By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
 
Playing one sport in college takes a lot of hard work, focus and commitment. Playing multiple sports in college is even more challenging.
 
But in the end, the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks.
 
"Competing in both soccer, and track and field, allows me to escape everyday life and clear my mind," said Lehigh sophomore Mary Casey.
 
Casey is one of four members of the Lehigh women's soccer team who also plays another sport at Lehigh. Playing multiple sports in college isn't very common nowadays, but eighth-year head coach Eric Lambinus believes in the value of diversifying one's skills. 

 

"Playing multiple sports, especially at a young age, gives you different perspectives," he said. "It's the same concept as a liberal arts curriculum, where you want to be broad-based and learn in different ways."
 
The 2017 Mountain Hawks are chalk full of student-athletes who have played multiple sports until (at least) their high school days. Lambinus often finds himself drawn to multi-sport athletes because of the way they play the game.
 
"We think there's big upside to these players," he said. "When we see them in the recruiting process, they haven't specialized, they're not maxed out and still have room to grow. In my 20 years of coaching, I've seen the most growth from some players who played two or three sports."
 
Lambinus finds that multi-sport athletes tend to play the game with strong instincts.
 
"In soccer, you have to make decisions on the fly," he said. "Those who have played other sports like basketball or lacrosse are more ready to free-flow. They're in better positions, they're good defenders and tend to be in the right spots."
 
Playing multiple sports also forces athletes to be adaptable.
 
"Basketball is different than soccer; there are five players versus 11," said Lambinus. "I've seen instances where there can be a cross training between sports. For example, learning how to defend in women's lacrosse can help you in soccer."
 
Casey, one of women's soccer's four two-sport athletes at Lehigh, finds that soccer helps her on the track – and vice versa.
 
"Track is helping me stay in shape for soccer and be ready to make runs late in games when I'm tired," she said. "Soccer is helping me work different muscles and get a good base fitness foundation for track season."
 
"Track helps me with soccer by helping me be tougher, knowing that I have another level and another run in me," said junior Clare Severe. "When I'm on the soccer field, I know I've been more tired before every time I run a race. Track is also a very concrete sport, so whatever work you put into it, you get out of it. This helps me with soccer because it keeps me mindful that even though I don't see the immediate payoff, it's helping."
 
Soccer and track are very different in another way, the mental aspect of each sport. 

 

"With soccer, I'm used to having to focus on a lot of things at once, so when I race (with track) and only have one thing to focus on, it makes it seem a lot simpler," said Severe. "When I come out of one season, I usually come out with a clear mind and am very excited to compete in the upcoming (next) sport."
 
Additionally, playing different sports means developing different muscles, which helps provide long-term versatility. That versatility is often the difference between playing or not at the college level.
 
"When you're cross training, your body becomes better developed and you're more of a natural athlete," said Lambinus.
 
Lambinus himself was a natural athlete in college, playing both soccer and tennis, and he's very open to letting Lehigh student-athletes do the same. Casey, Severe and Erin Racano all run track while Kylie Ginsberg is a member of the women's lacrosse team.
 
"I did not want to give up soccer until the last possible minute because it's such an important aspect of my life," said Casey. "I wanted to play soccer at Lehigh because I was not ready to go from being a three-sport athlete down to a one-sport athlete."
 
Each individual has her own unique stories. Contrary to Casey, who originally came to Lehigh for track and field, Severe and Racano committed to Lehigh women's soccer with thoughts that track was a possibility. Meanwhile, Ginsberg was a late addition to the women's lacrosse team last season, and has remained on their roster moving forward.
 
With Lambinus, the door is open for the possibility of playing multiple sports, but it takes hard work and dedication from the athlete, and teamwork from many sides.
 
"Having a strong relationship with other programs within the (Lehigh) athletics department has been helpful," said Lambinus. "We've built a really good relationship with the track coaches. When a student-athlete can help both teams, it's only going to help us both."
 
Whether you're playing soccer, basketball, track and field, or any other sport, the belief system and goals within Lehigh Athletics are the same - preparing tomorrow's leaders.
 
Severe, Casey, Racano and Ginsberg are developing valuable, and unique, skills, being forced to use exceptional time management and problem-solving skills to navigate challenging situations. Severe has led the way as someone who's seen significant minutes on the soccer field from day one while on the track, she was part of the 4X800 relay team that set a new school-record time.
 
Initially, balancing multiple sports can be challenging for student-athletes, but it pays off in the long run.
 
"The first two years can be hard trying to figure things out, but long term, we see a lot of benefits," said Lambinus. "The two-sport athletes have a better understanding of how to not overload themselves, so they can take what they're learning from one sport and move it into the other."
 
Severe is a strong example of someone who's gotten better and better. Everything is coming together.
 
"Clare had a very good sophomore year for us and really excelled at track, so she developed a better balance," said Lambinus. "We're expecting good things out of Clare moving forward in both sports."
 
"I believe I'm getting better at balancing everything, slowly but surely," said Severe. "What's going to make me better at both sports right now is getting better at the mental game. I think the improvement in organization is the first step in allowing this to happen."
 
One of many parts of the mental game is developing a knowledge for the game. Multi-sport athletes tend to be adaptable not only sport-to-sport, but within a sport. Severe is no different. Over her first two years, she primarily played on Lehigh's back line, but this season has moved to the midfield and become an exceptional two-way player. 

 

"You're looking for kids to build this knowledge of the game, but sometimes the kids who are only playing soccer have less knowledge because they're more one-dimensional," said Lambinus.
 
Youth programs may be pushing for specialization, but Lambinus, who is the father of two, understands the big picture. Malcolm Gladwell has said that 10,000 hours of "deliberate practice" is needed to reach the top of one's craft, but Lambinus believes all those hours doesn't have to be in one area.
 
"There's too much emphasis on winning and being great at a young age," he said. "Youth sports are selling the point that you have a special talent and you have to spend all this time to be great, but I just don't believe in that. You need to have something you enjoy and can work on over a period of time.
 
"Parents and coaches see talent in youngsters and want to turn that into something, instead of just letting them enjoy playing. Over time, great players will develop if you allow them to flourish."
 
Players will flourish if they're put in situations to succeed, both physically and mentally. Lehigh women's soccer's two-sport athletes are growing in both areas because of their experience competing in another sport.
 
The rewards of playing two sports come in many forms.
 
"I take the mental aspect of track into soccer," said Casey. "The focus I need for game day is much like the focus I need for race day. Competing in both sports allows me to escape everyday life and clear my mind.
 
"When our players get frustrated, they can literally just go for a run and clear their heads," said Lambinus. "Our multi-sport athletes take a whole semester."