A question for parents who have experience with girls playing multi-sports, is it possible to keep playing soccer, hockey, and lacrosse through high school at a competitive level? If so how do you manage all the commitments/conflicts and minimize over-use injuries, especially as they get older?
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Define "at a competitive level". My son decided to focus on soccer at 12, when he started club soccer, and had to give up hockey at 13. There's no possible way he could have played club soccer as well as the hockey and lacrosse equivalent. -
you can definitely play other sports and club soccer. Multiple boys on our club soccer team also play lacrosse and basketball. It’s highly unlikely you can make every practice but if the coach is understanding then absolutely go for it.
Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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They will find your replacement fast if you tried that on a Ecnl or GA team.They want soccer players.Comment
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Lol.coaches are rarely understanding, especially at more competitive levels and with high school coaches.Originally posted by Guest View Post
To the op it can be done but usually it means something has to give in terms of competitive level. Do what you can to keep them doing multiple things as long as you can, without driving everyone crazy. In HS it's actually easier to be a multi sport athlete as long as they're not also doing something at a highly competitive level outside of school. In middle school is where it gets to be a time challenge. Kids are pushed to be in all year "competitive" leagues now, making it tough to play other things more for fun. Then there's the cost and time, even worse if you have multiple kids. It's unfortunate that kids are pressed to make choices at young ages. Their interests can and do change over time.Comment
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It’s tough. Eventually you’ll be missing something as it’s logistically impossible to make everything. Snd while you are missing something that player you are competing with isn’tComment
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OP here. My son plays competitive hockey (top club/prep level) and a bit of baseball (town spring team for fun before high school). I know a few very good hockey players who also play competitive lacrosse or baseball, so I know a little bit of how it works for boys who want to play hockey plus lacrosse or baseball.
I don’t know much about club soccer and if it is “compatible” with hockey and lacrosse for girls. My daughter is still exploring soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, with some combination of club and town, and loved all three. Ideally I want her to continue playing for as long as she can before deciding and focusing on two or just one sport.
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Cant be done at high level for all sports. No ecnl team is going to be ok with a player missing training and games consistently for lacrosse or anything else. Similarly, the high level lax teams want dedicated players. The way to do it would be picking the priority sport and then being as transparent as possible with the secondary sport. Btw, this isn’t even addressing injuries from when seasons overlap.Comment
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Again, depends on level and also age. Between U12-14 the more skilled and competitive players move into the higher levels where doing another sport at a high level is a real challenge. If she's still young do what you can to expose her to as much as possible. There's no telling what might stickOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Its another people talk a good game but coaches and teams don’t want multi sport athletes which is not in the best interest of the kids from a social aspect being in high school sports and club sports. Definitely not at ecnl/ga level so when people on this forum talk about teams falling apart sometimes kids are forced into making a choice. They would rather do both but they aren’t given the flexibility.Comment
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No they're not and it's a shame. Kids should be given more time to figure out what they're good at and enjoy. Coaches aren't flexible at all, even on teams that aren't high level. If you really want to do it your kid needs a thick skin and be ok with not starting, even hearing dik comments from coaches and teammates. Parents need to be ready to stand up to jerk coaches.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Unfortunately sometimes kids pick the "wrong" thing, then find a year or two later they're behind their peers and can't readily jump back into something.Comment
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Garbage. I know ECNL players who play other sports. Obviously not as competitive but they play basketball in the winter, swimming etc. Some are skipping HS soccer and playing volleyball. It’s better for the body to use different muscles. My kid is a defender. The skills she learns in basketball improve soccer.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Your kid will break.Comment
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Often their bodies do. Before puberty they seem invincible but they can start to breakdown in HS. It needs to be highly varied, even supplementing with training with a quality athletic trainerOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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