Saturday soccer games interfering with races.

dan moran · Post by **dan moran** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 11:07 am

How do you handle athletes that miss saturday meets due to soccer games?

Cali Coach · Post by **Cali Coach** » Mon Dec 09, 2002 9:44 pm

You can only serve one master! For if you serve two masters you will learn to love one and hate the other. I know people hate to make kids choose, but for your sake and the athlete's sake "choose." Yes, this decision could go against you, but you'll be a happier coach developing x-country kids.

scrunners · Post by **scrunners** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:05 pm

We have some soccer players that also run cross country. The way it works as always is they must place in the top seven. After that they go to soccer after cross country meets. They usually do not go back with the team. They go to most of the meets.

I think that since they are in high school and still developing it is good for them to play a variety at one time as long as they don't have overworked. I know that know going back with the team shows a lack of unity but they do run and they do do a majority of the meets along with concentrating on cross country at the end of the season.

dan moran · Post by **dan moran** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 2:13 pm

I agree with you 100%. I feel that high school athletes should get involved in as many sports and school activities as possible. As long as their grades do not suffer. I request that the athlete participates in all weekday meets, league finals and playoffs. I agree with the coach who responded with the first reply that it can be frustrating when the athlete is not at all saturday meets, however I have had the great joy of winning a league championship and have gone to several state meets because I chose to allow the soccer players to participate in both sports. I have also had several soccer players who have come to the conclusion that they were better runners than soccer players, they then chose to quit soccer to concentrate on cross country. I am proud to say that a few of them were rewarded with scholarships to run in college. I do recall an instance that was frustrating for me. A few years ago I had an exceptionally good track athlete who was having difficulty managing her track practice schedule with her piano lessons. To my surprise one day she came to me to say that she was quitting track to concentrate on her piano lessons, I asked her why and she said that my assisstant coach had told her to chose one or the other, I was unaware of this and tried to get her to stay but the damage was already done.