5 Reasons Your Athlete Should Keep Playing More Than One Sport

By Morgan Sullivan, CAA, CIC · Talkin' with the AD

Every fall, a parent asks me some version of the same question: "Should my kid pick one sport and go all in?" It comes from a good place. You want your child to have every opportunity. But the people who study young athletes for a living have landed on a clear answer for most kids. Let them keep playing more than one sport, one season at a time, for as long as they want to. Here's why.

1. It keeps them in the game longer

Here's a number that stopped me cold - and probably one we’ve all heard, but is worth repeating. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2024 clinical report, about 70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13, and injury and burnout are two of the biggest reasons why. The report also cites research showing that kids who specialized early were more likely to walk away because of burnout. Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Young Athletes | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics +2

A new season with a new sport, new teammates, and a new coach keeps things fresh. The same sport twelve months a year can turn something they loved into something they dread.

2. It gives their growing body a break

Young bodies are still building. The AAP notes that growing bones in children handle stress less well than adult bones and may be more prone to stress injuries. Research from Loyola University Chicago found that athletes who trained more hours per week than their age, and those whose organized sports time was more than double their free play time, were at significantly higher risk of serious overuse injury. American Academy of PediatricsScienceDirect

Switching sports with the seasons moves the stress around to different muscles, joints, and movement patterns. That variety is protection.

3. It builds a better all-around athlete

Balance from wrestling helps a linebacker. Footwork from basketball helps a soccer player. Hand-eye coordination from softball helps a volleyball player. The NFHS notes that multi-sport athletes learn from multiple coaches and get cross-training that leads to better athleticism. NFHS

The top of the ladder backs this up. In the 2022 NFL Draft, 233 of the 262 players selected played multiple sports in high school, while only 29 played football alone. NFHS

4. It protects who they are, not just what they do

This is the one parents don't always see coming. The 2024 AAP report found that young people who identify mainly as athletes, or who feel they have little control over their sports decisions, are at higher risk of burnout. When a kid's whole identity is "the soccer player," one bad season or one injury can shake everything. American Academy of Pediatrics

Multiple sports give them multiple roles. They might be the star in one sport and a role player in another, and both teach them something. They learn to support teammates, take coaching from a new voice, and work at something that doesn't come easy. That's character, and it lasts long after the uniform comes off.

5. High school only lasts four years

The odds of playing in college are small. In baseball, basketball, and football, seven percent or fewer high school boys go on to compete in college, and the rates are similar for girls in basketball, soccer, and volleyball. For most of our kids, high school is the last time they'll wear a uniform with their town's name on it. NFHS

Friday nights, bus rides, senior nights, and a locker room full of friends don't come back. Why trade three of those seasons for one?

One important word of caution: more sports, not more teams

Multi-sport doesn't mean stacking everything at once. The AAP warns that playing on multiple teams at the same time can create too much physical stress, and that year-round participation can raise the risk of overtraining because breaks give the body time to recover before the next season. A kid playing fall football while also doing travel baseball and winter basketball workouts isn't getting the benefits of multi-sport. They're just getting tired. American Academy of PediatricsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

The takeaway for parents

The 2024 AAP report gives families a simple framework:

• At least 1 to 2 days off per week from competition and sport-specific training American Academy of Pediatrics

• One team per season, and no more than one sport per day American Academy of Pediatrics

• At least 2 to 3 months away from any specific sport each year, which can be broken into 1-month blocks American Academy of Pediatrics

And one more thing to check in the mirror. The report found that burnout is higher when kids feel their parents measure success by performance, and lower when success is defined by the athlete's own goals. So ask yourself honestly: is this their dream, or mine? American Academy of Pediatrics

A final word

Your child's athletic career isn't a race to the finish. It's a season-by-season journey, and every season is a chance to grow into a stronger, healthier, more well-rounded young person. Let them play. Let them try. Let them fall in love with the game again every time the calendar turns. The scholarship might come or it might not, but the kid who played everything and loved every minute of it wins either way.

Lead. Teach. Grow.

Sources

Brenner JS, Watson A, AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, "Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Young Athletes," Pediatrics 153(2), 2024.

Jayanthi N, et al., "Risk of Injuries Associated With Sport Specialization and Intense Training Patterns in Young Athletes," Orthopedic

Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020.

NFHS, "Participating in Multiple Sports, Activities Continues to Be Best Route to Success." NFHS, "Promoting the Benefits of Multi-Sport Participation in High Schools," 2024.

NFHS, "Schools Continue to Encourage Multiple-Sport Participation," 2017.