Athletes Need Competition During Offseason
Student athletes that are serious about their athletic performance understand the importance of the offseason work necessary for improvement; athletes debate the benefits to playing multiple sports or focusing on one single sport year round.
The advantages for athletes who play multiple sports include limiting overuse injuries, cross sport skill development, and a smaller chance of burnout in a particular sport. Cross sport skill development is especially intriguing when considering the opportunity to excel in a variety of skills like speed, hand-eye coordination, footwork, and muscular strength.
According to Jaimie Duffek, NCSA Director of Softball, 87 percent of Division 1 female runners and 91 percent of male Division 1 runners were multisport athletes. For example, for a cross country runner that also participates in track and field, swimming during the offseason allows the runner to maintain conditioning while releasing stress on the legs prior to the next running season.
For athletes that choose to be one sport specific, the same muscles are being worked over and over throughout the year with no break or use of different muscle regions. According to a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine athletes that spend more than eight months in one sport leave the athlete three times more likely to experience an overuse injury.
On the other hand, athletes that strictly focus on one sport specialize in the specific sport skills. By dedicating their blood, sweat, and tears into a single sport, these athletes have a clear path to perfect skills and increase performance.
The more time dedicated to a sport creates confidence within the athlete to continue working on skills and leap ahead of competition.
Confidence is an important key to an athletes mindset, especially during the offseason when it can be difficult to find motivation and rewards without competition. Single sport athletes have the advantage of feeling ultra confident in their abilities given the time invested into practice.
Another important factor to consider is the athlete's social life. According to Michelle Smith, Contributor for ESPN, being involved in multiple sports allows athletes more opportunities for social interactions.
The decision to play multiple sports or focus on one specifically depends on which factors are more important to the athlete. An athlete who has goals of winning an olympic medal or winning a national championship may decide that putting their entire work into one sport is the smarter decision.
For athletes who enjoy being a part of a team and do not have a goal of competing in a sport beyond high school, choosing to play more than one sport will prevent burnout and be more enjoyable. This allows the athlete to focus more on enjoying time with teammates, yet still competing with other athletes.
Although multisport athletes do not have the time to regularly practice one sport, being involved in another sport during the offseason keeps the athlete accountable in their work and involved in competition. The lack of competition in the offseason for single sport athletes can put them behind at the beginning of the next season.
Athletes should participate in more than one sport because athletes will be better prepared to compete in their top sport. Having a structured schedule, along with coaches that will enhance the athlete’s overall skill set will give the athlete the best opportunity at success.
