The Stephen Curry Approach for Youth Sports

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Today's WSJ.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-step...rts-1463526612

Don't believe the hype of 10 month seasons...in this bs age when kids have to choose clubs vs. hs or town let alone different sports.

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Helps to have a father who played in the NBA, too....

Ask anyone from Europe what US lags behind in soccer, and they'll tell you it's because kids there don't play multiple sports. They only play soccer.

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Helps to have a father who played in the NBA, too....

Ask anyone from Europe what US lags behind in soccer, and they'll tell you it's because kids there don't play multiple sports. They only play soccer.

Steph also is a very, very rare example. Even with having a NBA father he was almost totally overlooked....almost like a kid playing D3 and ending up as the singular star of the EPL or La Liga.

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Steph also is a very, very rare example. Even with having a NBA father he was almost totally overlooked....almost like a kid playing D3 and ending up as the singular star of the EPL or La Liga.

Exactly! If he was almost passed over, with the right genetics for the game, plus a father who knew the ins and outs of going pro and probably taught him a few things along the way, what are the chances of an average kid trying to follow along that same multi-sport until college path actually making it to the pros? Most kids will need to put in a lot more focused time on their chosen sport to become exceptional.

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Exactly! If he was almost passed over, with the right genetics for the game, plus a father who knew the ins and outs of going pro and probably taught him a few things along the way, what are the chances of an average kid trying to follow along that same multi-sport until college path actually making it to the pros? Most kids will need to put in a lot more focused time on their chosen sport to become exceptional.

Thx mom. 3 sport high school V d1 athlete and d1 college soccer player here. Dead right on multi sports. Good luck

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These appeals and extrapolating to once in a generation stories/athletes are rather silly. People cite these stories, like the Michael Jordan "late bloomer" theme (and I'm actually somewhat of a pro-late bloomer person), as though they have some applicability to even really, really good soccer players that we talk about on TS. People want there to be a logic where there is none.

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These appeals and extrapolating to once in a generation stories/athletes are rather silly. People cite these stories, like the Michael Jordan "late bloomer" theme (and I'm actually somewhat of a pro-late bloomer person), as though they have some applicability to even really, really good soccer players that we talk about on TS. People want there to be a logic where there is none.

The athletes often cited are generally freaks of nature in terms of athleticism, sports-smarts, internal drive. The more "typical" athlete won't possess all three. It also takes adults around that young athlete giving good advice and a willingness to work with them. If you have kids who have do multiple sports, either inside or outside of school, then you know how difficult it can be in terms of time and pressure from coaches

[Unregistered]

Today's WSJ.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-step...rts-1463526612

Don't believe the hype of 10 month seasons...in this bs age when kids have to choose clubs vs. hs or town let alone different sports.

I love when people find an unique story about success in sports that happens once in a lifetime and make it the norm. Why teams like Man Utd, Liverpool, etc spend so much money in setting up their teams? They should all follow Leicester foot steps. (SARCASM)

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Thx mom. 3 sport high school V d1 athlete and d1 college soccer player here. Dead right on multi sports. Good luck

I too played 3 sports, 2 in college (not D1). Personally, I do believe in spreading it around and not alienating one sport as THAT could be the one you would ultimately be successful at.

However, the European folks have a very valid point. I've told this story on here before: I got wind of a heated argument that occurred during a Board meeting of our club team. I friend of mine, who I played in an adult league with, was from Holland. On the other side, was my brother. Holland was pushing that for the top-level players, no matter the age, players should be dedicated to soccer and soccer only. In his opinion, kids only have so many free hours a day available to them, and those free hours should be used practicing your craft. In his mind, it's the reason why we fall behind, as there aren't as many (in some cases, any) other sports to play. That takes time away from improving.

My brother, a father of a 3 sport star in college, was just as adamant the other way. First, it helps with muscle dexterity to be exposed to different sports which will only help them all. But, more important, his point was that we are talking about pre-teen kids. It's awfully hard to stick a 10 year old with a lifetime decision: play soccer, only soccer, for the rest of your life.

Both have very valid points. As they both vented to me about the other, I laughed and said it's rare that such an impassioned argument could come away with me agreeing totally with both sides. I still feel that way today.

My kid doesn't want to play any other sports, but she does swim, snowboards, and climbs. This can be done without a set schedule, so it's easier to "fit in" and remain dedicated to soccer. I also have no expectations of a pro player here, so if she wanted to play other sports I would let her. If he/she were a real, legit superstar (of which there aren't any around here)...not sure what I would do to be honest.

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The article also says that he quit baseball soon after he was 10, so I'm not so sure this is really a multi-sport athlete story anyways.

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The article also says that he quit baseball soon after he was 10, so I'm not so sure this is really a multi-sport athlete story anyways.

But it also says he was a V letter HS athlete and golfer. There have been other stories about multisport athletes (I know Tim Howard and a few other NT players played other sports) but most often it's that one intense sport (the one that gets them to college and professional levels) and the others they do in HS then stop by the college age. With almost all sports being so intensive now it's very difficult to do (as an example) club soccer plus high level hockey. You can still be multisport in HS, and you can do one outside sport + HS sports. But to do two sports high level sports outside of school is virtually impossible. Everyone expects your full and undivided attention.

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Thx mom. 3 sport high school V d1 athlete and d1 college soccer player here. Dead right on multi sports. Good luck

If you're old enough to have kids playing youth soccer, you grew up in a time where most kids played three sports in high school and continued on to play one, even all three, in college (I did this, as well). For better or for worse, that's just not how it is today. My kids are similar to those of a previous poster, in that they are focused on a single team sport, soccer, which they play year round. But they also swim, ski, play tennis all non-competitively and completely schedule free. Their soccer skills are head and shoulders beyond what I had at their age, as I was a purely seasonal player.

These days, you're just not going to be able to play in many high schools, let alone college, playing a sport one season only and dropping it after three months to pick up the sport for next season. IMO, those multi-sport players who do try to play all their team sports year round, 2-3 every season, are much more insane than the single sport kids. You see this more and more every year and there is very little balance for these kids for non-sports related activity outside of school.

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The article also says that he quit baseball soon after he was 10, so I'm not so sure this is really a multi-sport athlete story anyways.

Well age is the issue. If your kid is playing soccer and another sport in HS then s/he is just not very good because there are many extremely talented players who are focused on just that.

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Well age is the issue. If your kid is playing soccer and another sport in HS then s/he is just not very good because there are many extremely talented players who are focused on just that.

Some kids are just athletes. They can play different sports in the off season and still very competitive because they like to compete. My daughter plays HS soccer in the fall and club throughout the year and still find time to play on her HS softball team. She is the top 3 players on her softball team and I might add if she spent more time on softball she could easily be a D1 prospect but her first love is soccer. I have people told me she has a potential to be a better softball than soccer.

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my child is nearing the end of her college career. she spent a lot of time with the ball at her feet as a youngster, and is the most technical and tactical player on her d1 college team. she also played 2 other sports at a high level in high school, and was recruited for athletic scholarships for these as well, but chose to focus on soccer.

multiple sports thru high school can be done, provided your kid spends the fun hours messing with a ball and playing pickup necessary to imprint soccer skills. a few hour and a half practices a week, for 8 months a year, no matter the league, coach or team, will not develop soccer skills. can't blame other sports for this shortcoming of our system.

other sports improve soccer performance and help cross train and protect against injury. in retrospect my daughter regressed by not playing her spring sport in college. when she isn't telling me how much i don't know long enough to be honest, she admits as much.