Players state and nation -wide are becoming less sport-specific and more all-around athletes. Many students at CHS have developed a primary and secondary sport, such as track and cross country, to keep conditioned year-round, a habit that is more frequently being designated as      desirable for coaches and athletes.

     At a school of 5,000- plus students with various opportunities to become involved in sports, it’s no wonder so many of the athletes at CHS are involved in multiple sports, secondary and primary alike. Although reasons vary, there is one that almost all athletes who participate in secondary sports said they have in common: it keeps them conditioned year-round.

     Senior Jacob Abrams has played multiple sports since seventh grade and said it does give him a leg up in his primary sport of football.

      “Running track and field, there’s obviously a lot of running involved, so that gets me in shape for my primary sport. Everyone else might be a little behind as far as cardiovascular things, so I’m a few steps ahead,”Abrams said. “When we do red dawn (early morning workouts) and conditioning, when other people are dying, I have that extra wind and that ability to keep pushing forward, so that’s always nice.”

     Kenneth Browner, track and field head coach, said he has many athletes on the team who also play other sports such as soccer and football. Browner said that about 80 percent of his athletes play other sports, especially football.

     “There’s this whole thing now called track and football. It has a whole list of the capabilities of these athletes and they kinda show the percentage as how a multi-sport athlete does better than a single-sport athlete,” Browner said.

     While a combination of track and football is common among CHS athletes, a combo of soccer and track can be almost as frequently seen.  Zach Miller, varsity soccer player and senior, is an example of this. While his primary sport is different, he said he gets the same benefits.

     “I get to stay in shape year round, rather than when soccer is in the fall. Even though I have club in the spring, track just keeps me in that much better shape,” Miller said.

     Abrams has participated in track as well as basketball and football. He enjoys them all, even though the workload of balancing classes and sports can get tough.

     “I would definitely recommend doing two sports, but be prepared for less time to do school work. You’ll have to figure out how to balance it all out,”Abrams said.

     According to Miller finds the same stress that comes with playing multiple sports but finds that it’s worth it in the end.

      Miller said, “It’s a huge time commitment, and it takes a lot of effort and sacrifice, but it’s worth it in the end if you actually care about it.”