How Young Multi-Sport Athletes Excel in the NCAA
/
They are almost legends, the dominant multi-sport athlete. There have been many who have tried but few who have succeeded. Being dominant in every sport is not why we should be asking our young athletes if they want to play more than one sport. In order to prepare a young student-athlete for the lifestyle and commitment of the NCAA allowing them to play multiple sports is gifting them the experiences of these demands in advance.
Time Management
College coaches know what it entails to be a collegiate athlete at their school, they want to know that their athletes can handle that combination of practice, class, extra workouts and self care that keeps their teams running efficiently. If a prospective student-athlete has been able to maintain good grades, excellent performance in their sport of choice, while also being able to participate and excel in another sport, it is obvious they can handle the time it takes to succeed in the NCAA.
Balance
One of the biggest problems college athletes run into is balance. Balancing their lives and keeping themselves focused mentally, in order to perform the best they can. With this demanding lifestyle coaches are looking to offer NCAA college scholarships to a student who can handle the time constraints. Everyone has off days but it is those who can turn off what were worried about and focus on the current task that are the most successful. An athlete that has participated in multiple sports knows how to go from one to the other without letting them impede what is at hand. One of the most critical tools in collegiate sports is being able to leave what is outside of practice, outside.
Physical Ability
Each sport has its own technical value from an athletic standpoint. We have watched many athletes begin to work with other coaches after they get to college because they haven't had the experience of the correct technical coaching. If that basketball player had participated in track and field as a young athlete her running form wouldn't have caused her so many knee problems. We hear it all the time, the professional football player started doing dance classes to improve his footwork.
More often than not when a student-athlete finally gets to that coveted full-ride NCAA scholarship there is a period of shock because they are not prepared for how much work being a collegiate athlete actually is. However, this shock is highly absorbed when they have experience playing multiple sports as a younger athlete. Even adding World Record Camps for short periods at a time can equip the athlete with new skills, sense of balance and fun experiences whether they are on break in Anchorage, Alaska or summer vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada.