Specialization?

• knightflyer150

  I was looking at our projected roster tonight and we have about 60% of the kids in a fall sport, with 80% doing a second sport (in either fall or spring). I like this. I've always looked at it as a good thing. Most of our fall kids play football (27 between freshman and varsity) and I just like how they go together. I push it. Sometimes it bites us in the ass with injury, but most of the time it is a fantastic fit.
  
  Obviously, there are a few kids that are wired to specialize. I'm into it. Sometimes, this is what is needed.
  
  Your thoughts?
• Con_Alma

  It's adds to the overall high school experience. Isn't that why extracurriculars exist? I think it's fantastic.
• 5702usmc

  Personally, I don't think a HS coach should ever tell a kid to specialize in one sport. I am not talking about the very few, truly elite level athletes. Generally, we should encourage most athletes to do as many sports as they want. It's HS. have a great time. It will help all of the sports, especially wrestling. Too many kids are told if they specialize they can get a scholarship. A big issue is this is not typically coming from college coaches, but from club and some HS coaches looking out for their own interests. Most of the college coaches I have spoken to would rather have a well rounded athlete. College coaches love football players who have wrestled. Most kids who specialize are doing so because that what someone advised them to do. This is not to say that if an athlete wants to specialize (based on what he/she really want to do) they shouldn't do so. Just that it should be what they want, not someone driving them to do so.
• Dust_E_Roads

  I think 80% is a very good number and I whole-heartedly agree that multi-sport participation should be encouraged.
• It is what it is

  I find that "specialization" usually occurs with basketball or coaches that don't know what the h*** they're talking about. It makes no sense to limit yourself, unless you personally choose to, to a single sport or activity. All colleges want well-rounded student-athletes who will thrive in their environment, but also outside of their environment.
• Gardens35

  I'm concentrating on lifting for football this year. 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day, six days a week until March. Just you watch.
• said_aouita

  

  Specialization in a single sport depends if the athlete is good enough to compete in college or wants to.
• Con_Alma

  It is what it is;1489419 wrote:I find that "specialization" usually occurs with basketball ...

  A significant amount of the kids on the podium in Columbus who wrestle, specialize.
• HorseShoe289

  

  I agree with supporting multi-sport athletes. There is no off-season training better than actual competition. Everyone wins when a school fosters a culture that supports multi-sport athletes. The player pools are bigger and better for all sports. But don't be fooled, being an elite multi-sport athlete is a very tough thing to do...tougher, I'd contend, than being a single-sport athlete...it takes a lot of sacrifice and commitment....but I whole-heartedly think it is worth it and beneficial to the individual.
  As a former 3-sport high school athlete, a former 2-sport collegiate athlete, and current head coach, there are a few things, I believe, that MUST happen to make this truly work at the HS level:
  1. Multi-sport athletes must be multi-sport athletes year-round....and, more importantly, coaches must allow it. This means that there is no off-season for the multi-sport athlete. This means that the multi-sport athlete finds a way to train for ALL of his/her sports year round. (A very hard thing to do...but doable for the truly committed athlete.) Obviously the in-season sport always takes priority, but the multi-sport athlete needs to find a way to continually train for his/her other sports...and, obviously, he/she needs to do this in a way where there is very little to no conflict with the in-season sport. This means that, in the fall, Joe (the 3-sport HS athlete who plays football, wrestles, and plays baseball), must get to an open mat session here and there, get in a drill with a coach or teammate, and get in some swings in the cage...maybe on a week night after football or on a Sunday. If he does this, not only will he keep up with those wrestlers and baseball players specializing in just one sport, but also, because, being a multi-sport athlete challenges his mind, his sacrifice, and his competitive nature in different ways, he'll likely surpass those one-sporters in many ways. This means the footbll and soccer coaches should have no qualms about wrestlers training outside of his practices. This also means that the wrestling coach must allow his multi-sport athletes to train for other sports in the winter as well (ie. indoor soccer on Sundays, a football or baseball throwing session at night, hitting in the cages, etc.). I think the trick is to help multi-sport athletes plan their training for other sports without missing in-season stuff. This is very hard to do because so many coaches look out only for their own sport. But any coach who forbids a multi-sport athlete to train for another sport when that training does not conflict with his in-season sport is selfish and does not truly care about the kid. Similarly, the out-of-season coach who demands a multi-sport athlete miss in-season stuff to train for an out-of-season sport with him is also an idiot.
  2. Lifting for strength gain must occur year-round. Gone are the days where an in-season coach can hold this philosophy: we lift only to maintain strength in season. If this is the case, multi-sport athletes suffer. And, if a multi-sport athletes finds himself in a program that holds this mentality, he must get himself a gym/YMCA membership and find a way to gain strength year-round.
  3. There must be trust between the coaches of a shared athlete. As a wrestling coach, I must trust what's going on in football, soccer, baseball, and track...and those coaches must trust my program. I think #2 has a lot to do with this. As a wrestling coach, I owe it to other coaches to return shared athletes stronger and mentally tougher after my season than when I got them. And they owe the same to me.
  4. There must be constant communication between the coaches of shared athletes. The biggest problem is always in training conflicts, especially in the summer. Coaches need to work together as much as possible to eliminate instances where a multi-sport athlete has to make a decision between training for one sport or the other. Coaches must keep the bigger picture in mind and keep the athlete's needs in the forefront. This means that the football and wrestling coach need to plan the summers out together to minimize conflicts for the shared athletes. In fact, constant communication will also open doors for collaboration that benefit the athlete: Surely, the football coach sees many of the same mental toughness issues in a shared athlete in the fall that I see in the winter; we can tag team how to correct those issues together...largely to the benefit of the kid.
  
  Anyway...that's my 2 cents.
• Lou Demas

  Very well thought out 2 cents!
• HilliardDad

  Well worth the 2 cents!
• cruiser_96

  

  tl;dr
  
  Ha! Not really. Nice post, HorseShoe.
  
  Just a point of note... Wrestling was the only sport I participated in while in high school. I'm just saying.
• Con_Alma

  ...and it got you to sectionals four times!!!!!
• Dust_E_Roads

  HorseShoe289;1489925 wrote:2. Lifting for strength gain must occur year-round. Gone are the days where an in-season coach can hold this philosophy: we lift only to maintain strength in season. If this is the case, multi-sport athletes suffer. And, if a multi-sport athletes finds himself in a program that holds this mentality, he must get himself a gym/YMCA membership and find a way to gain strength year-round.

  Agree 100%. This is huge. If kids aren't getting stronger, then they're getting weaker (compared to their opponents).
  
  I agree that the kids need to find time on their own to make it happen, but that needs to be plan Z. With wrestling being a 6 day a week sport (during the season) and academic demands, I think wrestling coaches have to find time duringt he season to include a formal strength training program into the schedule. I know most do, but some don't and the kids suffer. Big time.
• cruiser_96

  

  Con_Alma;1490230 wrote:...and it got you to sectionals four times!!!!!

  Very true! Thanks, #SilverLining
• HorseShoe289

  

  Dust_E_Roads;1490334 wrote:I think wrestling coaches have to find time during the season to include a formal strength training program into the schedule. I know most do, but some don't and the kids suffer. Big time.

  
  Absolutely. It is no small task, but it must happen...in all sports.
  
  Maybe this is a different topic, but...I have been in discussions and heard about magical places that offer strength training as a class, a PE credit, designed specifically for student-athletes during the school day....run by a strength coordinator who works with the different head coaches to create sport-specific weight programs. That strength coordinator monitors the different athletes as they go through their lifts....lifts that change according to the day of the week...lifts that work around competition appropriately...a class that implements the things coaches hope to get out of a sound strength program...goal setting...cardio...discipline...metal toughness. Coaches can then focus on other things during their practice planning. Athletes get home earlier. Seems so logical. So smart. But, I have never heard of anyone actually successful at implementing it. Does anyone out there do this? Does it work? How?
• Blast82.5

  I don't think our school does this ... but several thoughts occur to me:
  1 - Our team does lift twice a week in-season under the supervision of a strength coach. Personally, I know quite a bit about lifting, and I think they do a very good job, and I think it really helps! They go very early in the morning before school, and I worry about guys not getting enough rest / sleep. However, the coaches recognize the added physical demands on those days, and usually practice is much shorter to compensate. So net-net, it's two shorter, intense sessions (one lifting, one regular practie), rather than one long practice which tries to incorporate lifting.
  2 - I think there were more attempts to incorporate lifting into PE classes "a while ago." There are always people who think lifting is dangerous, or otherwise barbaric or somehow "low-class." After all, it requires effort! I wonder if this supresses efforts to do this now?
  3 - If a school has a dedicated strength coach (an expense for sure), I'm sure people could put their heads together to find ways for guys to strength train during the day, whether as a PE elective for credit, or during a study hall, or whatever. It would take some flexibility and/or administrative work to set it up, but it could work. The whole team doesn't have to be together ... as long as the coach knows what the workout is for wrestling vs. football vs. track vs. volleyball etc... then he can direct the kids in the room accordingly.
• double arm bars

  Good discussion and many excellent points. Once a person chooses to specialize in a sport do they then specialize their training within the sport?
• said_aouita

  

  If wrestling is the primary sport but the athlete wants to do something during fall in preperation of winter season, cross country should be the only choice for any grapler 200'ish pounds and below.
• cruiser_96

  

  *grappler and somewhere, ccrunner is smiling. You've done him proud.
• Cthelites

  Awesome awesome stuff guys!!!!!
  Horseshoe is spot on but that rarely happens. Love the post and the passion!
  
  Darby's Coach Moody was a 3 sporter so he really encourages our kids to play and compete.
  I appreciate that as a Dad of a 3 sporter.
  It is VERY hard now a days to EXCEL at playing 3 sports.
  Ive had both instances with my sons where one ended up just specializing in wrestling after paying 3 in MS and then football as a soph. I really pushed him to stay with football, but in the end the kid had a goal to wrestle in college and made his choice. I wasnt going to make him play football just to make him play. I knew I didnt have to worry about him not training and putting the time in since he went to the single sport.
  I see that so much where a kid says he wants to just wrestle or fill in the sport yet doesnt put in nearly the time he would have if he played the other sport.
  
  As far as a weight training/fitness class during school as a PE class Darby has had this for a few yrs. Its called Advanced Fitness and it is encouraged for the student athletes to take(in stead of study hall...my wife, a school counselor wasnt a big fan lol). We dont have a strength and conditioning coach teaching it(the baseball coach) and it is not a coordinated sport specific program but it does help.
  I really think it helps my son that plays 3.
  I think it has really helped the overall athletic program and helped Darby make some quick gains after the school split. Heck the 3 sports my son plays in Darby went 10-0 OCC champs in football. OCC champs and Regional finalist in wrestling. And Regional finalist in baseball. Pretty exciting yr!!!
• 5702usmc

  When I coached in North Carolina (just left 3 yrs ago), most schools were on a block schedule with 4 - 90 minute classes per semester. Most schools also offered weight training as a class. Another great class offered was Athletic Training. These students then helped the trainer with taping, etc before and during practices/games/matches.
• Heretic

  

  Con_Alma;1489651 wrote:A significant amount of the kids on the podium in Columbus who wrestle, specialize.

  You know, that's one of those things that I'd love to see the numbers on (even though that's probably an impossibility). I know in my rural area, I've seen four state champs over the years and it was 50-50 there. One purely specialized. One did football as a freshman and then specialized because he found himself banged up and needing to lose the weight he'd put on for football, which didn't fit into his goal to be a state champ. The other two were both three-sport athletes and very good at the other two (although not at state champ level), including one of them being a state-placing pole vaulter.
  
  To specialize or not is an interesting topic, because there's so many good examples of great athletes on both sides of the coin.
• Heretic

  

  said_aouita;1490712 wrote:If wrestling is the primary sport but the athlete wants to do something during fall in preperation of winter season, cross country should be the only choice for any grapler 200'ish pounds and below.

  That's what I did in high school. I started wrestling later than most (10th grade) and so I was a bit lacking in things like technique and body-weight managing (which put me behind in strength, too), but found myself able to sneak out a decent number of wins against mediocre kids simply because I could outlast them over a full three periods.
• Con_Alma

  said_aouita;1490712 wrote:If wrestling is the primary sport but the athlete wants to do something during fall in preperation of winter season, cross country should be the only choice for any grapler 200'ish pounds and below.

  
  I disagree and I appreciate CC.
  
  Soccer and football both can benefit the right kid who wrestles.