Athletes fall through cracks with single-sport mentality
September 17th, 2008DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I’m in tenth grade. I grew up playing soccer and my parents are upset about it, but I quit because I’m tired of it. What I really want is to play basketball. Trouble is, I’m in a Division 1 school with 3000 students and it seems impossible to make the team because I only started playing basketball recently. I’m pretty good, but the guys on the team have been playing for years. I wish it was more like the old days when a good athlete could play several sports in high school, even ones he’d never played before. But schools today are so big and everyone is already so good at their sport because they’ve been playing since they were ridiculously young. What should I do?
Dave M.
David, 16
I go to a huge high school also, and I ran into similar problems when I tried out for basketball my freshman year. You go in thinking there is no way you can possibly make the team because there are so many better players. It’s all mental though. If you set your mind to it and give it everything you’ve got, you will make it. Most coaches prefer a kid who gives 100 percent every time over someone naturally good who doesn’t work hard. Yes, there probably are better players than you, but hard work and devotion will prevail every time. This goes for every sport and pretty much anything you do in life.
Shelby, 16
Just because you haven’t played basketball your whole life means nothing. Freshman year I took up gymnastics, which is really late for that sport. Even the gym owner said I was too old to compete. But I put my mind to it and 7 months later I went to state and scored second highest on vault out of hundreds of kids. So, go for it! And don’t forget rec leagues, they’re just as competitive.
Katie, 15
I’m a freshman and I play basketball, which I’ve played for four years. But I also made varsity soccer this year after playing soccer less than a month. I’m at a private school with less competition, but, still, as seniors leave, coaches are looking for new players with enthusiasm and potential.
Kendal, 21:
I played basketball in middle school and loved it, but when I entered high school I figured I couldn’t make the team so I didn’t try out. It’s one of the things I regret most, and I never really played again. Embarrassment of failure is a huge deterrent, but honestly, no one is paying that much attention. And if you do make it, you’ll be doing something you love, making new friends, and improving your skills.
The teacher in my life management class in college told us about a young man determined to get a college football scholarship even though he’d never played football before high school. He tried out freshmen year and didn’t make it. He tried out sophomore year and sat the bench. He got better and better and senior year he went “all state” and got that scholarship.
DEAR DAVE: You’re right that most athletic programs at big schools support an elite few who have been micro-parented around their sport since they were very young. It’s a huge problem. Boys, especially, need competitive, risk-taking outlets and the current system drops many through the cracks, leading to disillusionment with school and curiosity about unhealthy modes of risk-taking. Single sports also cause physical imbalances and burnout. The ancient Greek Olympians must be rolling over in their graves. For them, an athlete was not only well-rounded physically, but was also mentally, spiritually, and socially rounded. Today, it’s very hard to have a balanced lifestyle and still make the team. I’m rooting for you to beat the odds and not give up on sports.
