At the present time being a multi-sport athlete is frowned upon. The trend is toward greater specialization and only playing one sport from the youngest ages. It is now common to find many, if not most, athletes who play the same sport on a year-round basis.
I strongly believe that the only reason most athletes play the same sport year-round, is because of the coaches telling them how great they can be and how this is the path to a scholarship or becoming a pro. With they do not advertise is that they also make considerable money by working and traveling with the athletes year-round.
This is why it is refreshing to learn of a top professional athlete recommending that young athletes play multiple sports as they did in their youth. A recent example is Giancario Stanton of the Marlins who was a three sport athlete in high school. He states that “…playing football, basketball and baseball in high school help prepare me to excel at the highest level”.
Many parents are swayed by the success of an athlete who succeeded after playing the sport beginning at age 3 or 4. What they do not, or refuse to, see is that most athletes who started at this age and only played the one sport burnout as teenagers and usually quit playing sports.
But playing more than one sport is very beneficial for several very important reasons. First is that participating in multi-sports the athlete develops different coordination patterns and develops many muscles and joints. These coordination patterns are then used to learn and improve other skills involved in other sports.
Second, playing more than one sport enhances learning which is extremely important in youth. It is at this time that youngsters can most effectively learn new skills which are needed in order to play on higher levels. Skills can be learned when older, but not as effectively and it would take much more time. As an adult you should be perfecting the sports skills and developing the physical qualities that are directly related to execution of the sport skills.
Third, by developing a greater number of motor patterns and strengthening the joints and muscles, you become more injury resistant. Understand that the key factors in the prevention of injury are effective skill execution and optimal strength of the muscles as they are involved in the skill execution.
This is why playing more than one sport is advantageous in the very early years and in high school. Also important is to use a moderate intensity strength training program such as the 1 x 20 RM strength training program. This program is very effective in development of the motor pathways that are needed in sports movements as well as development of all the major muscles and joints in the body.
For more information on this topic see Build a Better Athlete and The Revolutionary 1 x 20 RM Strength Training Program.