Football was my first love.

As a young child, I lived for…

• Watching my high school football team play on Friday nights

• Watching the Iowa Hawkeyes play on Saturday afternoons

• Watching the Chicago Bears play on Sundays after church

My buddies and I played sandlot football whenever we found time (recess, after school, etc.).

I even won the Iowa Run, Punt, and Pass state championship when I was nine! I just knew I would become the next Walter Payton when I received that trophy!

This all changed in middle school.

I started playing tackle football in seventh grade and quickly realized I wasn’t as good as I thought. I hated practices and didn’t enjoy the physicality of the sport.

By high school, my passion switched to baseball.

But I still played football in high school. I also played basketball and ran of the track team. I LOVED competing in multiple sports!

My oldest son will start his junior year of high school this month.

Baseball has always been his passion, but he also played football and basketball growing up.

He continued with the three sports through his freshman year, then he decided to give up football and basketball to focus on baseball.

Admittedly, I didn’t like it. I wanted him to have MY high school experience! I had to bite my tongue and constantly remind myself that this is HIS journey.

After finishing his sophomore year, he told me he is VERY glad he gave up football and basketball. (I’m glad I bit my tongue!)

I LOVED my high school experience as a multi-sport athlete and he’s LOVING his experience specializing in baseball.

Different strokes for different folks!

It’s common for adults to try to convince high school athletes to play multiple sports by pointing out that college coaches prefer recruiting multi-sport athletes.

Here are some examples:

Tweets like these are very convincing on the surface, but I like digging BELOW the surface!

Here are some questions I have:

• Would a coach REALLY recruit a less talented player simply because he plays multiple sports and a more talented player at the same position specializes in baseball?

• Are players good at baseball because they play multiple sports, or do to they play multiple sports because they are genetically superior athletes than their peers and thus excel at ALL the sports naturally?

• Does it make sense for a baseball player to specialize in baseball if he needs to improve his skill set just to have an opportunity to play at the next level?

Here are my opinions:

Would a coach REALLY recruit a less talented player simply because he plays multiple sports and a more talented player at the same position specializes in baseball?

No way!

Coaches want the best players, PERIOD!

Here’s a hypothetical scenario:

Johnny specialized in baseball. He’s a RHP who throws 92-94 with a nasty slider and a developing change-up.

Timmy is a multi-sport athlete. He’s a RHP who throws 84-86 with a nasty slider and a developing change-up.

Coaches will recruit Johnny over Timmy 100% of the time.

Now, there is something to be said about projectability, however.

Let’s say Timmy throws 90-92 and has a bigger frame than Johnny. THEN, coaches may think:

Timmy has a better frame AND he’s played multiple sports, so he will likely improve quite a bit when he focuses on baseball in college.

Still, I think Johnny has an upper hand. Projectability is difficult to trust.

Some coaches may disagree, and that’s okay.

Are players good at baseball because they play multiple sports, or do to they play multiple sports because they are genetically superior athletes than their peers and thus excel at ALL the sports naturally?

I’m sure someone much smarter than I am could design a scientific study to figure the answer to this question.

My hypothesis is that high-level players play multiple sports because they are genetically superior athletes and thus excel at all sports naturally.

Would they keep playing football and basketball if they weren’t starters?

I doubt it!

Conversely, would a player be more likely to play multiple sports if he already excelled in baseball and didn’t need as much development in baseball to play at a high-level in college?

In many cases, I think yes!

Does it make sense for a baseball player to specialize in baseball if he needs to improve his skill set just to have an opportunity to play at the next level?

Here’s another hypothetical scenario:

Tommy LOVES baseball! He has an intense desire to play in college, but he’s not incredibly talented. He played JV his sophomore year and is NOT a shoe in to start as a junior. He would love to play other sports, but not if it jeopardizes his shot at starting for his high school team and eventually playing in college.

It absolutely makes sense for Tommy to specialize in baseball. He needs to spend every ounce of energy improving his game. Otherwise he may always wonder, “what if,” if he doesn’t end up playing in college.

So all of this begs the question:

What are the pros and cons of playing multiple sports in high school?

Arguments FOR Playing Multiple Sports

Multi-sport athletes are exposed to a wider variety of movement patterns.

It seems logical that multi-sport athletes can develop more overall “athleticism” due to the variety of movement patterns they’re exposed to.

Here are some movement patterns for baseball:

• Throwing

• Swinging

• Sprinting

Here are some movement patterns for football:

• Sprinting

• Cutting

• Change of Speed

Here are some movement patterns for basketball:

• Sprinting

• Cutting

• Jumping

There is some overlap, but each of these sports have unique movement patterns as well.

Playing multiple sports keeps the competitive juices flowing!

College baseball coaches love competitors, and what better way to learn to compete than playing multiple sports.

A high school baseball player may play 40-80 games between high school and travel baseball.

A multi-sport athlete may play 30-40 additional games (in other sports) on top of their baseball games.

Also, competing in sports such as football and wrestling can help develop a level of aggressiveness and toughness that college baseball coaches find attractive.

Playing multiple sports decreases the chances for baseball-related overuse injuries.

Every week I hear about more and more baseball players (especially pitchers) sustaining elbow and shoulder injuries.

Overuse, or too much throwing, is a widely accepted culprit.

Playing multiple sports forces baseball players into break periods from baseball that can keep them from throwing too much.

Multi-sport athletes are exposed to different friend groups.

Playing multiple sports exposes players to a wider variety of social groups and situations.

This helps their overall social development, potentially preparing them for dealing with different types of people later in life.

Arguments FOR Specializing in Baseball

Practicing baseball exclusively will promote accelerated baseball development.

In his book, “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell suggests that mastering any skill requires at least 10,000 hours of practice.

Essentially, this means:

More (focused) reps = Greater improvement

Players who specialize in baseball have more time to devote to practice. In theory, this will accelerate their development and…

• Help them pass other players who can’t practice as much because they play other sports.

• Increase their status in the eyes of college coaches

Specializing in baseball makes it easier to attend highly recruited events (showcases, tournaments, etc.)

The opportunities for baseball players to play year-round have skyrocketed in recent years.

Organizations such as Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report run showcases and tournaments all year long, giving players many opportunities to showcase their talent in front of college coaches. Additionally, many college programs run prospect camps on their campuses so they can evaluate talent without having to travel.

It’s difficult/impossible for players to attend many of these events if they play other sports.

In my home state of Iowa, for example, there’s a big tournament in September every year that attracts A LOT of college coaches.

It’s difficult for players who also play football to play in this tournament. And even if they can make it work, they generally aren’t at their best because they’ve been focused on football for over a month.

Baseball-only athletes won’t sustain an injury in another sport that affects his baseball development/exposure.

While players who specialize in baseball are more susceptible to overuse injuries, they are protected from injuries sustained in other sports.

Injuries are prevalent in sports such as football, wrestling, and basketball (to a lesser extent). When baseball-first athlete sustain an injury in another sport, their baseball development is stunted.

Baseball players need to train for baseball year-round to keep up with their peers.

The opportunities for playing baseball and training for baseball year-round are plentiful and rapidly increasing.

Getting these extra reps helps players keep up with other players who are also specializing in baseball and helps them surpass multi-sport athletes who lose reps during their other sports seasons.

The Bottom Line

Neither playing multiple sports nor specializing in one sport are right or wrong.

As I detailed above, each has pros and cons.

Here’s the most important factor:

What does the athlete want to do?

High school athletes should be educated on the pros and cons of each option, and then be allowed to decide for themselves.

If an athlete wants to play multiple sports, like I did, then he or she should be able to play multiple sports without feeling pressure to specialize.

If an athlete wants to specialize in baseball, like my son, then he or she should be able to specialize without feeling judgment.

Each athlete should feel free to choose the experience he or she wants.

Feel free to reply/comment with any questions and/or insights.

All the best!

- Matt

P.S. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation with me to discuss your specific recruiting process, reply to this email or send me a text at 319-883-0242.