How much is too much?

[midtnblu]

High school baseball season just ended...summer teams are forming and practices are being held....and basketball coaches have just handed out their summer "workout" schedules.

 

I have heard from a few solid basketball players who are considering quitting basketball because they just want to play baseball during the summer. If they don't "also" commit to the summer basketball schedule, they feel their playing time during the season will be jeopardized, so rather than worry about it, they may quit.

 

I understand why basketball coaches do it...because everyone else is doing it and they don't want to be behind when official workouts start later this year. But what are they actually gaining if Billy, who averages 15 points/10 rebounds per game quits to play baseball only. He shouldn't have to choose between sports but the pressure to practice one sport while playing the other increases each year.

 

I know you're out there going through the same issues right now with your son/daughter who plays multiple sports....thoughts???

[sportsfreak2307]

As a player i had to do that with football and basketball. Its hard to manage all 3 sports but you just have to feel which sport you want to excel at. If you want to play college ball in one sport maybe 2 those are the ones you need to be focusing on. I know most schools in the knox are have basketball in the morning and baseball is usually at night so it really doesnt conflict with anything.

[riverdaleman]

I think this is an intresting topic...there will be several different views as a MOD i hope we can keep this a civil discussion with respect to each others views....

my view is this...my 16 year old when entering high school was a good middle school basketball and baseball player these 2 sports are hard to play because they run into each other but i let him make the choice and told him if he wants to play both he has my full support if he wants to play both I told him i dont want any regrets as far as wishing he had played both or just one he decided to play just baseball but it was totally his decision with no influence from any coach either way i had him make up his mind over the summer before the tryouts and he hasnt looked back since...to ME this is NOT coaches decision it is a childs decsion with support either way from parents

[starman]

I disagree.

15 and 16 year old athletes should not have to choose between high school sports during their summer vacation. I wish TSSAA would advise a system where the dead period would run from June 1 until July 15 or 45 days. The way everything is setup, kids are forced to pick and choose as to what sport they want to participate in and family time has become a thing of the past. Having that lenght of time would allow kids to work on their own, play summer baseball, take family vacations and enjoy just being a kid.

 

I've always had a passion for sports and played at the college level but never was I forced to pick between the three during summer vacation. I help coach a summer traveling baseball team and some kids are unable to play right now because their high school coaches are forcing them to participate in basketball and football camps. Many high school baseball coaches are playing summer schedules adding more fuel to the fire.

The only way to fix this is if TSSAA steps up and says "Dead period 45 days, June 1 thru July 15."

Unless something is done sports will continue to overlap one another and kids will be forced to pick and choose.

[riverdaleman]

I disagree.

15 and 16 year old athletes should not have to choose between high school sports during their summer vacation. I wish TSSAA would advise a system where the dead period would run from June 1 until July 15 or 45 days. The way everything is setup, kids are forced to pick and choose as to what sport they want to participate in and family time has become a thing of the past. Having that lenght of time would allow kids to work on their own, play summer baseball, take family vacations and enjoy just being a kid.

 

I've always had a passion for sports and played at the college level but never was I forced to pick between the three during summer vacation. I help coach a summer traveling baseball team and some kids are unable to play right now because their high school coaches are forcing them to participate in basketball and football camps. Many high school baseball coaches are playing summer schedules adding more fuel to the fire.

The only way to fix this is if TSSAA steps up and says "Dead period 45 days, June 1 thru July 15."

Unless something is done sports will continue to overlap one another and kids will be forced to pick and choose.

 

who goes on vacation for 45 days?...i dont know about how other teams handle it but if we go somewhere we go from the last 2 weeks of july to the first 2 weeks in august but we also schedule a tournament in panama city where the big thing is having fun while playing about 3 games with emphasis on having fun also for example my son is going to honduras on a mission trip for church and there is no problem with him missing the wood bat tournament.

I also am one that believes that idol time amongst teenagers is very dangerous so anything that keeps them active i fully support

I am also not against dead period but ii wish they would change it per sport for example august would be a great dead period for baseball and the month of June is great for football I am not sure which is best for basketball but make it a more of a natuaral dead period instead of all sports at once

[midtnblu]

High school athletes shouldn't have to make a decision but I think as each year goes by and practice requirements cover more and more of the calendar, I think they feel pressured to make a decision.

 

 

Are there some out there who think there son/daughter feels the pressure to make a decison, or maybe the decision has already been made, based on the commitment required?

[cbg]

At schools with less than 1000 students (500 males) they must get their best athletes on the field, court, mat, track, etc... to have a chance at winning a state championship in any sport. When you have large schools 1800 plus students you can probably get away with kids playing one sport. Not to pick on Farragut but I was told they have almost 50 kids in the baseball program and only 1 player participates in another sport.

[BaseballthruNthru]

I disagree.

15 and 16 year old athletes should not have to choose between high school sports during their summer vacation. I wish TSSAA would advise a system where the dead period would run from June 1 until July 15 or 45 days. The way everything is setup, kids are forced to pick and choose as to what sport they want to participate in and family time has become a thing of the past. Having that lenght of time would allow kids to work on their own, play summer baseball, take family vacations and enjoy just being a kid.

 

I've always had a passion for sports and played at the college level but never was I forced to pick between the three during summer vacation. I help coach a summer traveling baseball team and some kids are unable to play right now because their high school coaches are forcing them to participate in basketball and football camps. Many high school baseball coaches are playing summer schedules adding more fuel to the fire.

The only way to fix this is if TSSAA steps up and says "Dead period 45 days, June 1 thru July 15."

Unless something is done sports will continue to overlap one another and kids will be forced to pick and choose.

 

 

I'm not sure if you meant it this way or not, but it sounds like your opinion has a lot to do with your travel ball team and not having the athletes you would like to because they are playing with their schools teams or working out with school teams in different sports.

 

I wish I could take a 45 day vacation.......My son returned from the boro and after 2 days he was driving me nuts with "I'm bored", "What are we going to do now?"...he spent time in the batting cages, we even went to the gym, nothing gave him the energy hit he gets from practice and playing, that's what he wants, enjoys, thrives on.......things got so much more relaxed and more peaceful in our house once summer practice resumed.

 

Now my son has chosen this week to not play football anymore. This was not a decision made from pressure of any kind from anyone. This was his decision because he would like to devote all of his time to baseball. He would like to reach his greatest potential and feels he must make total dedication to reach this. These are totally his ideas.

[RespectallFearnone]

who goes on vacation for 45 days?...i dont know about how other teams handle it but if we go somewhere we go from the last 2 weeks of july to the first 2 weeks in august but we also schedule a tournament in panama city where the big thing is having fun while playing about 3 games with emphasis on having fun also for example my son is going to honduras on a mission trip for church and there is no problem with him missing the wood bat tournament.

I also am one that believes that idol time amongst teenagers is very dangerous so anything that keeps them active i fully support

I am also not against dead period but ii wish they would change it per sport for example august would be a great dead period for baseball and the month of June is great for football I am not sure which is best for basketball but make it a more of a natuaral dead period instead of all sports at once

 

If all sports have different dead periods it would make a family vacation difficult for families with children participating in different activities.

[InspectorVol]

Well my son is playing baseball this summer and also training for basketball as well. He doesn't look at the basketball as a chore but rather as a way to help condition himself better that will translate over into baseball which is his favorite sport and what he is best at.

 

He is really going to work hard this summer at lifting and running to get himself ready to have the best year he can since it will be quite possibly his last to ever play organized sports. He might get a shot at college baseball at some small school but we aren't counting on it. We are just having fun playing while it lasts. He will still go to school regardless and maybe even try walking on.

 

Just let the kids play what they love and want to do because it all ends too quick and most don't play in college.

[riverdaleman]

Well my son is playing baseball this summer and also training for basketball as well. He doesn't look at the basketball as a chore but rather as a way to help condition himself better that will translate over into baseball which is his favorite sport and what he is best at.

 

He is really going to work hard this summer at lifting and running to get himself ready to have the best year he can since it will be quite possibly his last to ever play organized sports. He might get a shot at college baseball at some small school but we aren't counting on it. We are just having fun playing while it lasts. He will still go to school regardless and maybe even try walking on.

 

Just let the kids play what they love and want to do because it all ends too quick and most don't play in college.

 

GREAT POST

[WTBaller]

Great topic.......Not sure where to stand.

Having played all three sports in High School, the only advice I have ever given my son was to

pick one (your best) and concentrate on it year round. Maybe not the best advice...yet it was just that, advice.

No pressure....just a suggestion on how to not become the "jack of all trades.master of none" like his old man.

Back in my days.....when fall was for football, spring/summer were for baseball and winter months were spent in the gym....it was not as difficult as it is today for a good high school athelete to play all three major sports. The only

thing you missed out on was the off-season weight training, which didn't bother us at all!

 

My only problem with kids these days having to choose is that usually some sports suffer! At our school, baseball is all the rage and secondly most want to play football here (for some unknown reason). Basketball is the sport that suffers at our school currently. With fball weight training in the morning, followed by bball practice @ noon, then off to baseball practice in afternoon, it is almost impossible for a child to compete in all three, even two in some cases.

 

I know all of this sounds like just a personal gripe, yet depending on the history of the schools programs, certain sports will continue to suffer if it is almost impossible to play all three. I guess if given the same advice that I gave my own......the others had chosen basketball as well.....I would not have as much to complain about.

 

Hypocritcally yours,