Pro: Athletes can diversify and excel

I vividly remember the Houston Texans' Owen Daniels playing for Naperville Central's basketball team several years ago.

I think of Boston Red Sox minor-leaguer Mike Bowden and remember his selection to the Daily Herald's All-Area Basketball Team his senior year at Waubonsie Valley.

National Football League Hall of Famer John Elway played two seasons of minor-league baseball in the Yankees organization. Hall of Fame baseball player Dave Winfield was drafted professionally in three sports - baseball, football and basketball.

From Jim Thorpe to Jackie Robinson and Babe Didrikson, examples of multisport athletic feats pepper our sporting history. More recently, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders showed the ability to shine in different sports.

Clearly, specialization is not a requirement for success.

It's no doubt a grind for high school athletes trying to compete in more than one sport. A year-round commitment especially causes time management and physical stress in jam-packed summers.

For the athletes and their schools, though, the multisport experience is invaluable.

Multisport athletes thrive in a balanced environment. They help bridge the gap between the different competitive seasons. There's a boost academically as well because multisport athletes' grades are tracked more often through eligibility lists.

While there's a physical toll to pay as a multisport athlete, there's also the benefit of working different muscle groups in different sports. Specializing in one sport could lead to injury due to overuse of certain muscles and joints.

The schools benefit as much as the athletes. Small schools couldn't compete at all without multisport competitors, and bigger schools would be at a huge disadvantage as well.

It's a myth that schools with large enrollments have plenty of students to field competitive teams in all the sports. After quarterback Jordan Tassio led Naperville North to the 2008 Class 8A football state title, he helped the Huskies claim a share of the DuPage Valley Conference baseball title.

A handful of other football players competed on that Huskies baseball team coached by Carl Hunckler - who's also a varsity football assistant coach. Cooperation is the key to any successful athletic department, which is why it's also ideal to have coaches involved in different sports.

For all the perceived benefits regarding specialization, multisport athletes represent the lifeblood of high school sports.