Soaring in an age of specialization: Taylor's Jarvis Anderson is tops in Central Texas

After Jarvis Anderson settled into his seat for the flight home from the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon two weeks ago, he pulled out his laptop and began to study YouTube videos.

With a weekend of running against some of the best sprinters in the country behind him, it was time to shift gears. With football season fast approaching, he settled on a video of defensive drills featuring some of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.

For the past six months, the senior from Taylor High School has been the king of track and and field. The next six months will be devoted to Stephen F. Austin State University football.

Anderson, who has been chosen as the American-Statesman's Central Texas athlete of the year, represents a shrinking number of high school students who still play multiple sports. In this age of specialization, many athletes prefer to play one sport year-round with the idea that it will benefit them in the long run.

Anderson has a different viewpoint.

"Track has helped me tremendously with my speed and balance for football," said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound wide receiver and long jumper, who was born deaf. "After track season comes football, and I consider it a plus that I'm already in good physical shape."

Anderson is not alone. Three members of Vandegrift's football team who made our list of Central Texas' top 50 athletes also played another sport this school year. That's because Vipers football coach and school athletic coordinator Drew Sanders makes it "a point of emphasis" for his players to participate in multiple sports.

"It pays dividends in so many ways," Sanders said.

Making the choice between sports

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, about 60 million boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18 play organized sports. One reason they sooner or later specialize in one is that club sports and club leagues not affiliated with schools take so much of athletes' time. For example, select baseball or AAU basketball players might spend the entire summer traveling and playing in tournaments.

Among this year's top 50 athletes who have played multiple sports are Bowie senior Olivia Moreno (wrestling, softball), Anderson junior Ed Small (football, baseball), Georgetown senior Drayden Dickmann (football, track), Lake Travis senior Jacob Henry (football, wrestling) and Thorndale senior Coy Stutts (football, baseball).

Anderson, a two-time all-district football player — one year on offense, one year on defense — and a two-time state track competitor, has said that being born deaf has never prevented him from competing in multiple sports. He's been on traveling teams for football and for track and field for several years — an expensive endeavor, for sure — and even asked his father to sign him up for baseball and soccer.

"I said no because we wouldn't have the time or the money to do it," said T.L. Garner, Anderson's father. "He had to choose. Sometimes we'd just go to the batting cages because it was a lot cheaper to just hit fastballs."

More: Westlake duo take top honors in Central Texas baseball

Garner estimates that he spends $8,000 a year helping his son compete in nonschool athletic activities. During the recent trip to Eugene, Ore., for the Nike track meet, the family spent $1,600 on airline tickets, $600 for a hotel, $300 for a rental car and $200 for food. The family plans to return to Oregon for another track meet later this year.

'I love the feeling of winning, and I chase it'

Anderson has been a success story during his four years of high school. Last fall he led Taylor's football team in receiving and touchdowns. This spring he won two gold medals and a silver at the state track and field meet, which included a state record in the 300-meter hurdles.

"I love the feeling of winning, and I chase it, whether it's in track or football," Anderson said. "When I don't win, it makes me want to improve. I want to open doors for those like me. I want them to believe in themselves and work to accomplish it. I might be deaf, but I'm not disabled."

Moreno recently finished her high school career as one of the greatest wrestlers in Texas history, winning state golds three consecutive years while going an astounding 101-0. But the 2022 Central Texas softball player of the year said she felt "overwhelmed at times" playing two sports during her freshman, sophomore and junior years because wrestling and softball take place during the same semester.

She recalls trying to cut weight for wrestling before the state tournament and preparing for district softball games at the same time. She skipped softball as a senior to relax.

Playing multiple sports, though, was a benefit because the wrestling skills she learned adapted to softball.

"What helped me the most was my hip strength," said Moreno, who wrestled in the 126-pound weight class. "When I was hitting a softball, I felt more strength in my legs. And it helped me with running, too. You have to be explosive (with your legs) in wrestling. So if I'd try to steal a base, I had an extra burst in my step."

Although she weighed college offers to wrestle, Moreno has decided to attend Arkansas — strictly for academics.

"I was ready to stop after high school," said Moreno, who was our 2022 Central Texas athlete of the year. "I thought it might be cool to go to college and excel (at wrestling). But I got a lot out of wrestling and find other things to excel at. It was never my dream to go to the Olympics."

As for Vandegrift, which placed five athletes on the top 50 list, most of the football players have taken Sanders' advice to play a second sport. Not only were Brayden Buchanan, Miles Coleman and Alex Foster playmakers on the gridiron, but they excelled in a second sport.

Buchanan, an All-Central Texas second-team quarterback, batted .355 for the Vipers' baseball team and made an all-state squad. He signed an athletic scholarship to play baseball at Baylor.

Coleman, the Central Texas offensive MVP for football, caught 99 passes as a junior. He kept up his busy pace by reaching the state track meet in two events. And Foster led the Vipers with more than 200 tackles as a safety and made the Class 6A all-state team. He also was the captain for Vandegrift's lacrosse club team. He is undecided which sport he will play in college.

More: Anderson, Bailey receive top awards at Statesman ceremony

Specialization vs. the high school experience

Buchanan said playing multiple sports helped him become an elite high school athlete and recommends that others follow his lead.

"Today, you'll hear parents tell a kid who's 10 or 11 that they've got to pick one sport, and I don't feel that's right," Buchanan said. "Who knows? You might have become a really good basketball player when you're 13, but no one would ever know because you specialized in football since you were 11. You need to keep your opportunities open."

Foster said playing lacrosse has made him a better football player because his mobility has improved. He picked up his first lacrosse stick at age 5 because his older brother Max was already playing the sport.

"You have to think while running," Foster said. "You can do that in other sports, but lacrosse is so deep because it's a back-and-forth game of runs. I truly believe that lacrosse has helped me with football as much as football has helped me with lacrosse."

Sanders said emphasizing multiple sports is one reason Vandegrift has become one of the premier athletic programs in the area.

"We think it makes our guys better (at football), no matter what the sport is," Sanders said. "So all of our guys do at least two sports."

Best of Central Texas

See who made our list of the top 50 Central Texas high school athetes. XC

Our last five athletes of the year

2022: Olivia Moreno, Bowie softball, wrestling

2021: Ryder Hermandez, Cedar Park football, baseball

2019: Brett Baty, Lake Travis baseball, basketball

2018: Garrett Wilson, Lake Travis football, basketball

2017: Virginia Kerley, Taylor track and field, basketball

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Jarvis Anderson (football, track) highlights list of top 50 athletes