Age of specialization

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Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dodo bird. Low gas prices.

Is the three-sport high school athlete next to join the list of things that will never be seen again?

Perhaps not. But much like a telephone booth, the three-sport standout is a formerly common sight has become increasingly rare in modern times.

Specialization is now the name of the game for many high-profile athletes, with a crunch for time and the chance to earn collegiate scholarships seemingly the biggest culprits.

Retiring Aurora Christian boys basketball coach Don Davidson remembers when things were vastly different.

"When I was in school 40-50 years ago, almost all the real good athletes played every season," Davidson said. "Today, maybe (one-quarter) is all that would do three sports -- maybe a little more than that. A lot of them do two (sports). But not a lot do three anymore."

Geneva football coach Rob Wicinski remembers his high school days in the same light as Davidson.

"I was a three-sport athlete in high school, all my buddies were," Wicinski said. "We went from one sport to another to another. Whatever sport you were in was your favorite sport."

Then what is it that makes today's high school athlete so different from those of yesteryear?

Much of the answer lies in the summer.

"Part of the reason is the intensity in the offseason for every sport, and the popularity of the clubs," Wicinski said. "The clubs are beefing up the intensity, kids are learning at such young levels. Parents are worried their kids will fall behind. It's a complicated deal."

Indeed, playing sports is no longer just about staying true to your school. AAU basketball, club volleyball and various other activities dot athletes' calendars in the offseason.

It's easy to see why that's the case. Club programs can offer both male and female athletes access to coaches or scouts that might not be able to make it to a regular-season game, and many essentially guarantee their athletes will get scholarships.

But high school coaches also see plenty of drawbacks, feeling that it puts the emphasis on the wrong thing.

"What it's changed to -- the reason for doing the sport -- is to play at the next level," Wicinski said. "That loses the purity of sports at the high school level."

Even without clubs factored in, it's hard enough for student-athletes to juggle the obligations they owe their high school teams in the offseason.

West Aurora junior Markus Cocroft knows that the upcoming summer is going to be a personal whirlwind. Cocroft, who is on the Blackhawks' football, basketball and track teams, plans on giving each sport a piece of his time.

Once offseason camps start, Cocroft will be at football practice from 6-8 a.m. Then he'll head to workout with his basketball teammates from 8-11 a.m. After a bit of a breather, he'll then head to practice with the Illinois Flames AAU track team in the evening.

He's also hoping to get a job this summer, but knows that might be far-fetched with everything else going on with his schedule.

In the mind of a veteran coach like Davidson, it's a shame that kids are forced to give anything up in the summer, whether it's a job, vacation or sport. He thinks one of the reasons that the three-sport athlete has become a dying breed was the IHSA's well-intentioned legislation to allow coaches 25 contact days with their athletes during the summer.

"The boys basketball coach wants (the kid), the football coach wants him... if he wants to play baseball, he's kind of up a creek," Davidson said. "It wasn't too long ago that a coach couldn't coach his team in the summer. We just had open gyms. I wasn't demanding them to show up, we didn't have organized practices. For us that was the best situation."

The days of open gyms and relaxed summer atmospheres are long gone. Now, the pressure to be successful goes far beyond the constraints of a season schedule.

"The pressure on these coaches to win at the high school level are just ridiculous," Wicinski said. "In order to do that you've got to jack up your program to another level. Our season never stops, and it's the same way for a lot of other sports here at Geneva.

"I don't know if it's the chicken or egg -- the parents, the district or the coaches that want to be better. In order to be successful, everyone has to have an offseason program in every sport."

West Aurora basketball coach Gordon Kerkman thinks the pressure carries over to kids who may feel they need to focus on their favorite sport in the off-season so they don't lose their spot in the lineup.

"Probably a great deal of it is your schools are getting bigger, and it's become more competitive to make various teams," Kerkman said. "Some kids think if they spend time in another sport they might get beat out in their favorite sport by someone else."

Though it's often a difficult decision to make, even the most talented athletes are confronted with what they feel is no other option but to specialize.

Geneva star Mike Ratay was set to be the Vikings' starting point guard last basketball season, but he dropped the sport so he could turn his focus on football.

It wasn't an easy choice, and at times Ratay felt odd watching from the stands rather than participating.

"It was pretty tough (to drop it)," Ratay said. "I always liked playing basketball ever since I was little."

But as a Division I football prospect, Ratay felt it was a choice he had to make.

"I just really wanted to focus on football," Ratay said. "I didn't get a lot of time to lift, focus on speed or agility other than the summer."

Sometimes the pressure for an athlete to specialize comes from outside sources. Former Kaneland standout Casey Crosby was told by several baseball scouts that he should strongly consider giving up football as a senior.

But even though a serious injury could have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, Crosby couldn't quit football.

"I couldn't see myself doing that. It's in my family and everything," Crosby said. "If it's like that, you cannot give up a sport in high school. If you do, you obviously don't love the sport enough."

Losing a key player to specialization can throw a wrench into a coach's plans for an upcoming season. Tyler Thompson was an all-conference wide receiver for West Aurora as a junior, but only played basketball as a senior - the same sport he'll play next year at Quincy University.

Blackhawks football coach Buck Drach missed Thompson's leadership as much as his talent last fall. From his perspective, it had to be looked at the same way as losing a key player to an injury.

"If you worry and fret and go on about those kids, it's not going to do you any good," Drach said. "You have to coach the heck out of the kids you've got."

Sometimes, those kids find a way to play all three seasons. Though he understands why some guys specialize, Cocroft wants nothing to do with it.

"My dad always told me 'Just keep doing all three sports, you never know who is going to be watching you,'" Cocroft said. "Keep your options open. What if you focus on one and wonder 'Hey, would I have gotten a scholarship if I did another sport?'"