By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
High school athletes specializing in one sport is a common practice that’s raising some concerns following a study commissioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The research showed that teenagers who play the same sport year-round are 70 percent more likely to suffer an injury than those who play multiple sports.
Lexy Breen is aware of that study, but avoiding injury wasn’t the reason the Newport Central Catholic senior participated in three different varsity sports over the last four years.
“People ask me if I wish I would have specialized in a certain sport,” she said. “Obviously, I would’ve gotten better at that sport, but I don’t have any regrets about that. I feel like the skills that I learned in one sport helped me in the others. And the idea of being mentally ready is a benefit you get from playing different sports because you learn how the game goes in all of them.”
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association created the Triple Threat Award this year to recognize students who participate in a different varsity sport during the fall, winter and spring seasons. Breen received the award for playing volleyball, basketball and softball at NewCath.
This is the fourth year that she earned varsity letters in those three sports. During her career, she has received countless awards for being named to all-tournament and all-region teams in each of them.
Breen’s multi-sport resume is so impressive that she was named Ms. Northern Kentucky Athlete of the Year at the Cincinnati.com Sports Awards ceremony last month.
“I couldn’t be happier for her,” Phil Breen said of his daughter’s broad athletic career. “She’s going to have 12 sets of teammates that she’ll remember the rest of her life. And not one time has she said she regretted it.”
The senior’s high school sports career ended Tuesday when the NewCath softball team lost in the district playoffs. Breen wasn’t recruited by any college teams, but that really didn’t matter to her. She will be attending the University of Louisville on an academic scholarship.
“I really didn’t get any looks (from college coaches),” she said. “I don’t know if that would have been different if I played on AAU or club teams because that’s how they come mostly.”
Breen said all of her high school coaches encouraged her to play on a club team during the off-season to improve her skills, but she never did. As a member of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholar Program, she had other things to do with her free time.
“Club sports really weren’t for me because I had to focus on my academics as well,” she said. “Playing three sports in three different seasons was the best option for me, but I think it depends on each person and what they enjoy the most.”
Breen plans to play intramural sports while she’s in college, but she won’t have to invest as much time and energy in those teams as she did during high school.
“I’ll definitely miss it because I had such a positive experience,” she said. “When school comes around I’ll probably be like, ‘What am I going to do with my time.'”