Dear Editor,

One of the great things about Fresno Christian is the ability to play multiple sports. A lot of our athletes play two sports and quite a few play three sports every year. Plus, many athletes sing in the choir, are in video or publications classes, play in the band or are in student leadership positions.

One thing new to FC athletics is having students play two sports in the same season: multi-sport athletes. While this is very difficult, it can be accomplished with a focused and passionate athlete and accommodating coaches and parents.

In order to play two sports, the athlete must be willing to face the challenges physically and appreciate how difficult it is on both teams and coach; it’s also difficult on scheduling and there are a lot of moving parts to it.

Some of the struggles for multi-sport athletes can include, which practice do you go to when there isn’t a game in either sport, which sport do you attend when both are scheduled for a match on the same day or time.

While I am not a fan of kids playing two sports during the same season, it has its benefits such as taking a good athlete and placing him/her on a team that could use their skills. From a coaches standpoint, if they are not at practice, they probably won’t play much or none at all. That being said, at the beginning of the sport’s year, I and the other sports coaches could set up a plan that would benefit both programs, as long as all parties agree.

However, as long as there is good communication between the player and the coaches, it seems to be working out. I don’t know if I would recommend it to all our athletes, but it is something that can be done.

Thank you,

Jonathan Penberthy

Jonathan Penberthy is in his fifth year as the campus high school athletic director and boys basketball coach. He previously coached girls and boys high school volleyball. For more information on Fresno Christian sports, contact Jon Penberthy via email.

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