Steph Curry Says Playing Multiple Sports Gave Him Confidence to Be an MVP

The two-time NBA MVP believes playing sports outside of basketball taught him to deal with failure and ultimately made him a more confident athlete.

Updated: February 15, 2018

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You can count Stephen Curry among the number of pro athletes who firmly believe in the virtues of children playing multiple sports.

The two-time NBA MVP spoke on the topic at a sports panel with the Jr. NBA and the Positive Coaching Alliance.

"I think I was 8 or 9, and I was playing football, baseball and basketballâkinda all at the same time," Curry said. "My experience with playing different sports is it taught me a little bit more about myself. I knew I was better at basketball (than the other sports). I loved to play baseball; my dad played it a little bit growing up, too. And football was just something my friends did so I wanted to try it with them. Knowing that I wasn't as good at baseball or football (as basketball), it challenged me to gain that confidence and gain that work ethic to get better. (I went) through some mistakes, failed a couple times, got knocked down. It was really cool exposure just to be challenged. Because sometimes at a young age, you might be better (than your peers) at a certain sport, you might feel comfortable in that space, in that zone. But you don't really get to push yourself, you don't really get to test yourself and how you deal with failure and success."

You can count Stephen Curry among the number of pro athletes who firmly believe in the virtues of children playing multiple sports.

The two-time NBA MVP spoke on the topic at a sports panel with the Jr. NBA and the Positive Coaching Alliance.

"I think I was 8 or 9, and I was playing football, baseball and basketball—kinda all at the same time," Curry said. "My experience with playing different sports is it taught me a little bit more about myself. I knew I was better at basketball (than the other sports). I loved to play baseball; my dad played it a little bit growing up, too. And football was just something my friends did so I wanted to try it with them. Knowing that I wasn't as good at baseball or football (as basketball), it challenged me to gain that confidence and gain that work ethic to get better. (I went) through some mistakes, failed a couple times, got knocked down. It was really cool exposure just to be challenged. Because sometimes at a young age, you might be better (than your peers) at a certain sport, you might feel comfortable in that space, in that zone. But you don't really get to push yourself, you don't really get to test yourself and how you deal with failure and success."

Fellow pros like J.J. Watt and Drew Brees have also been outspoken in their belief that children and adolescents shouldn't specialize in a single sport too soon. You can see Curry's full thoughts on the topic in the video player above.

To find this full resource and over 2,000 others from Positive Coaching Alliance, head over to pcadevzone.org.

Positive Coaching Alliance is dedicated to building Better Athletes, Better People and is a proud contributor to STACK.

Brandon Hall - Brandon Hall is the Content Director for STACK. He graduated from Lafayette College with a Bachelor's degree in English. He was a four-year letter winner at tight end on Lafayette's FCS football team, finishing second on the squad in receiving his senior year. He's passionate about fitness, nutrition,
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