<p>Do you know of any? If so, at what level? I'd love to hear about anyone's experience both during the recruiting process and while competing in college.</p>
<p>I have 1 on-line firnd who’s D plays volleyball & is the catcher on the softball team. She’s a soph. @ Amherst & loving every minute of it.</p>
<p>The NESCAC schools (D111), because of the limits on practices and season length, are really the only places where it is feasible to play two sports.</p>
<p>My son is friends with a Sophomore at Notre Dame who contributed significantly to the basketball and baseball teams as a FY. He is extremely committed and disciplined…takes classes year round and hopes to graduate in just three years (he was recruited as a MLB pitcher out of HS). Another former schoolmate was recruited for LAX and Football at Duke… but he is just starting out as a FY. Unlike the other friend, I don’t believe he will see much if any playing time on the gridiron this fall… but he should be an impact player for them in LAX in the spring. </p>
<p>There are many athletes at S1’s DIII school and in the NESCAC conference in general, who successfully play more than one sport.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses - it is good to know that it is a possibility, especially at the DIII level. For those in the know, do you think expressing interest in playing two sports (assuming the athlete is good enough to play both at that level) is a plus in the recruiting process or is looked upon as a negative (i.e, shows lack of commitment to a particular sport)?</p>
<p>Some coaches are possessive of their players - reluctant to share them until/unless they prove their ability to successfully balance academics and life as a committed college athlete. Depending on the sports in question …they may also fear injury during ‘their’ off-season. </p>
<p>If your student athlete is being courted independently by DIII coaches for multiple sports - it may be a plus to express interest in playing for more than one coach in college. Unless he or she is already on a coach’s recruiting radar, however, I don’t believe there is much advantage in trying to hard sell the notion since it may raise more question marks, than anything.</p>
<p>^ I agree. I don’t think a football coach is going to get extra-excited because his recruit is also going to run track. BUT - if the coach knows that you have the skills to compete in track, but your allegiance is to football, that could be a good thing.</p>
<p>At my kids high school a couple years ago I attended a “Sports in College” night sponsored by the high school. A parent asked about playing multiple sports. First an assistant soccer coach from a DIII school answered and said something like … “sure … we have 4-5 players on our soccer team who play multiple sports … and the reason we have our best player is he also wanted to play his spring sport and while a DI soccer player couldn’t play his spring sport at the DI level”. While this coach was answering another panel member had a look of total disbelief on his face. This man worked in the sports admin offices at an ACC school and said discounting multiple sports people like cross-country and track that at the school in total across both sexes and all sports in a typical year there were something like 3-5 multi-sport students. One team in DIII had as many as a whole DI school … and I would guess while the overall numbers might differ some that pattern would repeat across DI and DIII.</p>
<p>sportznitz,</p>
<p>I’m going to take totally different perspective on this. While the discussion is centered on the athletic side, I would be very, very concerned about the academic impact of two sport athletes. Some majors lend themselves to be next to impossible with just one sport never mind two sports. My son is an engineering major at an Ivy, and he plays baseball. We had some serious family discussions (ie…arguements) about engineering and D1 and D3 baseball during the recruiting process. Fast forward a couple years, and he is doing well but it is very hard. Last Fall my son took 20 credit hours, and this Fall he is taking 19 credit hours to free himself up a little bit for the Spring baseball season. </p>
<p>If you are serious about this, I would be doing some very serious research on the rosters of the schools being considered and I would focus on their majors. If your son or daughter still wants to pursue a difficult major and two sports, I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>This is all excellent information, thank you. My son asked the question because he is passionate about two sports so I thought I would ask all of you very knowledgeable people at CC! But we are at the early HS stage so I’m just information-gathering to see if it is even possible nowadays. Frankly, I am not sure that we, as parents, want to commit the time and resources to do all the travel and tournaments, etc. that we would need to do to get to the recruitable level in two sports, although it sounds like it could be possible at the D-III level. Fenwaysouth, that is a very good point - that the student-athlete’s major and the academic rigor of the school should definitely be considered before going down that road. I have some experience with this, albeit years ago, as a 3-season athlete (traveling squad for cross country, indoor track & outdoor track) at a top academic (non-Ivy) Division I school. It was extremely difficult to be balance everything, even in a non-engineering/pre-med major so that is something that I keep in the back of my mind as I try to guide my kids.</p>