A recent thread recently made mention of the presumed benefits of an athlete being allowed to devote his (or her) time, energy, talents and/or resources to the prospects of excelling at one sport - to the exclusion of all others.

While it is hard to argue with the notion that any athlete's exclusive devotion to one sport will, in all likelihood, significantly hone and improve his/her skills in that particular sport ... the debate (at least in my mind) continues as to whether this phenonoma serves "most" athletes well.

I guess that I understand and appreciate, that athletes, who early on display extra-ordinary or exceptional talent and skills in a particular sport, may well be wise to focus their attention exclusively on a given sport, thereby preventing injury and ensuring or otherwise enhancing their prospects for a much needed college scholarship. I can also appreciate the fact that "excelling" at one sport, as opposed to merely "participating" in a variety of sports, may well serve to create a more positive identity with their peers and adults alike, thus enhancing that child's self-esteem and make him/her feel better about his or herself.

I guess I just lament the loss of that period in time when "most" superior athletes in high school, themselves chose to participate in several different high school sporting events throughout their high school careers, and were otherwise encouraged to do so by their parents, fans and coaches alike. In the main, I don't think that mind-set exists today, certainly not to the same extent as it did 20, 30 years ago.

I'm left to surmise that those years went by the wayside long about the same time kids quit congregating informally at playgrounds and vacant fields to choose up sides and compete, without adult supervision. When is the last time you saw a group of boys, in any number, playing pick-up baseball, basketball or football, or for that matter, any other athletic endeavor, without formal adult supervision?

I don't question whether our athletes today, in virtually any sport, are vastly superior to those of that nostalgic era I mention. I know that they are superior today. I also appreciate the fact that this concept of "specialization" certainly factors into this superiority. I'm just not sure that it serves "most" athletes well, in the long-run.

I'm aware that there are many athletes scattered all over Kansas and the nation, who choose to not "specialize" or limit their participation to only one sport, and who, in fact, excell, in many sports. In Kansas high-school wrestling, many outstanding, accomplished wrestlers come to mind in these regards. I'm just not sure that it is as commonplace as it once was, perhaps given the pressures exerted by overly ambitious and/or zealous parents, fans and coaches, who deliberately and/or subliminally encourage an athlete to pick a sport and excel and not "waste" their limited time, talents and money, on another sport - even though that particular athlete may truly enjoy the other sport.

The "jack-of-all-trades" athlete is in danger of becoming obsolete. Who knows, maybe its for the best.

In the sport of wrestling, I labor under no delusion that, in most instances (recognizing that there are always exceptions to every rule), allowing for dramatice improvement and/or becoming an "elite" wrestler, almost of necessity, requires considerably more devotion to the sport than otherwise permitted during the course of a regular high school season. Certainly participation in competition beyond the regular high-school season exposes a wrestler to different coaches and wrestlers and, no doubt, provides invaluable mat-time/competition - arguably the single most important ingredients deemed essential to allow for improvement and/or excellance in this gruelling and challenging sport. With that said, I recognize that if a wrestler aspires to quickly improve and/or join that select group of "elite" wrestlers, he probably will need to make some hard choices ... something has got to give ( i.e. is it going to be summer baseball or wrestling, etc... are you going to play soccer in the fall, or concentrate on strength training and improving wrestling techniques, etc...)

I guess that You just hope that the athletes makes their choices for their own particular reasons, without the burdens of persuasion brought about by the selfish interests and motivations of otherwise well-meaning parents, so-called fans and coaches.

Put another way: when that athlete leaves sports behind, as most do at an early age, will that athlete later be left to wonder: If only I hadn't devoted my time exclusively to (fill in the blank) I think that I would have enjoyed participating in(again, fill in the blank) and could have been pretty good at it - or - If only I had devoted my time, energy and talents exclusively to (fill in the blank) and eliminated participation in other sports, I could have been really good and probably excelled at(again, fill in the blank).

I can't honestly say which sentiment I'd rather be left with, as each holds some appeal. To each his own, I suppose - with emphasis placed on "own".