A team building experiment

There is, perhaps, an interesting yet purely accidental experiment taking place this winter sports season on the West Plains.

Anecdotally speaking and come February, we might see if focusing largely on one sport or stocking a roster with a diverse array of multi-sport athletes delivers more wins?

A show of hands when the Cheney boys’ basketball team went through a Q&A Nov. 18 at the school’s media day indicated most, if not all, played the game year-round with a club.

Conversely, when getting the low down from new Medical Lake boys’ basketball coach in a late November interview, Brett Ward spoke of how his roster was built with cross country, baseball, football and soccer players.

To club or not to club has many moving parts to it, most notably the ability to pony up sizeable cash and time.

Developing athletes through interscholastic sports might lessen the monetary aspect, but certainly it seems, not the investment of time.

There’s surely nothing to lose seeing if a finger can detect an improved pulse rate when it comes to wins, the ugly word that can drive parents, fans and coaches nuts.

Between the two programs last season they tallied just seven in 40 games.

Having last had the opportunity to play high school athletics over a half-century ago, things were certainly different and playing more than one sport was the away of the world.

The topic rose simply in the course of the conversation. Both Ward and Cheney’s Travis Peevey had something to say in those regards.

“That’s kind of where the game is at now,” Peevey said. “Say what you want about it, but if everyone’s doing it, you better get on board.”

Cheney does have multi-sport athletes, it’s just many seemed to toss much of their energy at basketball.

Ward’s favoritism to multi-sport athletes goes back to his high school days at Ferris in Spokane where he played both baseball and football before graduating in 2009.

“The thing that I always tell people is that if LeBron James could play multiple sports in high school, as good as he was a basketball, and is one of the greatest basketball players to ever live, then I think we all can afford to play other sports as well,” Ward said.

Small schools like Medical Lake must rely on those who participate in multi-sports.

Science also chimes in.

Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, said in a published report, “Every young athlete faces the question of whether to specialize in a single sport or to diversify and pursue multiple.

Each approach has its merits and drawbacks, but in the end, the evidence suggests that multi-sport athletes are better off, according to trainers at Sanford Sports Performance.

This is hardly an effort to make one method good or bad, but rather to grease the wheels of thinking about at least seeing the benefits of one vs. another.

The idea of which is better might be best likened to the danger of suggesting your favorite restaurant or movie to a friend.

Not sure whether there’s been many right answers there, too?