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So many of us have done the Saturday relay race: karate to soccer game to basketball practice. From softball to swim team. Baseball practice to a hockey tournament.When my kids were young, the world of sports and activities was their oyster. They played multiple sports, tried on things to see what fit while we drove from one side of town to the other, coordinating calendars, resolving scheduling conflicts and keeping all the local drive-thru fast-food joints in business with to-and-fro dining in the mini-van.A few seasons of soccer, overlapping with the start of CYO basketball, which overlapped with the start of Little League season. Mix in the odd volleyball camp, rec department tennis class and some middle school track and youve got a drawer full of old team pictures, a lot of participation trophies and a whole lot of days on the snack schedule.Then maybe that club coach asked for a larger commitment, or the select team came calling. Maybe the schedule just wasnt working anymore and it was too tough to squeeze in multiple practices and games each week around homework and band or group projects.As many kids got closer to high school, they begin to narrow the field of their sports participation, some by choice and the natural culling process. Others because someone else thinks its best.They begin to specialize. And certainly, there are things to gain from the focus on one sport -- a true offseason, better opportunities against higher levels of competition, perhaps even a shot at being a collegiate athlete. But kids lose by specializing, as well, because there are some very good reasons to stay a multi-sport athlete.1. Fewer overuse injuries. Growing bodies can become overstressed by repetition and that stress can lead to injuries. A lack of rest and recovery time in year-round sports exacerbates the problem. There are plenty of examples of serious, grown-up sports injuries happening to kids at younger and younger ages, from Tommy John surgery for 12-year-olds to high school girls with multiple ACL injuries before they graduate. Studies show that playing multiple sports leads to better muscle, motor and skill development. It promotes general athleticism, balance, speed and agility.2. Less opportunity for emotional burn-out. Kids who spend so much time focusing on one sport -- and whose families are similarly solely focused -- risk tiring of the sport all together. Specializing raises expectations, the costs for parents for travel and club teams and the pressure on young athletes. Having a variety of experiences keeps things interesting, the monotony of a single sport goes away, and so does that pressure.3. Exposure to different kids. Soccer friends will be different from swimming friends, who will be different from the kids in your Tai-Kwon-Do class. Exposing kids to different sports allows them to share teammate experiences and make memories with a diverse group of peers. It helps them expand their social circle and their opportunities for interaction.4. Exposure to different roles. Being a bench player on the basketball team is a different experience than being a starting pitcher on the baseball team. Its an opportunity to broaden their experiences, socially and developmentally. Its an opportunity to become a better competitor and all-around athlete, the kind that coaches value because they are flexible, multi-dimensional, exposed to many situations and coachable.5. Not putting all your eggs in one basket. Playing only one sport limits your options. An injury, a bad experience with a coach or a reduced role on a more competitive team can bring an abrupt end to an athletic career. Such a small number of high school athletes move on to play a sport in college; even fewer earn an athletic scholarship. If the goal is to play as long as possible, perhaps it makes the most sense to play as many sports as possible? Just ask Derek Jeter, who played basketball in high school, or Elena Delle Donne, who played volleyball at Delaware before returning to the basketball team on the way to the WNBA, or Robert Griffin III, who played baseball and ran track.My confession here is that my son ended up being a single-sport athlete by the time he got to high school. Baseball was his passion, and the other sports fell off the schedule and the radar. The skateboard that used to be his constant companion in middle school started to gather dust in the garage, and the old basketballs and soccer cleats got donated to charity. He is now a college baseball player, competing at a Division III school.And while focusing on one sport may have played a role in getting him there, I cant imagine, in retrospect, that it was the only path. Ive heard him say that he wished that boys volleyball season wasnt the same as baseball, because he would have played. Ive heard him boast that the 3-point stroke he had on the middle school basketball team magically returned while playing pick-up basketball with some of his buddies. One of his high school friends was the football teams starting quarterback and hes?playing club hockey in college now and loving every minute of it.You just never know how things are going to turn out.I retired the mini-van a few years ago, traded it in for a new car and watched with misty eyes as it was driven off into the depths of the used-car lot. But not before I cleared out some old soccer cones and a least one ball bouncing around in the way back.The old days of the Saturday relay are long gone. I didnt realize at the time how good those days were. They were fun. And isnt that the whole point? 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LOS ANGELES -- Redshirt junior Max Browne will start at quarterback for Southern California.Trojans coach Clay Helton gave Browne the nod over redshirt freshman Sam Darnold on Saturday, two weeks before the opener against defending national champion Alabama.At this point, we feel that it is in the best interest of our football team to lean on the veteran experience that Max Browne has, so we have named him the starter going into our opening game against Alabama, Helton said in a statement.Backing up three-year starter Cody Kessler each of the last two seasons, Browne is 11 of 19 passing for 143 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in nine career appearances. He does have an impressive pedigree as the top pro-style high school quarterback in the 2013 recruiting cycle, committing to USC under then-coach Lane Kiffin, and prototypical attributes for a pocket passer at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds.I was thrilled when Coach Helton gave me the news, Browne said in a statement. It was a moment of realization that hard work and staying the course paid off for me. I feel like I have put in the work necessary to earn the starting position and I look forward to leading this team to championships.Browne was able to hold off an unexpected challenge from the mobile Darnold, whose performance kept Helton from picking a starter at the end of spring practice. Instead, Helton gave both quarterbacks the first two weeks of training camp to state his case, and the veteran did so.In a final scrimmage Friday, Browne was 13 of 22 with two touchdowns and no interceptions.Max did a very nice job coming out and really putting the ball around, not making critical errors, Helton said afterward.Avoiding turnover fits in with the ball-control approach Helton employed as interim coach. USC had a plus-nine turnover margin while going 5-2 in the regular season under Helton afterr Steve Sarkisian was fired last October.dddddddddddd With a veteran offensive line and talented skill players around Browne, a low-risk approach to game management for the quarterback seems likely even as USC faces the most difficult schedule in the nation.Helton said he would not rotate quarterbacks, though a limited package of plays that could be deployed situationally in the red zone or short yardage using Darnolds dual-threat skill set. After the awkward start to 2013 when Kessler and Max Wittek split playing time in USCs first two games, Helton plans to give Browne every opportunity to take hold of the position.Ive always thought that you give the opportunity to the quarterback to show what he can do, and hopefully that is multiple games. Hopefully its seasons, to be honest with you. Thats usually when things are going good, Helton said Friday.But Helton believes success is possible with Browne or Darnold as the starter.I think both quarterbacks have a chance to be elite guys, not only here but in the future at the next level, Helton said Friday.Darnold said in a statement that he would not transfer. Browne, who earned his bachelors degree last fall, could have used the graduate transfer rule to play immediately at another FBS school if he had not won the job.Now the focus will turn to the symmetry of Browne making his first college start against the Crimson Tide, where Kiffin is now the offensive coordinator.Its fun watching film on them and you can see their offense. `Hey, that play, you can riddle it off and its familiar. You can see familiar aspects from two-three years ago, which is cool, Browne said on the first day of fall camp. Its cool that he is having success, Im happy for him and excited for Week 1. ' ' '