Everyday putting in the work, training, going to practice for years or switching it up and training and practice for two sports. The dedication of playing the same sport each year is a challenge, but playing two sports a year is just as, if not more complicated. Karter Richards ’24 plays basketball in winter and football in the fall and uses his skills from both sports to his advantage.
“I don’t think there are any downsides to playing two sports, I think I max out the benefits of everything,” Richards 24’ said. “In the off-season I’m either doing travel basketball or working on my own.”
Maddy Benard ’25 plays basketball year-round and she dedicates herself to just that one sport. Playing for her school and travel team, she puts all her time and effort into just basketball. She trains every day,l but wonders what she’s missing out on.
“Playing basketball year-round helps me stay in shape and I have fun but sometimes it’s hard to get motivation to do it because I’m doing it every day,” Benard 25’ said. “Since I take my one sport so seriously, I feel like I’m missing out by not playing other sports that I would want to play, like volleyball.”
Richards and Benard agree that there are pros and cons to playing one, or more than one sport. A multi-sport athlete is exposed to more than you would be if you only played one sport. There are physical and mental struggles to both, however there are also benefits to playing two sports.
“I think the pros are just meeting new people and developing new friendships,” Richards said. “It’s also a great way to get your name out there. The only cons would be missing out on things like friends and family because I have practice or a game.”
Training all year for the same sport it would be hard to stay motivated which is what Benard goes through every year. After tearing her ACL, Benard said that the toll training takes on your body is a big factor in her life..
“I train every day, I lift and have a workout with my basketball trainer four or five days a week and on the other days, I just shoot,” Benard 25’ said. “But playing the whole year I feel like I can really focus and dedicate and better myself throughout the year.”
Playing any sport there are always mental struggles that have to be overcome. Having dedication and motivation can be hard, but when goals are reached, all the training was worth it.
“Being a multi-sport athlete I definitely think it affects me mentally just being prepared for every practice and game from the mental side,”Richards 24’ said. “As the season goes on it just gets harder but you just have to keep pushing through.”
Varsity Swim Head Coach John Fodell was a multi-sport athlete in high school. He said that there are benefits of doing more than one sport and negatives.
“There are benefits of being a multi-sport athlete in certain sports, but swimming is not one especially if you want to get to a higher level,” Fodell said. “Swimming is more of a year-round sport because swimming doesn’t work well with any other sport.”
Fodell has experienced the struggles of being a multi-sport athlete and the training that goes into playing more than one sport.
“There were struggles physically when I started high school or college swimming,” Fodell said. “I was out of shape for tennis and it would be such a struggle to get back in shape and where you wanted to be. You would always have to work hard to get back to the level you were at compared to year-round sports where you keep improving.”
