Alison Foley on why kids should play more than one sport and how coaches can support multi-sport athletes.
Alison Foley is the winningest coach in Boston College history. As the former head coach of women’s soccer, her program went to eight Sweet 16’s, three Elite Eights, and the 2010 College Cup (Final Four). She also coached many All-American players including Kristie Mewis, Laura Georges, and Kia McNeill. She is now the founder of Foley Athletic Advising which provides expertise in the college recruiting process for student-athletes who aspire to play in college.
Many people contribute the rise of early sport specialization to the popularity of a theory by Dr. Anders Ericsson, which said it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert. With that rule in mind, youth athletes have started to focus on one sport in hopes of reaching an elite level by high school and college — even though Ericsson’s original work was intended for musicians, mathematicians and chess players, rather than athletes.
Of the 221 Division I coaches who answered, just 16 — 7 percent — said they would prefer a player who played only soccer and was not a multi-sport athlete. from CNN Health
Here are more articles:
From National Scouting Report: Multi-Sport Athletes vs. Single Sport Athletes – The Pros and Cons
From ESPN: 5 reasons you want your kid to be a multi-sport athlete
From Healthline: Children Should Play More Than One Sport, Pediatricians Recommend
From Geisinger: Why it’s healthier for your teen athlete to play multiple sports