Every summer, my friends and I find ourselves talking about our plans to start playing a new sport when the school year comes around. And thankfully, we have never been able to follow through with it.
In today’s world, everyone is pushing to become a multi-sport athlete and keep themselves in season all year long. But for me, only playing baseball is the best decision I have made throughout my three years of high school.
I haven’t played any other organized sport since eighth grade, and honestly, the main reason is because I haven’t been good enough at anything but baseball. Even with that, being a single-sport athlete in high school has allowed me to diversify other aspects of my life.
If I was a multi-sport athlete, I never would have taken English teacher Brent Bockelman’s suggestion at the end of freshman year to join The Journal. Being a member of this staff has provided me with unbelievable experiences.
Through The Journal, I was able to sit down with Indiana University basketball player Joey Brunk and write one of my coolest pieces ever. I was also able to cover one of the most heartwarming stories at SHS when orchestra teacher Thomas Wright and head boys basketball coach Eric Brand did everything necessary to help a student in need.
Alongside Journal, I’ve had time to coach in a youth basketball league with two of my best friends for two years. If I was involved in a winter sport, I would have never had the time to join that league as a coach.
One of the biggest arguments I hear for playing multiple sports is the idea that multi-sport athletes are often more athletic. They compete and train year-round for a sport in each season, ultimately giving them an advantage over those who only play one sport.
Even though that may be the case, I believe it is more important to spread out extracurriculars, rather than focus solely on playing sports.
Single-sports athletes also give themselves more time to perfect their craft in the sport they enjoy most. Since I’ve never played another high school sport, I have been able to spend my offseasons refining my skills on the baseball field, which has made me a much better player in my sport.
I also truly believe that athletes need an offseason. By playing different sports, athletes deprive themselves of time off. I have often seen this lead to the body wearing down and more minor injuries throughout the different sports seasons.
I see high school as the best opportunity in life to try new things. Students are young and full of energy and can always use high school as a way to find different interests.
A multi-sport athlete may be more conditioned for each of their seasons, but flying through high school while only playing baseball allowed me to expand my interests and combine my strong love of sports with many other activities in my life.