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Can You Play 2 Sports in College? Technically Yes, But It Might Be a Bad Idea

Spring baseball. Fall football. It’s not uncommon to meet a college student who is a multisport athlete. You also can recall that during our high school years, transitioning from one sport to another with seasons was the order of the day, right?

Can You Play 2 Sports in College?

Well, most high school athletes can perform and excel in more than one sport. But is it possible to excel in multiple sports in college? Should you play one sport or be a multisport athlete? Which is better?

You see, there has never been an easy answer to the question above, simply because different people have different opinions. And then, every athlete is unique in their own way and making, so the simplest answer is –it depends.

But today, many sportsmen and coaches are talking about specializing in one sport, which is rapidly killing the multisport trend in colleges. However, before concluding that playing two sports in college is a bad idea, it’s imperative to look at pros and cons of this trend. First of all, is it even possible?

You ask, ‘’can you play 2 sports in college?’’

Do Sanders Deion and Tony Gonzalez sound familiar to you? Well, they are two famous multi-sport college athletes ever. However, their stories are not ones you can enjoy listening to. Typically, ad truth be told, playing more than one sport in college is extremely challenging. There are many sports that fit together naturally, for example, track and football.

But for most college multisport students, this is achievable only if they focus on getting the right coaches who should also be understanding. You know, it’s difficult to find a coach who can allow you to participate in more than one sport. How would you juggle training for the two sports, anyway? It’s quite undertaking. Generally, you’ll easily find multisport athletes in smaller colleges where the demands of many sports are not high.

If you’re looking forward to playing two or more sports in college, it’s overly important to assume the recruiting process for every sport with more preparation. First of all, you’ll want to understand the rules of every sport you are considering. Also, you’ll need to understand the strategies, recruiting rules, and regulations for each sport.

Down the line, you may need to sit down with coaches who support your multisport interest. Afterwards, you could be pleasantly surprised to learn that coaches from individual sports will work together for your betterment in all the sports you are considering. It all goes down to weighing up your opportunities to find the sports you can excel best.

Remember, the major reason most college athletes are unable to play two or more sports is that they exhibit different abilities in individual sports. As such, you can strive to find two sports that fit together naturally, based on the abilities you have in each. You should, however, not pick two sports that are too demanding, or ones that have coaches who can’t allow you the chance to test your multisport ability.

Disadvantages of Playing 2 Sports in College

For all of you who have been playing two sports in college for a longer period of time, you know that for sure, you can easily cash in on many social, physical and mental health perks from doing that. But it is also interesting to explore why playing two sports in college might be a bad idea.

Injuries

Ideally, playing sports and injuries all lie in the same sentence. You see, they go hand in hand. Unfortunately, injuries are mostly inevitable in a sportsman’s or woman’s life. They can be anything from strains and muscle pulls, right through to fractured bones, or even worse. To worsen things, some injuries just don’t go away easily, and they may keep recurring no matter the kind of treatment you go through. That’s being said, you risk getting more injuries when you are a multisport athlete than when you play a single sport.

Another reason why playing two sports in college is…

Hidden Expenses

Participating in two or more sports in college comes with a whole lot of expenses.  First of all, you’ve to pay club fees. And then clothing, equipment, coaching costs, transports and accommodation costs (especially during tournaments) can drain your finances a few months down the line. See, at times, you may need to travel to far-flung areas or even abroad when either or both of your sports make it to the nationals. Though it can be a wonderful experience, it is certainly not a cheap one. Do you get the idea?

They’re Time-Consuming

Playing two sports in college can be time-consuming, which can leave you with less time for non-sporting activities. The two sports themselves can have clashing calendars, which can make it potentially difficult to organize your calendar to suit sports and other pursuits. Also remember that your main goal when joining college was to pursue education and graduate. There are chances that you won’t have enough time for academics when you’re engaged in playing two sports.

Weakened Social Depth

Let’s be honest here, that playing one sport only helps build deep social bonds and stronger relationships between all players in a given team, right? Well, on the other hand, playing two or more sports can always mean shallower social bonds.

Low-Quality Coaching

The same way a professor can easily handle a smaller class and attend to the needs of each student, a team coach can also offer personalized training when they can spend a lot of time with all players. That is when they get to notice your individual strengths.

Specializing in single sport can often mean that your coach will get the chance to know your ins and outs, and your personal strengths and weaknesses as well. If, however, you’re engaged in multiple sports, the coaches are unlikely to get time to identify your unique abilities in the individual sports. This would mean that you won’t get the personalized coaching you need to excel.

You Won’t Excel in Anything

Just like cooking two pots can spoil both of them, playing two sports in college can often mean that you will perform reasonably better in all those sports, but you won’t be exceptional in any of them. Specializing in a single sport can help you to reach your full potential in that given sport.

Cliques

Some clubs are welcoming and extremely inclusive, which can make newbies to fit in quickly. But then there are other ones that we would define as social nightmares. Sometimes, such sports clubs are those that have remained with the same management and membership for a longer period of time. They may have their own way of doing their thing.

Similarly, you may find yourself in clubs that have a narrow age or socio-economic gap, which would mean that you’ll have to struggle to fit in. In this case, it’ll be difficult to be picked to represent your team in tournaments no matter how good you play. Now, figure out how it would turn out if you found yourself in two such clubs. You will easily feel undervalued.

Bad Weather

Most teams are always affected by weather problems such as rain or cold. For most games, you’re always hopeful that the weather will be in your favor. Most are the times that you’ll plan team practice, only or it to be cancelled due to bad weather. Some extreme weather issues such as high humidity and heat can be very challenging, which would leave you with early morning and evenings as the best time to play outdoor games. Such instances can prove difficult for a multisport athlete.

Sleep Issues and Stress

For the philosophical and level-headed folks out there, you have to admit that there are times when sports can ruin your life. They can ruin your entire evening. You see, winning and losing is rings true of every sport, right? As such, there are instances when you’ll lose and you won’t help but keep thinking throughout the night about the mistakes you made during a match.

Other players have reported growing anxious and suffering rippling nerves immediately before big matches. It’s also true that most athletes find it hard getting some sleep after playing evening matches. We cannot deny that sports work to enhance sleep patterns big time, but they can cause trouble too. If losing one match in a single sport can cause you much trouble, think about losing in two sports in one evening. It would be akin to digging your grave.

Now What? Can You Play 2 Sports in College?

Generally speaking, playing two sports in college is not a good idea at all. Specializing in a single sport is very beneficial especially if you are looking to produce an elite athlete out of yourself.

While it may come across as a wonderful experience juggling between two sports and college studies, multiple sports bring along a series of risky issues that you shouldn’t downplay at all costs. If, however, you want to take on this challenge and you have the necessary support to pull it off, we can only wish you the best of luck!

Check out our guide to making friends in college here!

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