How much is too much?

[P.A.Lin-Z]

KEEP THE tssaa OUT OF OUR BUSINESS!!!!!!

Let the parents and kids decide what's best for them......it's not that hard.

Some of you folks need to lose the welfare mentality.....we don't need government or any organization deciding what's best for "Little Billy".

Furthermore I don't figure the almighty tssaa will get involved ....UNLESS....there is an opportunity for bug bucks to be made off "Little Billy" and the onturage that always follows him around....namely....dads, mothers, brothers, sisters, grand dads, grand mothers....etc....

[turnin two]

More kids are making the decision of other sports over football. Football is king and trying to dominate the TSSAA calendar, thus why the crazy rules were passed last year. Sad thing is its driving more away from football and school sports than keeping them there. My son chose baseball over football two years ago and hasnt regreted it one bit. And his HS won a state championship last year!

 

In future years, more good athletes will make their choice of sports based on their future after high school and that will most probably involve dropping football.

[govols10]

Excellent topic and one I have heard debated at diamonds all over the Southeast over the past couple of years. It is my opinion that most kids will gravitate to the sport they enjoy the most and that will influence the choices they make and NOT rules and regulations set by TSSAA or anyone else. My son is still a year away from high school but made the choice 3 years ago to play baseball only. We have given him every opportunity to play other sports and he has even been encouraged by some family members to play football but he has stuck to his committment of playing a sport that he loves more than anything. As for family time - it depends on what your definition is. We spend countless days at fields across the country as a family. I am asked every day as soon as I get home from work to play catch, batting cages, etc and in doing so we always get to talk about the other things in his life. Our vacations as a family are always baseball related and we have a blast. We are lucky to play with a good group of parents and coaches on his travel team and they have become our extended family - we look forward to seeing them every weekend.

The point is there is no right or wrong answer - it is a matter of choice for the kids and the parents. It is my opinion - right or wrong - that we are to support our kids in whatever keeps them interested, active and out of trouble regardless of what that may be - one sport, two sports, no sports at all. The most important part is that we are getting them around positive influences that teach them important lessons outside the lines.

[PurpleGrad]

Excellent topic and one I have heard debated at diamonds all over the Southeast over the past couple of years. It is my opinion that most kids will gravitate to the sport they enjoy the most and that will influence the choices they make and NOT rules and regulations set by TSSAA or anyone else. My son is still a year away from high school but made the choice 3 years ago to play baseball only. We have given him every opportunity to play other sports and he has even been encouraged by some family members to play football but he has stuck to his committment of playing a sport that he loves more than anything. As for family time - it depends on what your definition is. We spend countless days at fields across the country as a family. I am asked every day as soon as I get home from work to play catch, batting cages, etc and in doing so we always get to talk about the other things in his life. Our vacations as a family are always baseball related and we have a blast. We are lucky to play with a good group of parents and coaches on his travel team and they have become our extended family - we look forward to seeing them every weekend.

The point is there is no right or wrong answer - it is a matter of choice for the kids and the parents. It is my opinion - right or wrong - that we are to support our kids in whatever keeps them interested, active and out of trouble regardless of what that may be - one sport, two sports, no sports at all. The most important part is that we are getting them around positive influences that teach them important lessons outside the lines.

 

Excellent post! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[riverdaleman]

Excellent topic and one I have heard debated at diamonds all over the Southeast over the past couple of years. It is my opinion that most kids will gravitate to the sport they enjoy the most and that will influence the choices they make and NOT rules and regulations set by TSSAA or anyone else. My son is still a year away from high school but made the choice 3 years ago to play baseball only. We have given him every opportunity to play other sports and he has even been encouraged by some family members to play football but he has stuck to his committment of playing a sport that he loves more than anything. As for family time - it depends on what your definition is. We spend countless days at fields across the country as a family. I am asked every day as soon as I get home from work to play catch, batting cages, etc and in doing so we always get to talk about the other things in his life. Our vacations as a family are always baseball related and we have a blast. We are lucky to play with a good group of parents and coaches on his travel team and they have become our extended family - we look forward to seeing them every weekend.

The point is there is no right or wrong answer - it is a matter of choice for the kids and the parents. It is my opinion - right or wrong - that we are to support our kids in whatever keeps them interested, active and out of trouble regardless of what that may be - one sport, two sports, no sports at all. The most important part is that we are getting them around positive influences that teach them important lessons outside the lines.

 

this is a great post...my arm is defintly not what it used to be LOL and i cant catch him anymore but me and the boys still play a little catch and have great conversations rahter it be about school ot girls or whatever

[P.A.Lin-Z]

this is a great post...my arm is defintly not what it used to be LOL and i cant catch him anymore but me and the boys still play a little catch and have great conversations rahter it be about school ot girls or whatever

 

 

I hear you on that!!!!! I can't catch mine anymore either....that ended about 3 years ago. Long gone are the days of throwing batting practice. Do you know how many baseballs are in one of those tall baseball buckets? WOW!!!!

I can't see the fastball anymore.....when I do catch it....I can't move my hand for a week.

[66in74]

I really don't understand why kids feel they need to choose just one? Coaches? Parents? Peer Pressure?

 

The great majority of high school athletes have no shot at playing after their high school careers.

The system or whatever you want to call it, should allow high school athletes to play any and all sports they can and want to.

 

I really think this decision thing about choosing one is in many cases being forced by the coaches of their sport.

If they aren't successful in "their" sport then they fear they may lose their job.

 

Playing 2 sports in high school, and then being fortunate enough to play at the college level in 1;

I wouldn't take anything for the exeriences I had in the "other" sport in high school.

 

In fact most college recruiters, if you think you're good enough to play at that level, would rather recruit a multiple sport athlete. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[volsbaseball]

well it would not be good at all for football to have 45 days of dead period because that is half of the summer. In football you spend all but maybe one week conditioning, workingout, and going through the plays. and the week before school starts you strap on the pads. so if you have a 45 day dead period you will be way behind on conditining, workingout and going through the plays. So when you finally put on pads and find out who your real football players are you got just a few weeks until you start playing on friday nights.

[bisonmom]

I really don't understand why kids feel they need to choose just one? Coaches? Parents? Peer Pressure?

 

The great majority of high school athletes have no shot at playing after their high school careers.

The system or whatever you want to call it, should allow high school athletes to play any and all sports they can and want to.

 

I really think this decision thing about choosing one is in many cases being forced by the coaches of their sport.

If they aren't successful in "their" sport then they fear they may lose their job.

 

Playing 2 sports in high school, and then being fortunate enough to play at the college level in 1;

I wouldn't take anything for the exeriences I had in the "other" sport in high school.

 

In fact most college recruiters, if you think you're good enough to play at that level, would rather recruit a multiple sport athlete. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

 

 

 

Well put. My son plays football, basketball and baseball at his school. He is not forced by any coach to pick just one. They encourage multiple sports and the coaches work with each other to figure out the schedules. My son will be a senior this year and I don't think he would have given one second of the hectic schedule up for anything. He still has family time and a social life.

[tyme]

I agree with bisonmom.

 

Whay cant the coaches get together and come up with a flexible schedule that is easy to work with? A schedule that the multi sport atheltes are not penalized for having to choose one sport over the other. Maybe that is something each schools athletic director should look into.

 

If the coahes would consider such a schedule the small schools would have several great teams (with the best athletes), instead of average teams.

 

And I wished that Sunday was DEAD PERIOD every week!!

[ksgovols]

I'm with you bisonmom, but it's not just coaches. Parents knowingly or unknowingly put pressure on their athlete to choose because THEY want the down time. This is particularly true in middle school and freshmen kids that can't drive. I've heard more complaining about multiple sports from the parents in the stands and they are typically the ones forcing the child's hand.

 

Smaller schools in particular need all hands on deck when it comes to athletics. Choosing a sport isn't equivalent to getting a scholarship in that sport. Read the bios on the incoming recruits that UT signs in football every year. 90% of them played at least one other sport in high school. Some of them have their choice of sports in which to go to college on or go pro. It's never had to be an all or nothing proposition.

 

As far as the coaches are concerned, communicate. My son plays baseball, football and basketball and his summers are full. The basketball coach and summer baseball coach coordinated their schedules to suit as much as they could. He missed a tournament to go to basketball camp and he missed a few basketball games to make a doubleheader. He only has a hard time with it in June. My only advice to him has been that it only lasts 4 years and then you'll have to choose a sport or focus on your college education or get a job. I'd pay to be able to replay every minute of my high school athletic days knowing there wasn't a scholarship waiting for me at the end. Enjoy the experience while you can.

 

The best solution? One coach for all 3 sports. /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

[warrior2024]

Football is king. Look at the amount of players on the teams. Any coach worth his salt will not force kids to pick. Those days are fast coming to an end. Pressures are coming from other arenas. The calendar just caught up with basketball and baseball. Football has been punished for years over the crimes of other sports. Football doesn't play 25-30 games a season and then require their players to play summer leagues or AAU for another 30-40 games in the summer. Football coaches, in my experience, are more flexible than basketball coaches ever thought about being. My experience has been the football/baseball coaches get along but the basketball area is where alot of the trouble starts. Prime example: two years ago I had kids in football asking to miss practice in the summer because they were required to shoot 10,000 shots over the summer and were going to be kicked off the team if they did not complete them before school started. If a kid works in the summer, plays 3 sports, and is required to do things like that, that player will end up not playing certain sports. Thats when coaches point fingers and say so and so told him to quit. I am a big believer in kids playing whatever they want. I have many 3 sport kids on the team and they make the workouts and conditioning. It takes communication to make this work. Don't start blaming football for the other problems. All the summer leagues/AAU and requirments brought many of these rule changes.