Sure, those stats you pulled off in college were impressive, but if you really want to wow Carroll, tell him about your best high jump record or 100-yard dash, or how you led your team on rebounds as a senior have . For Carroll and many other people with similar views on playing multiple sports – and on the downsides of specializing in one sport early on – the value of those different experiences far outweighs anything that could be gained from committing to football all year round concentrated. First of all, there are sporting characteristics that can be easily transferred to football. A basketball or soccer player is likely to have better footwork than someone who has never played either sport. A baseball player, and especially an outfielder, is likely to be very good at tracking the ball, a huge plus for receivers and defenders alike. Or an accomplished wrestler might have extra skills and a whole different level of toughness when it comes to playing in the trenches.
“I feel like it gives me some insight into the composition and background and breadth of his experience and what that could bring us,” Carroll said. “So it was always crucial for me. I don’t hear other people asking all of these questions as often as I know I do. Maybe the boys will get tired of this, but I want to know what position he played in little league. and what happened and how is it going. What kind of guard were you in when you played basketball? Or were you a slasher or an assist guy. i want to know all this Did you play in midfield or not? I want to know these things because they give me insight into guys. That’s one of the reasons I despise the fact that boys don’t play multiple sports in high school. So many of our boys will be like, ‘Hey, what, were you playing?’ ‘I played basketball until ninth grade.'”
The way Carroll sees it, not having that extra time on the basketball court or baseball field or on the track is costly, not only for athletic development, but because all those games or running or wrestling matches present more opportunities for a competitor refine this skill.
“It’s killing me — they stopped playing and they missed all of these competitive opportunities,” Carroll said. “Those dressing rooms and those meetings and those challenges and those final minutes and all those things that make up the character of a competitor, so for me it’s vital.”
Comments are closed.