There’s a trend for athletes to focus on and master one sport.
However, if your child is talented in more than one sport, there are real advantages to being a dual-sport athlete. This is great news for children who have fallen in love with multiple sports.
Let’s break down some of the benefits of being a dual-sport athlete and how it can help your child succeed in both sports and other endeavors.
Coaches play a significant role in the development of athletes.
It’s not just their sports skills, either. Coaches can make a serious impact on children and inspire them to do great things in other parts of their lives, such as academics.
Playing two sports gives your child the opportunity to learn from two different coaches. They’ll experience two separate coaching styles that can help them develop in both athletics and academics.
Different coaching styles also give your child the opportunity to figure out what techniques they resonate with and which ones they don’t.
The social aspect of sports is just as important as the competition. Sports give kids the opportunity to meet all kinds of new, like-minded friends. Some kids meet lifelong friends that they carry into adulthood.
Dual-sport athletes get the chance to meet twice as many people and make twice as many friends.
This opportunity to cultivate more relationships with teammates quickly helps kids understand the importance of selflessness and teamwork.
Everybody gets burnt out. Whether it’s at work, school, or playing a sport that you’ve played for years.
Even if your child has fallen in love with a particular sport, they may end up becoming tired of the monotony of playing a single sport. While we do think that a routine helps children in the long run, there’s nothing wrong with shaking things up a bit and having kids try out a new sport.
Who knows? They might end up loving and appreciating their original sport even more.
Overuse injuries can occur when specializing in only one sport too early. Athletes who take a multi- sport approach are less likely to suffer these injuries since different sports engage different muscle sets.
Different sports require different skill sets. For the most part, a sport like basketball requires proficiency in different techniques than baseball.
However, there are certain skills and knowledge that can transfer from one sport to another to help make your child a more dynamic athlete.
For example, tennis players rely on a ton of hand-eye coordination. For baseball players looking to improve their batting skills, practicing tennis could help them gain confidence in their hand-eye coordination. Tennis also requires a lot of conditioning and speed which could translate well into a basketball player’s game.
Certain sports have specific off-seasons as well. A basketball player’s off-season usually takes place in the summer. If they were to pick up baseball, they would have the chance to continue competing during the summer.
Is your child looking to become a dual-sport athlete? If so, Future Stars camps are a great way for your child to learn a brand new sport and broaden their athletic horizons. Check out our camp options to figure out which sport is right for them.