Specialization? Good or Bad

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Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby NorthDakota11 » Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:37 pm

It was pretty much unheard of 10 years ago but we see more and more kids focusing year round on one sport. Two questions

1. Good for the kid and his school?
2. Good for the future of athletics in North Dakota?
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby ndfbfanatic » Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:31 am

The coaches I've talked to from UND and NDSU prefer guys who are multi sport athletes. In fact, i know of one particular football player who did only fb and that was a big turnoff to UND. Quite frankly, if you are a very good football player, other sports like wrestling and track only enhance and in some cases better your skills as a football player. Take a look at some of the most successful football teams in the state the last 10 years. Watford, Velva, Harvey, Linton, North Prairie, Napoleon, Hillsboro. All have excellent wrestling programs. Lisbon, Trinity, Hazen, Rugby all with successful track programs. I think they all work hand in hand with each other to make the best possible athletes. I really think athletes who specialize do a disservice to not only themselves, but their schools as well. Of course only my opinion.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby NorthDakota11 » Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:42 am

What about a kid like Joe Hanstad in Dickinson? I'm sure the kid could definitely help the football team out at receiver or d-back... you can't tell me it's hurting him by not playing those other sports?

Don't get me wrong i'm playing devil's advocate here... i think kids should play as many sports as possible, it keeps them in a competitive mindset year round... but aren't there exceptions to every rule? Hanstad for example?
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby balla45 » Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:38 am

NorthDakota11 wrote:What about a kid like Joe Hanstad in Dickinson? I'm sure the kid could definitely help the football team out at receiver or d-back... you can't tell me it's hurting him by not playing those other sports?

Don't get me wrong i'm playing devil's advocate here... i think kids should play as many sports as possible, it keeps them in a competitive mindset year round... but aren't there exceptions to every rule? Hanstad for example?


I'm thinking that a player like Joe Hanstad who plays basketball almost everyday of the year and works out with extreme intensity is only helping himself. I would think some of the coaches who like 3 sport athletes like it because it keeps the athletes busy, but when Hanstad works out with his trainer, then goes to school, then plays again, then has basketball season, then starts playing AAU, and then repeats the cycle, he isn't losing anything, because he plays basketball INTENSELY, year round.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby Sportsrube » Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:49 pm

As a former coach, I wanted athletes on my team, not just players. In small schools they are really hurting their school by only "focusing"on one sport. Then the guys who played FB are suppossed to be buddy buddy with the guy who didn't play FB so he could focus on BB? A lot of these guys who "focus" on one sport really arn't doing much when the other sports are in session. (at least in small schools) I agree that if they really focus on that sport it would probably help that team, but not the school as a whole. I think the place it hurts the worst is in building a "team" concept amongst your players. Those who hang out in a number of sports will usually tend to stay together and not be as willing to accept those who are only around for 1 sport. I have been in the same school system for over 20 years and we have had some of our athletes get scholarships to play in college, none of the ones who "focused" on one sport have ever gotten a scholarship and the ones we have enrolled here now that are "focusng" on one sport arn't going to get one either.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby BigNorsk » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:40 am

In my opinion sports specialization is about the best way there is to get a athelete in high school injured. Girls in basketball and volleyball year round are really set up for an ACL injury, unless they have specialized training and monitoring. It's very rare in volleyball for instance to actually see a high school team have the proper mechanics for jumping. Year around jumping wrong means a very good chance of knee surgery.

Baseball year around is about the best indicator of serious arm injury among baseball players.

If you play hockey year round through high school you might as well get the new shoulders as a graduation present.

They get small injuries and keep on playing as if the World Series outcome depends on them and little injuries become big ones.

I exagerate a little to make the point....
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby scoobyx2 » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:21 am

One downfall to specializing in only 1 sport is that eventually it is really hard for the athlete to bring anything new to his/her game. Many coaches encourage athletes to play different sports so they can develop their coachability, intensity, respect, etc. Nationally, there is a trend of using other sports such as gymnastics, dance, track, or swim to enhance an athlete's primary game. If you watch football on Sunday, they are always commenting that a player played basketball at their college, or that a running back or wide receiver competed in gymnastics. What is a player going to do when he/she shows up on campus of their dream school, and your new coach wants you to do things differently than you thought? It is relatively easy to work on skills that you are very good at, but not as easy to work hard on skills that are new or that you struggle with. For some kids, they can't even handle not being the star on the team.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby NorthDakota11 » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:04 am

I was listening to the BHS/FNHS football game last Friday night on the radio on my way home and the announcer made it sound like that North was really struggling with numbers! Thats a school with 615 boys! Is specialization the problem at Fargo North or are their other factors? North used to be a bit of a power and now they can hardly get kids out... whats the story there?
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby toddjames » Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:19 pm

I think specialization is good or bad depending on the individual and their situation... More times you see multi-sport athletes in Class B because there are smaller schools and the kids that play football, volleyball or cross country even, are likely to play basketball because if many of them didn't, there might not be a team... Not a highly athletic one at least....
In Class A there are more kids coming out for every sport, so the school isn't lacking, but the best athletes will likely play more than one sport... What it comes down for each individual is: where do you see yourself after high school?... If you want to play sports in college and you are great in one sport and so-so in others, I'd specialize... But if you are good in more than one sport, play mutliples... If you are good enough in each of them, that will only raise your stock for most college recruiting...
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby CubsFan23 » Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:31 pm

In my opinion, specialization is something I would not recommend. Think about the specific things an athlete can learn from participating in multiple sports. The one athlete that comes to mind is Jordan Engelhart. Great multi-sport athlete! Even competed in Wrestling and Basketball in high school at the same time. The lessons learned about discipline and individual accomplishments in wrestling translated quite nicely to basketball. I understand why athletes specialize, but in the long run, I believe it's your overall athletic career that will be remembered, even if only remembered by 1 person.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby classB4ever » Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:24 pm

I believe specialization is much more prevalent in large cities where the chances of playing multi-sports is much more difficult. With that said, I believe it starts with parents who think they may have the next Michael Jordan/Lisa Leslie on their hands. Unfortunately the odds are stacked against that. Parents need to realize that sports/high school only take up about 1/4 of a person's life. Kids that participate in many activities/sports become much more well rounded individuals and develop many more social skills which will serve them well throughout life.
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Re: Specialization? Good or Bad

Postby redlabel » Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:38 am

I think you're right about the larger cities. I remember a friend that had a girl that was a pretty good athlete. She was playing volleyball and ice hockey (at the time ice hockey was unsanctioned) and the volleyball coach wanted her to only play volleyball. The coach was going to give the kid an ultimatum and during a meeting with the parents, the coach was told by the father to not do that because she wouldn't be happy with the results.

Long story short, coach made an ultimatum, the girl chose ice hockey. The girl never did play volleyball again, but she did play hockey for an Ivy League school.
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