In most small-town schools, three-sport athletes are very important for their sports programs. Without these people, their schools could potentially lose programs due to low numbers. But it is not very easy to be one. Three-sport athletes are involved in sports year-round, having to devote their time to entirely different sports every few months. On top of the practices and games, they are student-athletes, so they need to maintain good grades in order to continue playing.
Senior Isaiah Groom has been a three-sport athlete all four years of high school. Isaiah says that it is not easy. “There is always something going on, and you are adding schoolwork on top of it.” One struggle Groom has experienced is having something going on every night, so he does not get very much free time to do things that he enjoys doing. He was asked if it is worth all the hard work and time he puts in and he responded, “Oh yeah, the end result is 100% worth the time I put in.” Isaiah gains many skills as well as useful knowledge from being a three-sport athlete. For example, it teaches him how to be a part of a team and gives him valuable life lessons that he will use for the rest of his life.
In the senior class of Potosi High School, there are seventeen boys and six of them are three-sport athletes. Kyler Hefty is a one-sport athlete. He says he is not a three-sport athlete simply because he does not want to be. He does not have the time to participate in other sports. Isaiah thinks that some people are not three-sport athletes because they are not interested in the sport or have something else going on. For example, some students have to work or have outside commitments that do not give them enough time. But, Isaiah suggests that underclassmen should become three-sport athletes because it is a great experience. “Someday you may look back and wonder why you didn’t go out for that sport,” Groom explained.
If students don’t continue to put in the work and effort to play three sports, some smaller schools will continue to have to combine with other schools, play eight-man football, or even lose their programs. Senior Isaiah Groom says, ”Just put in the work and enjoy it while you can.”