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Thursday, November 29. 1979
University Daily Kansan
Coach says two sport excellence rare
By PATTI ARNOLD
Sports Writer
It takes a rare athlete to participate and be successful in two sports at the college level, according to KU softball coach Bob Stancillt.
"I can see that the day is coming that the sport athletes will disappear completely," she said. "And I want to play one sport and give them up it and go into another. We only got a couple who can do it."
One player who has made the transition is June Koleber, a senior who plays both volleyball and softball.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN-
Koleber was recruited from Lawrence High School for her basketball abilities, but played that sport only her freshman year, along with softball.
"I don't feel that I could get burn out by concentrating on just one sport," she said, "but it keeps you more interested with two sports."
Sports
Coaches don't encourage athletes to try more than one sport any more because seasons often overlap, Koleber said.
Stancill was the volleyball coach for three years before the softball season was expanded this year to include competition, and he encouraged women to play both volleyball and softball.
--tion, and he encouraged women to play both volleyball and softball.
"Two sport athletes helped in recruiting. If I could recruit one high-caliber player who could compete in two sports, it helped me fund funding. It's not an advantage now."
"It would be hard to work out a deal with the volleyball coach to split the scholarship fund, but it doesn't seem someone just as good or -maybe not as good -but one who wants to play softball."
Scholarship money was the reason Jill Larson quilt volleyball this season.
have two years of competition left, and I decided to go softball. I wanted to devote myself to softball."
Larson, a third baseman, was an All-Big Eight selection last year, and has a good chance to play professional softball after her KU career.
"The coach raised my scholarship to work on softball year-round," Larson said. "Volleyball was a good change of pace, but I
Koleber, Larson and Stancil agreed that if an athlete could make the transition between two sports she should not be discouraged from trying both.
sports," she said. "An athlete should be able to compete in two sports if she feels she can."
"Most of the fall season was basic fundamental and drills that we do," he said. "The older players didn't miss much, but if a freshman missed the fall season, she would get picked up and catch up. We don't have time in the spring to go back through what we did in the fall."
Having Stanclift for both her volleyball and softball coach helped a great deal, Koleber said.
Recruits are not discouraged from attempting to play more than one sport, Stantlift.
"We don't discourage freshmen from trying two," he said. "We're willing to let them try both. If they could do both well, fine. If not, then we would try to help them select one they had the most potential in. We didn't want to take any risks which sport she wants to participate in."
"He knew I could contribute to both volleyball and softball," she said.
The conditioning for the two sports is similar, which helped Larson's ability to switch sports.
"A lot of the physical training is the same. When Bob was the volleyball and softball coach the training was a lot alike for the two
Fundamental development is the key in athletics. Stancliff said, and high schools were playing an important role in preparing athletes for college competition.
But conditioning is the big factor in the adjustment to a second snort. Stenlift said.
"High school kids are able to make the transition into college level sports now. We have quite a few freshmen competing on the varsity level this year."
"High school kids are coming to me more prepared," he said. "Coaches are getting better as more emphasis is placed on women's sports.
Since students in high school can compete in more than one sport but are usually not allowed to do in college, KU is losing position to smaller schools, Stancift said.
"High school kids do so many sports," he said. "I have lost a lot of talent to smaller schools because they want to compete in different sports.
"They shy away from a big school when they can't be guaranteed they would start in two sports."
An athlete would be at an advantage if she concentrated on one sport, he said.
"It's progressively moving to the time when an athlete must pick one sport," he said. "We want our players to be for them to give a scholarship they are going to have to specialize more and stop jumping."
Specialization or not, the size of a scholarship cannot measure the most important part of athletics, the pure joy of competition.
"I enjoyed competing in both sports," Larson said. "They both are fun for me." Katherine agreed.
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"I like both sports," she said. "I don't know which one I would choose if I had to."
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