soccer costs about $70 per year.

The Main Point

Select soccer is not for everyone,

Confidence Can Carry Over from One Sport to Another

Game 25

I have kept the books / stats for baseball, soccer, football, and basketball, but I have never been the scorekeeper for volleyball. I can now cross that off my 50 things to do before I am 50. I kept the volleyball scorebook, while Nic's team won two games and lost one. Nic brought his strong serve and tallied 22 of the 45 points. After the game, we talked about confidence. He succeeds at serving in volleyball because he is confident. I told him that he will start hitting a baseball like he is used to when he gets his confidence back. I hope that the confidence he is building in volleyball will carry over.

The Main Point

One benefit of playing multiple sports at one time is that positive momentum from one sport can carry over to another. I guess the opposite can true too. But I have been using the success from volleyball to help build confidence for baseball.

Should Kids Concentrate on One Sport? Advice from a MLB Player

Should your son or daughter concentrate on one sport?

My son's baseball U12 team will play 75 games from March to July. We played 55 last year and I thought that was crazy. The team, however, does not play year round like some elite travel teams. I think that this is very important. Young arms need a rest. And training in other sports builds other muscles and builds stamina that will only help the young baseball player.

Read this letter from an over zealous parent. Her son made our team accepted the offer then they reneged because our team was not serious enough. For perspective, our team came in second in the CABA World Series the year before.

Coach P

I am sorry but I am very disappointed, this is supposed to be a National level AABC and we are only going to have 2 practices in february – even my 7 yr old has been practicing 2-3 times a week since dec. 1st and now we are stepping up to 3-4 starting Feb 1st.

No batting practice, no pitchers and catchers workouts. I have been part of travel teams for 10 years at various levels. We are supposed to be one of the best teams based solely on the talent accumulated but I do not see how these boys are expected to go out and play 55 games at this high level of competition without proper preparation.

If what you wrote below is the final word on your plan – I am so sorry but we are going to need to move on – I turned down several teams just to be with you because of what I heard was a fantastic opportunity and organization for my son – but first impressions mean everything – and unfortunately your first impression is not up to the standard we are looking for.

Lisa

From Morgan Ensberg's Baseball IQ Blog - Morgan Ensberg, former MLB player,  has some good advice for baseball parents in his blog. He concludes with this:

What is cool is that the parents of these kids really love their children.  They want their kids to have every opportunity to succeed.  But I am afraid that they are setting them up to fail.  Maybe their children will be better at baseball at an earlier age, but they won’t get a much needed mental break that comes at the end of a traditional season.  Nor will they get the benefits that other sports bring.  Playing more than one sport at an early age is vital to understanding team environments, comprehending the need for hard work in areas you may not be good at, and finally learning game theory.

Your child does not need to be scouted by a bureau.  Your child does not need to go to a showcase.  Your child needs to know that you love them and that being great is about desire and never giving up.