Anyone who has read this space with any regularity probably knows that I am a big fan of the three-sport athlete. The thing I enjoyed most about watching Rocklin High’s recent basketball run was the sight of athletes who are not locked in on a single extracurricular activity, but who are still very diverse in their pursuits.

There are those out there who would tell young athletes, even those who are 10 or 11 years old, that their ability to score that elusive scholarship lies in their decision to focus on just one sport year-round so they can be where the scouts are.

Tell that to Brendan Lane and Pat Stover. Lane is headed to UCLA on a full-ride basketball scholarship despite being an all-league water polo player and track athlete throughout his high school years. Stover is on his way to swing the stick at Santa Clara despite that pesky basketball run to the state title game that stood in the way of his committing fully to his baseball team.

I fear that those pushing athletes to specialize early are more interested in their own “travel” teams and their own finances than in the needs of the athletes they push.

You cannot convince me that playing water polo did not provide Lane with some additional skills and stamina that improved his play on the court, and I am certain that Stover is a better baseball player because he took time to clear his mind of baseball for a time each year to hit the hardwood. When he returned to the diamond, there was surely a fresh look and improved performance.

I can certainly see that in my own life and my own career. How often do I hit a block at night, only to sleep on it and come up with a fresh perspective to write about in the morning? A little time away from that No. 1 sport might just improve performance in the long run.

The muscles required for Lane to play water polo were different than those in use on the court, so isn’t it possible that playing the second sport made him stronger and more agile and by extension a better basketball player.

I see young athletes in youth leagues and at high schools, and I am impressed with their diversity of skills. A pair who play at Roseville High jump to mind because of the young age at which they have come onto the varsity scene.

Lollie Fitzpatrick is a freshman at Roseville who played junior varsity basketball and varsity softball this season, at least until an injury ended her softball season. Nick Blaser is still a quarterback in the Roseville football system, while his best success has come as a freshman and now sophomore on the varsity baseball squad and as a sophomore on the varsity basketball team.

There dozens more like these two, and as a fan, I enjoy watching them wearing all of their different hats. I cannot say definitively that a multi-sport participant changing to a single-sport focus would not enhance scholarship availability, but I would point out that there is certainly evidence to support the position that the additional sports might actually be a help in the process.

A change of scenery as multi-sport athletes switch from one endeavor to another is certainly a benefit to their performance, and I hope that those who can play multiple sports will continue to do so as long as they can. There are plenty of examples of athletes whose long-term future was not destroyed by continuing to enjoy all of the sports possible.

I actually had an official with the Placer United soccer club tell me that they discourage some athletes from playing soccer for their high schools in order to focus on the club team. And that is the same sport.

I cannot speak to anyone’s motivation, but I would ask those coaches who advocate a single-sport approach for everyone to ask themselves whether they are really making that suggestion for the good of the athlete or to serve their own self-interest.