Some high schoolers still change with the seasons

By JUSTIN JARRETT
jjarrett@islandpacket.com
843-706-8120

Published Monday, June 2, 2008

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It was the summer before William Cubbage's freshman year of high school, and he was presented with a dilemma many young athletes eventually face: Did he want to continue playing a different sport in every season, or was it time to shift his focus to playing baseball year-round, in hopes of eventually landing a collegiate scholarship?

"I had to sit down and make a decision, and I ultimately came to the decision I wanted to play all three," Cubbage said. "I was at a school where I had the opportunity to play all three, and I knew I could benefit from that. So I decided I was going to be a three-sport athlete."

An all-state player in football and baseball and a key reserve on the basketball team, the recent Hilton Head Christian Academy graduate says he has never doubted he made the right decision, especially after seeing some of his classmates choose the opposite path.

"It almost becomes a job," Cubbage said. "The fun of the sport sort of goes away once you do it for so long. One thing I love about playing three sports is you get to go back and feel the fire that you get from playing that sport every time a new season starts."

Cubbage is one of what seems to be a dying breed. As more and more athletes chose to specialize in one sport, athletics directors at local high schools say the number of three-sport athletes is dwindling. Here's a look at some of the area's other top three-sport athletes:

BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL

Player

Sports

Highlight

Sally Newsham

Cross country, basketball, soccer

One of only two Bobcats to earn 12 varsity letters in her high school career

Ricky Peavey

Football, wrestling, lacrosse

State qualifier in wrestling also earned 12 varsity letters

HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Player