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Published on 11/24/1999 All articles from this issue

Athletes' sports dilemma

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By Pete Borello

Town Crier Staff Writer

Students encouraged to pick a sport and run with it - but which one?

It seems multisport athletes are going the way of the Macarena, drive-in theaters and the Spice Girls.

This is an age of specialization, where more and more high school athletes are being encouraged - sometimes even prodded - to concentrate on one sport to maximize their potential.

In most sports, this requires playing beyond the three-month high school season. Those considered "serious athletes" have to play on club teams, which typically compete six months out of the year.

In sports like soccer and girls volleyball, club teams are essential to teens aspiring to play at the college level.

"If you're looking for a scholarship, club is the way to go," said Alberto Montoya, who's won nine state championships in his 19 years coaching boys soccer at the club level. "You almost never see a college coach scouting a high school game; they go to club tournaments because the skill level is much higher."

The same goes for volleyball, according to Dave Gambelin, who coaches St. Francis High and City Beach - a club team based in Santa Clara.

"The majority of college scouting is done at the club level," said Gambelin, who's guided St. Francis to back-to-back state titles. "At club, a scout can go into a gym and see two teams with 10-15 college-level athletes. A scout might only see one or two top players at a high school match."

Volleyball competition is so fierce in this area that playing club is vital to even making a high school team.

"Nowadays, if you don't play club volleyball and you're at a fairly decent high school, you're probably not going to be up on varsity," said Jon Rayden, who runs Cosmos Volleyball Club of Los Altos. "You pretty much have to play."

Especially if you attend St. Francis or Los Altos highs, which both played for Central Coast Section titles last weekend. Every St. Francis team member plays club and all but one Los Altos player does the same.

Most high school coaches encourage - or as Rayden put it "strongly recommend" - their volleyball players join a club team to further their development.

"They don't have to play club," Gambelin said, "but if they don't, the other girls are."

And Rayden said those extra months of playing can make a big difference.

"A player can improve a lot in one club season - two or three times more than a high school season," he said.

When it comes to developing soccer skills, Montoya said there's no comparison between club and high school.

"They don't improve at all in high school, they just play," he said. "A lot of them get bad habits, and I have to spend time breaking them of those habits. Most high school coaches aren't as qualified as club coaches, and they can't provide the same level of training."

Club sports also have become prevalent in basketball, softball, swimming, gymnastics and water polo.

"Kids are understanding that they can improve dramatically from one year to the next by playing together in the summer," said Bill Smith, girls water polo coach at Los Altos. "It really pays off."

It can also be costly. A club volleyball season can run $1,000 to $4,000. Soccer and softball teams cost around $500 annually.

"Not everyone can afford it," said Los Altos High softball coach Bernie Quintero, who also coaches club. "I know parents who have taken out a second mortgage on their homes just to pay for a club team."

Gambelin sees club volleyball as more of an investment, however, noting that a college scholarship far exceeds the club fees.

"Four years of club might cost $12,000," he said. "That's one year's tuition at a school like Santa Clara University."

Both Gambelin and Rayden agree that scholarships aren't hard to come by for those playing top-level club volleyball.

"The volleyball in this area is so good that the average player could land a full-ride scholarship to certain schools in the country," Rayden said.

Things are a little different for elite soccer players, though.

"Almost all of them could play in college, but they won't all get scholarships - especially the boys," Montoya said. "But playing does help them get into good colleges like (U.C.) Berkeley."

Of course, dedicating so much time to a single sport leaves little room for other extra-curricular activities and can cut into family time. The average club team practices twice a week and plays games nearly every weekend. Some of the tournaments are played out of the area or even out of the state.

"The most important consideration for parents is the time commitment - especially in volleyball," Rayden said. "You almost have to put volleyball first. The most serious volleyball families plan their vacations around the season. I tell parents they have to look at it that way."

Rayden knows from experience. His daughter, Lisa, is a senior on the Los Altos High volleyball team who started playing club in fifth grade.

Lisa, an all-league setter, was a three-sport athlete until her junior year when she decided to give up soccer and swimming to devote herself to volleyball.

"It was really hard because I was also into dance at Dance Attack and was asked to be in the performing company," she said. "But I picked volleyball because I liked it the most, and I don't regret it. Volleyball has been a huge part of my life. I've made great friends and traveled to places like Texas, New Orleans and Arizona."

Los Altos Hills resident Maggie Hoffman, the mother of two children who have played club soccer, wishes young athletes wouldn't have to make such a choice. Her son Daniel is a junior at Gunn High who plays soccer, baseball and the cello. But Maggie said Daniel is so immersed in soccer that it's getting more difficult for him to find time for music and baseball.

"It gets to be very difficult for kids like Daniel who do more than one thing to do everything," Hoffman said. "It's unfortunate."

Quintero agrees. His daughter Samantha is a senior at Los Altos High who excels in three sports. She's the lone Los Altos volleyball player not in club, opting to play basketball and softball instead.

And that just fine with Bernie, who doesn't believe high school athletes need to sell themselves to one sport.

"Parents should encourage their kids to try other sports and things like cheerleading and drama," he said. "Let them have a choice and be kids. If they try different things and become well-rounded, they won't be burned out from one sport."

Hoffman said the potential for burnout worries her, too. But Gambelin, Jon Rayden and Montoya say they don't see a lot of burnout because their athletes are passionate about their chosen sport.

"My volleyball players get about two months off a year," Gambelin said. "During those two months, a lot of them are playing in grass tournaments - they just love to play."

Lisa Rayden, however, admits she's "kind of burned out" and doesn't plan on playing club this winter or in college next fall.

"I've played so many years, it's time to take a break," she said. "It's my senior year and I want to have fun and not miss stuff."

Joining a club sport at an early age raises the risk of burnout, according to Blach Junior High athletic director Steve Kane.

"Kids are getting specialized too early," he said. "They're not getting enough experience in different sports."

One of Montoya's soccer teams, the Mountain View-Los Altos Nightmares, is for under-11 boys. Jon Rayden said Cosmos has no minimum age and some kids join the developmental squad at age 7.

Coaches say few athletes play multiple sports after their sophomore years.

"It's rare," Quintero said. "When I played it was common, but things have changed."

In today's world, Montoya said, specialization is the key to athletic success.

"If you want to be a doctor or lawyer, you have to put in a lot of hours. The same goes for an athlete," he said. "To be something, you need to put in the time to get better."