While some student athletes at WHS choose to play multiple sports, usually as a member of WHS teams, others choose to specialize in one sport that interests them most or in which they are most skilled, usually requiring that they play on club teams instead of or in addition to playing for WHS.
Some athletes moved from participating in many sports to playing one in order to maximize their training and skill in their sole sport.
“I didn’t always only play soccer,”said sophomore Jamie Hawkes. “I used to play baseball and basketball but I ultimately quit to focus on soccer since it was my favorite sport and the one I was best at.”
Other students who choose to specialize in one sport see it as a way to create more opportunities to play at the college level or beyond.
“I think I would really like to do my sport in college,” said junior Caroline Janis. “Since I’ve put lots of time and effort into my sport, I’m not ready to give it up yet.”
Other students who play multiple sports still see a future that involves at least one of the sports they are playing.
“I definitely know that I’d want to play one of my sports in college,”said freshman Johnnie Dickie. “I don’t think that I’m at a point where I’d be willing to quit one to focus on another though.”
Some students believe that specializing in one sport gives them an advantage due to helping them build an overall greater skill level.
“Ever since I started to only focus on playing soccer, I feel I’ve brought my skillset and play to a new level,” said Hawkes.
Others feel that playing multiple sports allows them to learn lessons and skills that they can apply elsewhere.
“I think that I learn a lot of different things from playing multiple sports that makes me a better player overall,” said freshman Talia Parsekian. “If I learn something new playing soccer I can also apply it to basketball.”
Playing multiple sports also exposes students to a variety of different people, and for some playing on a team helps build bonds with teammates that can carry over into their lives outside that sport.
“I feel playing multiple sports helps me meet new people,” said sophomore Tucker Cashel. “Playing three sports definitely helps me feel more connected to my community and school.”
In contrast, others feel that specializing and playing one sport helps them build deeper relationships with a specific group of people.
“Because I only play soccer, I have a really good connection with my teammates since I see them so much,” said Hawkes. “I think this definitely helps us play better on the field as well.”
Another difference between the two options relates to sports injuries: playing multiple sports can lessen stress on specific muscles due to breaks in between seasons. In contrast, specializing in one sport can cause specific injuries in some parts of the body because of repeated use of the same muscles.
“I have recurring injuries in my ankles from diving,”said Janis. “This is probably caused by me putting stress on my ankles over and over again.”
One might assume that only certain sports create these kinds of recurring injuries. However many athletes see the injury phenomenon over many different sports. A study from the University of Wisconsin Medical School confirms that about 34% of student athletes are likely to have a recurrence of an initial injury
“ I would agree 110 percent,”said sophomore Jacob Kasanov about this statistic. “My shins always hurt, my knees always hurt, and my hamstrings are pretty bad. This is probably because I only run track and use the same muscles repeatedly.”
Once athletes decide to specialize in only one sport, some feel that they could not return to playing a variety of sports, even if they wanted to, due to the inability to adapt to the differing requirements.
“Since I only do track and run in a straight line, if I tried to play soccer again there is a [much] higher chance that I would tear my ACL because I am not used to lateral movement,” said Kasanov.
For those who choose to be multi-sport athletes, they may still focus their training more on one sport than another to increase their skills in it.
“Golf is probably the sport that I’m best at, so I practice golf all year round almost every day,”said Cashel. “While skiing, I usually only practice for the school team during the school season. But it would be kind of hard to ski during the summer.”
