Growing Up and Away From Sports

There comes a time when one realizes his or her sports career is coming to an end. It is a depressing time. It was for me.

My youth sports career was limited by my lack of focus. I played soccer and basketball and baseball and tennis and golf. I did not play any of these sports at a high level. I didn't even know that there were higher levels above town leagues. And I guess my parents were not too eager to find out about them either.

In 9th grade, my best days of baseball were behind me and I had fallen behind in soccer to players who knew that there was another level. Additionally, I was not tall enough for basketball and did not have the great ball handling skills to make it as a guard. At the time, there were no HS golf teams, so playing competitively did not cross my mind. That left tennis. I was really good at tennis, but it was not my passion. I decided to tryout for the tennis team. My high school was highly ranked, so I knew that it was not going to be an easy team to make. My dad belonged to a tennis club, so we played a couple of times a week in the mornings to prepare. He also invested in some lessons for me. When tryouts came around, I thought that I was ready. Unfortunately, the coaching staff did not. Very few freshman made the team and I was not one of the chosen few.

I immediately called the baseball coach and asked if it was to late to tryout for the baseball team. He allowed me to join in the later rounds of the tryouts, but I realized he was not paying any attention to me. When he posted the cut list, I saw my name. I wallowed in self-pity for the entire season. It was the first season that I did not have a sport to play. I didn't even pick up a racquet that season to play for fun. In fact, I never picked up a racquet to play competitively ever again.

Luckily, there was a new sport emerging, lacrosse. Few kids had played the sport growing up so I was not too far behind. My lax friends encouraged me to play. I picked up the game very quickly and found my passion. I made the JV team and eventually played on the varsity team. The game made me much much tougher. The game made me much more fit. And most importantly, the game gave me confidence and not just on the lax field. If I had all of these qualities before, I could have made the squads in any of the other sports I had played previously.

My son is going through a similar cycle and this fall is the first fall that he did not have fall ball baseball or golf or basketball. He was the last freshman cut from the golf team despite playing well. His baseball team broke up so he tried out for 4 club teams. He did not make any of the teams, his lingering arm problems finally caught up to him.

He felt the same way I did when I was in 9th grade.

The Main Point

I gave up on tennis after my setback, I will not let Nic give up on golf. Looking back, he wished that he had dropped baseball before last year to concentrate on golf. His friends that made their teams had played all spring and summer long to prepare for golf, Nic only played the three weeks between the end of baseball and the golf tryouts.

Then this fall he did what I did. He found a new sport. He found boys volleyball. He joined a pre-season club team and learned the game. He fell in love with it. He signed up for tryouts for the club season, but a stress fracture in his back have derailed those plans for now. Hopefully he can get back to playing so he can prepare for the HS season.

Regardless, there comes a time when competitive sports stop and real life begins. Luckily, real life includes intramural sports and co-ed adult leagues.

Youth Sports: Two Sport Athlete Overcommitted (Part 4)

In the previous three posts, I have questioned whether it is fair for a young athlete to commit to two different teams in the same season? Is it fair to the respective coaches, fair to both sets of teammates, fair to all of the parents who spend a lot of money to put their kid on a top team with high expectations?

I talked to two people who have experienced the two sport situation. After my conversations, I started asking a new question.

Is it fair that a talented young athlete has to commit to one sport over another before he / she knows his / her full potential / passion in any given sport?

The other day, I was at an orthopedic doctor getting a mysterious bump on my shin looked at. (It turned out to be nothing.) Prior to seeing the doctor, a young assistant came into the room to take down some information. While she was asking me questions like when the lump appeared and what medications do I take and am I allergic to anything etc. She also asked me if I had kids, which led to a conversation about youth sports. She was dressed in sweats and looked very athletic, so I asked her if she was an athlete. She said that she had played basketball for a small division 3 college in Ohio. I asked her if she played any other sports growing up. She mentioned that she played club soccer and AAU basketball. Wow, just like my daughter, CC.

So I asked her the burning question - how did you play both? She said,

"You daughter is going to get lots of pressure to specialize from coaches, single sport teammates and parents of teammates. My advice is don't do specialize for as long as you can. My soccer training helped me become a better basketball player and my basketball training helped me become a better soccer player. And, I did not know which sport that I wanted to pursue in college until 9th grade. Play both as long as you can."

I also called a friend of mine to dig a bit deeper into the subject. My friend has two very athletic daughters. The oldest is playing volleyball in college. The youngest just signed a letter of intent to play soccer in college. Both played high level club basketball and volleyball through 8th grade.

Here is what he said after I told him about the pressure we were getting lately:

Wow this sounds so familiar as we had to do this for both of our girls.    

Kate and Shea played both club volleyball and club soccer up to 8^th grade (soccer and Volleyball are the same season in High school and club).  Both also played CYO volleyball and basketball.

My recommendation is to keep CC into as many sports as she want to be in and as you can manage.  I think this gives them a feel for what they want to do and they do not get burned out to early on one sport.   As they get closer to high school, girls start to level out

Youth Sports: Two Sport Athletes Overcommitted (Part 3)

Is it fair to commit to two different teams in the same season? Fair to the respective coaches, fair to both sets of teammates, fair to other parents who spend a lot of money to be on a team with high expectations?

In this series of posts, I am thinking out loud regarding the topic of specialization in one sport. I am trying to determine 1) if an youth athlete can do two sports and be respectful to coaches and teammates, 2) the best age to specialize and 3) the best way to manage a two sport schedule until the athlete reaches that recommended age for specialization.

In the previous post, the coach of my daughter's AAU team questioned our commitment to the team in a respectful email after we informed her that we would miss an out-of-town tournament next week to play soccer.

Here is my response to the coach.

Dear Coach, 

CC is overcommitted and I would like to apologize to you, the assistant coaches, the other players and their parents. We are truly sorry for the distraction this is causing. 

CC loves basketball - She is committed to getting better at basketball - believe me - she shoots for hours and hours in our backyard. She truly wants to be able to help the team with her outside shots. 

She also loves soccer. She plays on a top team in the highest select league. She is THE goalie for the team. In a surprising move before this season started, the soccer coach cut the other goalie for the team. He wanted to keep an extra forward. As a result, CC is vitally important to the success of her soccer team.

Last year with all the rain - most of the weekend soccer games were canceled and replayed during the week. As a result, we did not miss a single basketball game - all 49 or so games. We got lucky and a little over confident that we could really do it again. This year - no rain and lots of conflicts. And lots and lots of heartache for CC. If the soccer team had another goalie - she could balance her commitment more toward basketball - but she can't. 

My wife and I are conflicted - CC loves sports and wants to compete every day. We don't want her to specialize at this young age. CC does not want to specialize yet either, not until she knows how tall / big / fast she is going to be and what sport will provide the best opportunity for her to standout in high school and potentially college. We hate that a 11 year old girl

Youth Sports: Two Sport Athlete Overcommitted (Part 2)

In my previous post I asked the following question -

Is it fair to commit to two different teams in the same season? Fair to the respective coaches, fair to both sets of teammates, fair to other parents who spend a lot of money to be on a team with high expectations?


My daughter plays elite level soccer and AAU basketball. In the last post, I wrote about overcommitment and how we got into this situation. I also indicated that the basketball coach is not happy.

Here is the very well written and respectful email from the coach to the team. She wrote this email to the team because my daughter is not the only overcommitted girl on the team.

My comments are in color.


Hello Everyone, 
 
I am a little bit confused right now about what everyone has committed to with our team. When your daughter and your family joined this team you committed to a basketball first team. Yes, we work with you to make sure your daughter has every chance as a young lady to play different sports, but I think, by me being so nice about this, it is coming back to haunt our team.

CC showing her value as the goalkeeper.

We were informed that this was a basketball first program when my daughter tried out for the team and again when she accepted a position. The previous year we were able to do both with few conflicts, but this year there have been a lot of conflicts. My daughter is now the lone goalie on the soccer team, so her commitment to soccer is paramount this year. To make matter worse, my daughter is not the only two sport athlete on the basketball team. Three of her teammates also play elite level soccer.
  
 
We are suppose to be the TOP AAU team, but I cant hold a practice, game or tournament with all 10 girls attending. It really has to do with practice and wanting to challenge this special group of girls, talented girls. I would love to see these girls stay together for years to come, but we need to know that we can rely on each other and that each teammate wants to be apart of this special team. 




We are suppose to the a top AAU team, in fact, the basketball team finished 1st in Ohio and 9th in the country last year. We lost key three players from that team but the team added three new girls. The team has a lot of talent and expectations were high coming into the season. However, for the first time these girls are struggling against other top AAU teams.




My daugther, CC,  has not missed any of the mandatory team practices due to conflicts with soccer. She practices soccer Monday (team), Wednesday (team) and Friday (goalie training). Her basketball team practices are on Sunday (team), Monday (optional skills and drills) and Tuesday (team).  She does miss a basketball skills and drills practice every week. I am OK with this, because my daughter practices all the time in the driveway with her brother.


Regarding games, CC has missed 1 day of a two day tournament and will miss an entire

Youth Basketball: She's Not the Right Color?

The other day, I was talking to a dad from another basketball team. I learned that his daughter played both basketball and soccer in highly competitive leagues just like my daughter. We talked about our crazy schedules. We talked about the eventual need to specialize in one sport. I told him that my daughter has already run into conflicts and had to pass on ODP soccer (Olympic Development Program) because of AAU basketball.

I mentioned to him that my daughter would likely choose basketball and that her dream is to play for UConn. He said, "Our daughters are not exactly the right color for basketball, they'll have a better chance of playing soccer in college."

I was taken aback by this comment by a total stranger. A dead silence followed as I pondered the statement. Was the statement offensive or statistical fact? I was not personally offended but decided that even if it were statistically accurate it was offensive. If he had said that a black girl is not the right color for soccer the statement would be considered offensive even though the sport is mostly played by white athletes in the US college ranks.

Here is the bottom line:

If my daughter wants to play basketball in college, she will need to be in the top 3-5% of all basketball players, black, white or other, when she graduates from high school.

If she wants to play soccer in college she will need to be in the top 5-7% of all soccer players, black, white or other, when she graduates high school.

If you are wondering - here are some statistics.

Chances of playing sports in college
(Percentage of HS senior athletes who move on to play in college - source NCAA)

• Women's Basketball 3..6%
• Men's Basketball 3.2%
• Football 6.0% 
• Baseball 6.4%
• Men's Soccer 5.6%

I could not find statistics for women's soccer, but the percentage is probably higher than men's soccer because there are 998 NCAA women's soccer teams and only 804 Men's soccer teams. However, there may be more high school women soccer players that could keep the percentage the same as men.

Ethnic Diversity in NCAA Women's soccer and basketball

According to a report from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports - African American women make up 50.1% of the Division I basketball rosters. White women make up 42.6%. Asian and Hispanic women make up 1.2% each.

The report did not include soccer, so I did a little research on my own by doing

Youth Soccer (ODP): How to Make the Olympic Team

At age 11, jumping into ODP

Have you ever wondered how the National Teams are selected? 


Would you believe that the process to identify and train players starts as early as 10 years old? I am just learning about this because my daughter's coach is encouraging her to go to ODP training next month.

ODP stands for the Olympic Development Program.

Through this program, United States Soccer Federation identifies special players that will one day be considered for the US National Teams to represent the USA at the Olympic games and World Cup.

Every state has an ODP program. Phase 1 of ODP is open to all kids not just select players. 

ODP consists of several training sessions located in districts across every state. These training / evaluation sessions are usually held in November / December and early spring. They take a break for the club season and then pick up again in June.

These District Training sessions are conducted by ODP staff members and lots of hopeful kids participate. This is the end of the ODP experience for the 10 year olds, but kids 11 and up can advance.

The District Training is also a tryout that can lead to a tournament team selection. Players selected for a district team compete against other districts. These District tournaments are basically tryouts for the State Team. About 18-22 kids will make the State Team. Once on this team, players compete in tournaments against the other state teams from neighboring states. The top kids from these tournaments are invited to go to the US National Regional camp where kids from about 12 -14 different states compete for a spot on a Regional team.

The US National Teams are picked starting at the age of U14 through U23 and will represent the United States at International events all over the world.

The Main Point

This can be a great experience for your kid. It can also be is a tough and cruel process for the kids. As a parent you need to set the right expectations for your kid before you venture down this path. ODP is not for everyone.

My daughter wants to go to the District Training, so we are going to sign her up. At the very least, it will provide some good training. We will also be able to gauge how good she is or how much harder she needs to work if she wants to advance. 

We are realistic. We know that making the National Team, a regional team, state team or even a district team is highly unlikely, but the experience will help with Club soccer, High School or maybe even college. 


If you read this blog, you know that my daughter loves basketball too. So if she makes the State team she cannot play because her basketball team will be vying for an AAU National Championship in the month of June. Our objective for this year is to gain experience for when she is older. If, of course, she decides to concentrate on soccer over basketball. At age 11, she is too young to specialize.

I will be reporting about the process throughout so you can learn from my experience. If you have experienced ODP already, please provide your perspective in the comments below. Thanks

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.