Lifetime Advantages of Raising Multi-Sport Athletes [15 MAY 24]

Being a parent of three active athletes has brought a new appreciation for how difficult it can be to manage lives and schedules. We go through new sports seasons every few months; some sports are year-round. As we complicate our lives with these different sports and their practice and game schedules, I often wonder if it would be easier to pick one sport, eliminate the rest for them, and make them all play one sport. It might make having to coordinate practice evenings at three different locations easier.

I’ve resisted falling into this mindset as our son loves the opportunity to play any sport he can compete in, mainly basketball and soccer. Our daughters are also interested in sports, unlike our son, who is interested in volleyball, sailing, and judo. This diversity may seem hectic, and it is, yet we want to give our children the opportunity to grow by learning to play multiple sports.

Playing multiple sports brings athletes new challenges and forces them to relearn different aspects of team and individual sports each new season. Very few of my son’s or daughter’s teammates carry from team to team each season. This adds to the challenge of developing team camaraderie and unity as they must refresh old relationships from the previous season to establish new relationships with new teammates.

In addition to the character-building of multiple sports in a year and all the resiliency it brings from new coaches and teammates, the skills for each sport are often unique and overlap. For example, playing soccer helps basketball players with spacing and understanding possession play. Volleyball brings an understanding of positioning on the court, which also translates to basketball. Sailing and judo require individual effort and discipline, which translates to all sports.

These reasons justify why my family strives for multi-sport athletes as a developmental path for adulthood. As a society, we have seen a recent shift in carers having to shift/adjust to changing times as well. Individuals who were never forced to self-assess and adjust based on a new set of rules or teammates struggle to transition to a new industry or career field quickly.

Athletes who focus on more than one sport find adjusting to new environments and challenges easier. When I lived in Australia for two years, training for the 2000 Olympics, I was more adjusted to changing situations than many of the athletes who had only competed in the one sport we were training and competing in (sailing).

I love coaching and playing different sports and probably always will. This love came from a lifetime of playing multiple sports and realizing there’s always something new to learn. As you choose what is best for your children, think about long-term growth and development, which are not easy factors to ensure they get the most out of their athletic adventures. They may never play college sports, yet they will learn from their experiences forever!

Brett Chivers

Brett Chivers is a two-time Olympic athlete in the sport of sailing and has competed at every level. In addition, his interest in all sports is as varied as many young athletes, and he seeks to help introduce the multi-sport athlete into the homeschooled arena. He served 21+ years in the US Army as an Army Aviator and retired in 2022 with a passion for serving his family by being present in their lives. He started a consulting business and the Non-Profit Fayetteville Homeschool Sports Inc., all with a passion for helping others in their journey. He is married to Dr. Elisabeth Chivers, and they have three children at home: Georgia, Caiden, and Rowyn. All three participate in various sports and have brought an appreciation of "just going for it" rather than worrying about not knowing how.