Summer Hockey vs. Baseball

0904 · Post by **0904** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:48 pm

A couple of questions.

1. Does playing baseball make a hockey player better?

2. Any facts or Research on this topic?

3. We have been seeing that Minnesota has the most players in College
and the pros hockey players, How many Minnesota baseball players
are in the college and pro level?

The reason I am asking is because we have decided that our son will not play baseball this summer and focus on summer hockey. Since making that decision we have been taking heat from a number of people in our association.

watchdog · Post by **watchdog** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:52 pm

lets keep it simple WHAT DOES YOUR SON WANT TO DO???????????????

0904 · Post by **0904** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:56 pm

He wants to be a Gopher Just like most every young hockey player in Minnesota. At least all of the kid we know.

Tenoverpar · Post by **Tenoverpar** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:01 pm

0904..

Sign him up for baseball AND let him play spring/summer hockey. There is no reason he can't do both. You have to NOT go mainstream though, you need to find hockey training that fits in the baseball schedule. It can be done. It may take some initiative, but you can do it. But to do so you have to ask what you're looking for in the summer for hockey? Training? Games? Team? If you consider just training, there are SO MANY hockey training programs in the summer it's ridiculous. Several are bound to fit your time needs, checkbook, and desired results.

Good luck

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:13 pm

Will BB make him better hockey player...maybe, can't hurt. Will he maybe want to play for John Anderson instead of Lucia...maybe should leave that option open. You can play both. I've seen Machine and Blades players play both....travel baseball with 50 games. I've seen Icemen and other AAA teams play both. As pointed above, if your child likes baseball he should be able to play and not worry about whether it will make him a better hockey player.

Juggle the schedules and make it work if he likes baseball.

edge · Post by **edge** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:28 pm

How old is your child? Is he a shoe in for D1 and then pros? If he's that good they will find him.
College coaches look for athletes.

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:31 pm

As a baseball coach I would hope he would play baseball.
Especially if he is 14 or younger.

D6Rocks · Post by **D6Rocks** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:36 pm

Playing baseball will make him a better baseball player.
Playing Hockey will make him a better hockey player
Playing Lacrosse will make him a better Lacrosse player
Playing Golf will frustrate him his entire life.

Playing all four (or two, whichever he likes) will make him a better athlete.

Plus he will make more friends, have different experiences which will make him a better person.

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:40 pm

D6Rocks wrote:Playing baseball will make him a better baseball player.
Playing Hockey will make him a better hockey player
Playing Lacrosse will make him a better Lacrosse player
Playing Golf will frustrate him his entire life.

Playing all four (or two, whichever he likes) will make him a better athlete.

Plus he will make more friends, have different experiences which will make him a better person.

Being an adversary of D6, I would like to say you are completely off-base.

But I can't, you got it right, rocky.

Zamboni Guy · Post by **Zamboni Guy** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:02 pm

0904 wrote:He wants to be a Gopher Just like most every young hockey player in Minnesota. At least all of the kid we know.

If he wants to play baseball during the summer, let him...and maybe he will become a Gopher just like he wants.

sorno82 · Post by **sorno82** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:25 pm

There is all kinds of research out there on specializing early. Just google this:

early youth athletic specialization

and you will see a lot of research stating the same conclusion. According to the studies, early intense specialization tends to be detrimental to long term success (there are always exceptions), both physically and mentally.

Early specialization often leads to early success, but not necessarily long term success.

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:29 pm

If I've got the numbers right...

21 players that played in the LLWS became professional baseball players at the Major League level.

7 players from the LLWS have played in the NHL.

It is fairly obvious from that fact alone that playing multiple sports is not a bad thing at age 12.

Let the kid decide is probably the best rule.

Your initial post mentioned something about professionals from Minnesota. It is much easier to participate and enjoy youth sports if there is no consideration for what's next.

For more on the topic, watch Tom Chorske's interview from Monday's episode. You can access MFH to see.

Reggie · Post by **Reggie** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:33 pm

D6Rocks wrote:Playing baseball will make him a better baseball player.
Playing Hockey will make him a better hockey player
Playing Lacrosse will make him a better Lacrosse player
Playing Golf will frustrate him his entire life.

Playing all four (or two, whichever he likes) will make him a better athlete.

Plus he will make more friends, have different experiences which will make him a better person.

agreed!!!

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:36 pm

0904 wrote:He wants to be a Gopher Just like most every young hockey player in Minnesota. At least all of the kid we know.

No need to bother him with the math. Nobody did when I was a kid. However, there are about six spots annually. Unless your kid is really, really good it isn't even a consideration.

How old is your kid now and how good are they?

The guys that played for the Gophers around when I was in college played lots of other sports. They were good at them too. If memory serves, Trent Klatt was QB of a state championship FB team. Tom Nevers was drafted in two sports, ditto Tom Glavine. Robb Stauber and Jeff Nielsen are very good at golf. Pete Hankinson could have dropped hockey and played Division I baseball. I think Scott Bloom also played on Burnsville's state championship FB team.

For someone not blessed with incredible talent the intensive one-sport approach is the only chance there is. Then they just get to that level and struggle there, often an uncomfortable experience.

0904 · Post by **0904** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:12 pm

I should have been more clear. He is the one that wants to play hockey over the summer. He had a chance to talk with a Gopher player that just got back into their line up and ask what he should do to be a Gopher some day. He told him that always skated as much as he could over the summer and skipped baseball after t-Ball and worked on his stickhandling and shot. I am woundering if I sould have play baseball anyways.

egf hockey1 · Post by **egf hockey1** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:26 pm

If I was to ask my son right now, he would say he would play hockey all year round. If I asked him in July, he would say he would play baseball all year round. Get the point! Whatever sport he is playing right now should be his favorite. Dave Winfield, Moliter, Glavine, Mauer all proponates of the 3 sport athelete. Each said that the other sport made him a better athelete and a better competitor. I believe that a playoff baseball game is better for a hockey player then a month of structured hockey practice. As the players get older the competition gets tougher. The players need to be mentally tough enough to adjust. Meaningful games in any sport will help build that mental toughness.

Cornermukker · Post by **Cornermukker** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:31 pm

Here is my take.....

I have a son that plays baseball and does some hockey in the summer. I personally think it does him a world of good to play baseball. I have heard many scouts talk about wanting "athletes". The only way you get athletes is to let them play other sports. I think that when your son is closer to 15-16, then if he wants to play just hockey, go for it.

watchdog · Post by **watchdog** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:33 pm

im not sure how many kids the gophers recruit on a year to year basis maybe 5 pretty much all falling in and around a two year age catagory from all over the country and canada. i wouldnt get to worried about it.

PuckTime · Post by **PuckTime** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:57 pm

0904 wrote:I should have been more clear. He is the one that wants to play hockey over the summer. He had a chance to talk with a Gopher player that just got back into their line up and ask what he should do to be a Gopher some day. He told him that always skated as much as he could over the summer and skipped baseball after t-Ball and worked on his stickhandling and shot. I am woundering if I sould have play baseball anyways.

I would encourage him to stick with baseball and mix in some summer hockey.
I think others are right in saying that multi-sports are good for kids for reasons like improving athleticism, hand-eye, and just plain not getting burnt out on one sport.
I've seen a lot of kids over the summer that look like they are at a AAA tourney because their parents wanted them to be there, not because the kids had any interest.

Charliedog · Post by **Charliedog** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:12 pm

Our family made the same decision you did several years back with one of our boys. We gave up summer ball to focus on hockey.

Well guess what? He really missed baseball and the summer nights in the dugout with his buddies. When the next summer rolled around he didn't want to tryout because he felt like he was behind in skill development. When high school rolled around he decided he wanted to play baseball because that was what he really loved. (boy were we surprised to hear that) All the way through the youth programs he played A hockey, but never made it to varsity except a couple of times when he played up and then ended up getting cut his senior year. (He played intramural in college and had a great time).

The moral of the story is that as a parent you really have no clue where your children will end up. Just make sure your kids are having fun and are well rounded in their interests. Good luck!

Tenoverpar · Post by **Tenoverpar** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:49 pm

Why all this baseball talk? I'm serious when I say this...if you have a young boy in the ages of 9-13 and they haven't ever played Lacrosse.
I encourage you to sign them up this year and let them have a go at it.

Lacrosse is a GREAT cross training sport for young men. It offers a variety of aspects of Hockey (team work), Soccer (field vision), Football (physical play), Chess (patience will always pay off)...

My son is an avid hockey player who can't wait every year to get to Lacrosse season, his favorite sport right next to hockey.

We all love baseball, but seriously...an up and down the field Lacrosse game is alot more exciting and athletically building than standing in left for 2 hours and fielding 2 balls...

hockey129 · Post by **hockey129** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:58 pm

i guess i still believe that they should play baseball in summer and hockey in winter, but so many people play one sport now it would be hard to keep up. You would probably have to choose between the two if you were serious about sports, but that doesn't mean you can also play the other sport for fun. If you have enough time i guess u could try to be serious about both, but its getting more and more difficult.

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:03 pm

Tenoverpar wrote:Why all this baseball talk? I'm serious when I say this...if you have a young boy in the ages of 9-13 and they haven't ever played Lacrosse.
I encourage you to sign them up this year and let them have a go at it.

Lacrosse is a GREAT cross training sport for young men. It offers a variety of aspects of Hockey (team work), Soccer (field vision), Football (physical play), Chess (patience will always pay off)...

My son is an avid hockey player who can't wait every year to get to Lacrosse season, his favorite sport right next to hockey.

We all love baseball, but seriously...an up and down the field Lacrosse game is alot more exciting and athletically building than standing in left for 2 hours and fielding 2 balls...

I love Lacrosse, but baseball offers you a different sort of game.

As for exercise, try and keep up at practice.

Hockeyguy_27 · Post by **Hockeyguy_27** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:34 pm

0904 wrote:A couple of questions.

1. Does playing baseball make a hockey player better?

2. Any facts or Research on this topic?

3. We have been seeing that Minnesota has the most players in College
and the pros hockey players, How many Minnesota baseball players
are in the college and pro level?

The reason I am asking is because we have decided that our son will not play baseball this summer and focus on summer hockey. Since making that decision we have been taking heat from a number of people in our association.

I don't know if there is any way to quantify an answer to this question but if you son likes baseball, let him play baseball. Trust me on this, he will not lose his competitive advantage in hockey and fail to become a Gopher as a result of playing baseball and missing some summer hockey. Some of best hand-eye coordination guys I played hockey with were also excellent baseball players.

PuckTime · Post by **PuckTime** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:32 pm

Tenoverpar wrote:Why all this baseball talk? I'm serious when I say this...if you have a young boy in the ages of 9-13 and they haven't ever played Lacrosse.
I encourage you to sign them up this year and let them have a go at it.

Lacrosse is a GREAT cross training sport for young men. It offers a variety of aspects of Hockey (team work), Soccer (field vision), Football (physical play), Chess (patience will always pay off)...

My son is an avid hockey player who can't wait every year to get to Lacrosse season, his favorite sport right next to hockey.

We all love baseball, but seriously...an up and down the field Lacrosse game is alot more exciting and athletically building than standing in left for 2 hours and fielding 2 balls...

Lacrosse is a great sport, but is unfortunately not "available" in all areas.

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