Sports Specialization Quotes

I think when you train in just one sport separately, you learn more.

I always wanted to be a pro athlete. When I was younger I wanted to be the first person to be a pro at three different sports, but then realized how impossible that is. At 15 I stopped playing other sports and focused on tennis.

My favorite was always whichever sport was in season. I think these days it's almost saddening to see kids who are 10 or 11 and are forced to choose one sport and specialize in that sport and play that sport year-round. By playing different sports... you become a better all-around athlete.

I happened to be in a position in Superior where I could play three sports, and when I came to Minnesota, I had the understanding they would allow me to play three sports. Kids now don't have the same amount of time. You have coaches that think baseball is 10 months a year. Hockey is 11 or 12 months a year.

I've tried a lot of things in the off-season, but the only thing I really know is baseball.

I'm really troubled by the prevalence of single-sport specializations. I want my kids to do as many things for as long as they can. Specialization is a natural thing that should come later - it shouldn't come for 8-year-olds.

For athletes, it is unhealthy to be one-sport focused, especially at a young age. I believe in exposing kids to lots of activities - there are great advantages to being a well-rounded athlete and human, no matter the field of play.

Actually, I wanted to play baseball. Honestly, I just think with a kid developing, playing a lot of sports, it's just kind of whatever you're good at.

You want to stick with one sport and master one thing and be good, yeah, you might be able to go to more combines, but the life experiences and athleticism you get from playing three sports or whatever will stick with you and help you progress.

I guess I concentrated exclusively on basketball because of my height. If I was shorter, I don't think I would play.

US Cycling is doing a lot now with camps in different towns or different regions, but I think a great place, and I'm not sure how much it's been hit, is camps for people that are involved in other sports. Why not put on camps for high school kids that are cross-country runners, because those are the some of the best cyclists.

So I was in football, athletics doing shot put and sprinting, and rugby all at the same time. Ultimately, I didn't know how serious you had to take one of them and I was just a kid wanting to do everything at once.

I don't believe in playing just one sport. I believe it results in burnout, and each sport trains your body in a different way.

I don't know how to do anything else that isn't training and playing football.

I had the drive to pursue speedskating and I found a sport that I was good at. If I'd got into cycling, I would just be another has been.

I love both sports, but the deciding factor was, being a left-handed pitcher, I had a huge advantage in baseball because of that, and I didn't have that type of advantage in hockey.