Managing multiple sports, ie. Football and Baseball

I have lots of questions that I could use help on. Plus this could be a good dicussion.

How do you manage playing football and baseball at a high level? It's especially difficult with Showcase ball and football.

How do you manage Showcase and attending football camps in the summer?

How can you play Showcase events in the fall while playing football?

I hear the comments that coaches like you to play 2 sports but truthfully, words and actions are two different things. I've spoken to some college coaches and they tell you to play two sports and most say they prefer it. Some HS coaches say the same thing but actions say something else. Football coaches never complain about two sports but because baseball is a 10 month a year sport, it seems to be more of a problem for baseball. This summer we seem to have some baseball and football practices scheduled at the same time. It forces the kid to make a choice and not only does a coach get disappointed but the kid loses.

In the case of my son, he doesn't have a favorite sport. He loves them both. And he is good player for both teams.

I've never heard other people here talk about their kids playing other sports. Is everyone here just baseball people? Is my son one of a few playing more than one sport? I wouldn't think so but nobody has ever discussed this being an issue.

 

What if the players number one sport is baseball and wants to play fall showcase. How much leeway should the football coach give to the players?

Good example: There is a nice showcase tournament starting on this Friday and possibly ending on Monday. But official football practice has started (as of July 31). That means if the player goes to the showcase he will miss Fridays football practice, Saturdays practice and parent meeting and possibly Mondays practice.

Also several times in the year the players will be playing out of state for his showcase team on Saturdays and Sundays. Does he miss his Friday night football game or does he leave at 11:00 pm (after the game) and travel 5 hrs or more so he can make it to the location of the tournament in which he has a 9:00AM game?

I know of two players in which they had to make a decision or should I say the football coach made the decision for them based on the examples above.
Both players would have been starting on the varsity. One at quarterback and the other at wide receiver. The football coach was not willing to be flexible with the players and told them they had to make a choice on what they wanted to do and of course they both choose baseball.

I do not blame the football coach on his decision but at the same time should he have been a little more flexible with these players. They are both very good athletes and may go on and play somewhere at the next level in baseball. The football coaches response to all of this is "If you are a good baseball player you do not need to be playing showcase ball to be seen".

I guess fall showcase has kinda thrown a kink in this playing both sports mostly if baseball is your number one love.

 

;

 

From our experience: I can't imagine any Varsity coach during his season allowing one of his players to participate in a Showcase. Injury potential alone slams that door shut.

 

not sure why this was bumped but...


Kirk,

I heard Walt on that podcast interview say that his favorite sport during football season was football and during baseball season it was baseball.

Great answer and he sure plays both well. The boys looked good on both sides of the ball tonight.

 

simple!

You just manage, period. There were are many three four sport athletes and again those who play them at a HIGH LEVEL!! Priority id play and ENJOY the one(s) you want most and the rest to follow!

 

I have learned a ton since I first posted this and let me tell you, to play more than one sport at the highest level of play in high school is extremely difficult.

Football beats you up in the fall. Try playing linebacker on Friday night and then catching on Saturday for your school team and then playing Sunday with your showcase team. It just cooks your knees. Fortunately he has aged out of the school Colt team so he can have Saturday's off and visit schools.

In the winter football stops so you have to train and train hard every day. You have to do baseball specific training while doing core strength work. When school baseball season starts you cannot stop the core training because as soon as baseball season ends the football combines and camps begin. And at the same time showcase is heating up. So during the first 6 weeks of summer you go to football camps during the week and showcase on weekends, all the while continuing to train. Fortunately their is not much baseball in August so you can focus on football and training.

It's not just about time management. Playing the sports is not the problem. Training properly for the sports is while keeping high grades. It takes a lot more than just studying in the car to pass the hardest classes. Takes more than giving up your weekends and summers.

My son is having a blast playing football and baseball with his showcase team but it is no picnic. He and the rest of the family make great sacrifices. And my youngest is on the same path. Several posters with more experience than I told me you can have fun and play all teh sports you want but you need to focus on one or the other. They were right. Making the choice is what we are having trouble with.

 

Thanks a bunch Mark. He loves both sports. He enjoys football and his HS baseball team as well as THe Heat.

 

Two reasons:

1- We have quite a few members that are new that may be faciing this same situation. I think it's a great question.

2- It's been a year since One Putt brought this up. I wanted to get his perspective since last year.

That's why it was bumped

 

I'll try to share more detail on what we have experienced.

Many knowledgable members here told me that you need to eventually pick a sport to focus on. Play all you can but something has to be the focus. If your goal is to play after high school I would agree 100%. If that is not your objective then go play all your body can take.

It also depends on what kind of athlete you are. In other words, are you gifted? And a hard worker? Or are you just a good player? I have watched two guys. One a little, One a lot. I've seen Brian Goodwin from Rocky Mount a little. I've watched DeSean Anderson extensively for 8 years. Both of these guys are gifted athletes that play baseball and football, and maybe other sports. Even these two appear to have their focused sport. Brian still plays football but baseball appears to be his priority, DeSean has the same thing. But both are gifted enough to play both sports at a high level. And I' m sure they train for it.

My son falls in the catagory of good athlete but not as gifted. He trains very hard but he has had to learn to say no at times and pace himself. He is playing a limited showcase schedule this fall. mainly for two reasons. First, he's beat up and Saturday's and needs to visit some schools. 2nd is he is not inprime baseball shape when it comes to hitting, catching and pitching. Coach May makes a good point that yopu shouldn't showcase unless you are ready. Everyone wants to be seen. Well, you need to be at peak condition if possible. The fall season is not that time for my son.

Quick example of that was two weekends ago. His showcase team was a little short for pitching and they needed him to pitch instead of catch. On top of that he was going to pitch against the Dirtbags which he always wanted to do as they are a fine team. But not exactly the team you want to see when you have been off for a while. So on the way down the highway I asked him, "so you have not picked up a baseball since East Cobb in earlier July, you got a strategy today for facing these guys?" He did have one and he executed it well but that is not the habit you want to be in for showcase. He did fine. He caught the 1st two innings, came out and warmed up for an inning, came in with bases loaded and no outs in the 4th, gave up two runs, gave up another in the 6th but struck out 5 in 4 innings. We laughed about it on the way home yet this is no way to prepare to showcase. I would not recommend this.

Oriole makes a good point to go play all the sports and have fun and enjoy. You're only in High School once. My son is having a blast and has never been happier but he is at the point where he has to set a priority. It's tough because he is getting interest in both sports but a lot of interest in football. I agree with the advice of other members here that he will have to focus on one or the other beginning this winter when he begins heavy training. Needless to say it will be a busy winter, spring and summer around our house.

In summary. play all you want and all your body can take and all your academic schedule will allow you. But if you want to play after High School you will probably need to set a priority.