Ashley Peterson (12) loves the rush of competition. She’s played multiple sports her entire life, maintaining participation in basketball, soccer and field hockey in different seasons throughout the year.

This number of sports has always required a delicate balance of her schedule. As a freshman, Peterson could play field hockey in the fall and basketball in the winter for Westview, in addition to year-round club soccer. But as she rose through the grades, the point where one season would end and another began became blurred. Executing her schedule became more difficult.

“I had to prioritize certain sports above others, and make some difficult choices,” Peterson said. “School basketball was too much of a time commitment, so now I just play rec.”

For many student athletes, it is difficult for participation in sports to exist alongside other demanding obligations. The increasing demand for an athlete to devote his or her year-round commitment to a sport has discouraged some athletes from continuing participation, or driven others to burn out. Sports psychologist Erika Carlson said that ever-increasing expectations for athletic performance, not necessarily from coaches but from competition among athletes themselves, is driving a trend that could be forcing some athletes to choose between all or nothing when it comes to playing a sport.

“A more recent development in youth sports is that they are becoming more and more professionalized,” Carlson said.

Athletic director Christ Carter said that Westview athletic programs do not pressure students to remain competitive for a sport all year.

“We like kids to try multiple sports; we want kids to branch out and experience new sports and coaching styles,” Carter said. “When kids focus on one sport, they tend to burn out, both mentally as well as physically from over use of the same muscles. [Westview] coaches recognize that.”

However, among members of any sports team, it is expected to show a common level of commitment in order to foster team unity and develop a common skill set. So when some athletes are willing to specialize year-round, the potential for a common expectation for year-round commitment from the rest of the team arises.

Peterson dashes from one sports practice to another, lugging her club soccer gear along with her Westview field hockey equipment in the fall season. This year, she said she was lucky that her soccer team practices later in the evening, but the conflicts arise at other times of the year. During the summer, when her schedule is packed with soccer tournaments, she was unable to devote time to basketball summer league, or other activities that would keep her competitive for winter basketball tryouts at Westview.

“Ultimately, I just couldn’t do it all,” Peterson said. “I couldn’t be in two places at once.”

Carter said that conflicts arising from required commitment to a sport year-round are not as prevalent here as they would be at a larger school. For the past three years, participation trends in Westview sports have remained consistent, with nearly one thousand individual athletes each year. Among that thousand, roughly 350 students play more than one sport, 32 to 36 of those students are three-sport athletes.

“Roughly one-third of our athletes, including people in cheer, participate in at least two different sports,” Carter said. “The days of single-sport specialists have always been around but kids do have a choice here. The size of our school allows students to play in multiple sports – throw another thousand kids in here, and it would be too difficult to compete. More students equals more individual specialty in sports.”

Carter said that some competitive student athletes assume they must dually compete in club and school sports to be noticed by recruiters.

“If you are good enough, they will find you,” he said. “Some elite athletes play club, but not everyone can afford to play club. These athletes will still be seen in the high school setting.”

Carter said he discourages students from restricting themselves for competition’s sake.

“We’ve always encouraged kids to play multiple sports, but some still elect to specialize,” Carter said. “That’s their prerogative.”

Carter said that school athletics should above all remain a positive learning experience.

“Winning should be secondary here,” Carter said. “Fun is the primary goal.”

Carlson said that people who enjoy athletics but can’t commit year-round shouldn’t be discouraged from keeping sports in their life.

“One of the great things about [sports] is that they exists at all levels,” she said. “Parents and athletes have the responsibility to be realistic about the commitment. You don’t have to compete at an elite level to be successful as an athlete. It’s not a failure if you can’t commit to that.”