Do you think spring sports benefit football players?

[FarAwayFalcon]

What are your views? Should a football player do track/ play baseball, or just hit the strength and conditioning program.

[red ninja]

I think that running track would help with endurance but in the end, hitting the weights is the thing that will help the most come august. Just my opinion.

[boogerred]

I think it depends on lots of different things. I need to know more about the individual before I can make a decision.

It will definitely do a skill position football player good if he trains for the 100, 200, or 400.

Do I think a masher-type running back should be training for the 2 mile? Of course not. Nor will it do a 300 lb tackle any good to be training for the 1600.

I think track is also great for the hogs. It helps with exploding. All of my throwers do some sprint training as well.

[madpolecat]

Does a bear crap in the woods?

Is the Pope a Catholic?

Lifting weights is great for football don't get me wrong, however football is NOT just about strength.

Football is about the ability to EXPRESS that strength as movement. Anything that involves moving the entire body in quick, explosive movements will benefit football players.

[BigMcCauley55]

yes and no

yes it keeps them active but no because they could get hurt

[TrojanXplosion]

I don't think it hurts them. But, if they do get injured than that is never a good thing.

[theassassin]

yes and no

yes it keeps them active but no because they could get hurt

couldnt they get hurt in weight room?
couldnt they get hurt walking to the mailbox?

[madpolecat]

yes and no

yes it keeps them active but no because they could get hurt

And of course the only thing any of our football players will ever do in this world is play HS football...

[sandman]

Whether they should or not, it certainly upsets the Spring sports coaches when they don't. Without fail they blaim it on the football / basketball programs.

An athlete would have to be very good to sacrifice spring sports because he did not want to hurt his football career, assuming he wanted to play otherwise. I would say less than 1 in 100 could justify such a decision if they were honest with themselves.

[Trooper]

To put a twist on it, do you think fall sports benefit baseball players/track athletes? Should a baseball player or track athlete play football or just concentrate on strength and conditioning? Not to make anyone mad, but every other high school sport doesn't revolve around football (as some fans and coaches think).

[BigMcCauley55]

well what about those kids who concentrate at one sport and can be like all state then try say baseball and break a leg well then their all state sport could be in jeporday

[boogerred]

I don't believe that falll sports benefit athletes who play spring sports except for keeping the athlete in shape and out of trouble.

i have had two track athletes in the past couple of years who said they would play football but they didn't want to get hurt and posssibly hurt their track seasons.

[Orange and Brown]

I think it is the best thing to do. It keeps them in shape and active.

[threesportathlete09]

yes and no

yes it keeps them active but no because they could get hurt

couldnt they get hurt in weight room?
couldnt they get hurt walking to the mailbox?

yes you most definately can get hurt in the weight room. I know my freshman year i CRUSHED my finger between the dumbell in my hand and the dumbell on the floor after i finished my dumbell bench. Had 17 stitches holding my finger together. Almost had to have surgery.

[lhsfan97]

track equals 5 months (if your school has both indoor and outdoor) of supervised speed, agility, and strength training for your athletes. Sure you have a chance of getting hurt running, but you are working on all the above things listed plus increasing flexabilty. If your just in the weight room getting stronger then you have more of a chance at serious injury come football season because the flexibilty is where it needs to be when you start doing speed and agility drills.

[OH IO 07]

What about where there is spring football? I know we don't have it here in Ohio, but others do. Do you think it would be better for them to play a spring sport for all of the above mentioned reasons, or to actually practice football?

[lhsfan97]

not sure how long spring football lasts for high schools, 2-3 weeks maybe. I would still say track would still be better for the development of the athletes athletic abilities. In states where they do have spring ball do those kids still run track at the same time or are the seasons a little different?

[ol_patriot]

I would suggest that playing rugby in the spring is a great benefit to football players. It gets the boys in physical shape, and gives them lots of opportunity for physical contact. Every kid on the field is, in effect, a defensive linebackers and an offensive fullback - - everyone gets to tackle, and everyone is eligible to carry the ball.

For anyone in the Columbus area this coming weekend, stop by the Ohio Rugby Classic. There will be 80+ college and high school teams from the US and Canada playing on both Saturday and Sunday.

[Bleeding Red]

I think the best decision is let the KIDS decide what they want to play.

Nothing is worse than seeing a kid playing a sport (any sport) when they are only being forced to play it to stay in shape and they have little desire to be there.

If a kid likes playing football and baseball, play both. If they like running track, run track.

I despise these football coaches who say "you will run track this spring to get in shape for football".
Oh really? I didnt know that one was a pre-requisit for the other.

That does nothing for the kid because he doesnt want to be there.

On the other hand, from a football standpoint, if the kid is not playing spring sports he had better be living in the weightroom during the spring!

[Derf_W]

As long as they're doing something to stay in shape and learning the aspect of team work, its a plus