A Vanishing Breed

The Multisport Athlete

The high school football playoffs are wrapping up in most states and will be wrapping up in the next week or so across the country. Congratulations to all who participated this year in high school football whether you went 10-0 or 0-10. Just by participating and finishing shows dedication and commitment to a common goal. I truly congratulate and admire all who played.

Now that the season is over, I’m sure that all young men will be hitting the weight room hard. I realize how important year round weight training has become. I had been a big proponent of year round weight training before it became mainstream. However, it is my hope that as many as can, will participate in a winter sport and then a spring sport. I believe it is possible to lift and play a sport at the same time. It always bothered me when one of my athletes would say he is going to concentrate on lifting and skip a winter sport. We had a system in place where a young man could do both and I hope many of you do as well.

I realize that the two or three sport athlete is a vanishing breed, particularly in the larger schools where kids “specialize” more. There are many good arguments to that philosophy. But there are some good arguments to the multi sport philosophy as well. For starters, it allows an athlete to excel in another area other than, say, football. He may find he is even better in another sport. Why deny someone that opportunity? Secondly, he is competing. I liked my athletes to compete, to reach down when the game, match, or race was on the line and find out what they’re made of. This only comes in competition, not in the weight room. I remember when I was coaching the offensive and defensive lines in football and I was also the head wrestling coach. We were going through a stretch of four consecutive 9-0 regular seasons and I could look out at the defense and regularly see seven to nine of the starters on the field on a Friday night were my wrestlers. They were tough kids, tough athletes, not just football players. I thought that was pretty cool. Thirdly, athletic skills can be honed while playing another sport. Playing basketball can enhance ball handling and catching skills as well as plenty of running and conditioning. Wrestling can help with balance, pushing, pulling, one on one toughness, and great overall conditioning. Track is great for working on an athlete’s speed, very important to football. Let’s not forget too, that practicing for another sport involves a daily commitment, whereas lifting is generally three times a week. Fourthly, it prevents becoming stale by playing two or more sports. The newness of another sport can be refreshing and give a hunger to another sport as one is away from it. Finally, playing multi sports is fun for most young people. Let kids be kids when they want. It needs to be fun, or we may lose some of our athletes from experiencing the many benefits of playing sports.

The main goal through all of this though, is to keep the players working hard to improve their skills and strength in the off season. I think we would all agree we have to make sure our players are getting better!

It's a Fun Time of Year

Playoffs are Here

My two favorite times of the high school season are opening night and the playoffs. Opening night was great, but it's gone before you know it. Then it's the weekly grind. Fun, but can't match the opener. Then, for those fortunate enough to make it, the playoffs begin. Featuring the best teams of the regular season, they provide great excitement and entertainment. I love the playoffs.

By now all states should be full swing into their playoffs to determine state champions. Here in Illinois it has evolved into some pretty cool stuff. We now have 8 classes, probably too many, but it allowed most 5-4 teams in, so it has worked out. You really don't know who you are going to play until the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announces the pairings. One can get the pairings online or watch the IHSA TV show which is much more fun. They make it look like the CBS NCAA Basketball Tournament Show. You know, the commentators sitting at their desks and then the big board gives the matchups and seeds as they appear right before your eyes. It's really cool as you watch your school go on the big bracket board with your opponent listed for you. Coaches and kids find out who they play, what they are seeded, and whether they'll be at home or on the road. The anticipation is so exciting and gives the whole atmosphere a big time feel. Then, the announcers talk about your bracket and you get to see how tough your quarter bracket or half bracket is. It's a 32 team bracket so you tend to look at your quadrant many times. How do we seed here in Illinois? Actually, it's the fairest system that I can think of. It's not based on rankings at all but on won-loss record and what we call playoff points. All 9-0 teams get seeded highest, then 8-1, then 7-2 and so on. Teams with the same record then get seeded by their number of playoff points. You get a point for every opponents win on your schedule. So, if many of your opponents had great seasons, theoretically you played a tough schedule. If your opponents won a total of 40 games, you would get a higher seed than a team whose opponents won only 38 games. Although it doesn't necessarily reflect true power, it works.

We are now in the quarterfinals as I write this, so there are 8 teams left in each class. A lot of undefeated teams will be going at it this weekend and the atmosphere gets more intense each week. As a fan, I will have a lot of fun watching the results of all classes. Good luck to all those involved (although I don't believe in luck), may your teams play hard and come out of the games healthy.