OLOJUWON AND STEVE NASH PLAYING OTHER SPORTS. I knew that during his youth Hakeem Olajuwon was a soccer goalkeeper, even though he wound up being almost seven feet tall, This wikipedia entry says that soccer “helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his size and strength in basketball, and also contributed to his shot-blocking ability”. This biography tells how Nash loved playing lacrosse and hockey and as a junior in high school was named British Columbia’s most valuable player in soccer.
I had known that playing multiple sports had helped some great players, but I had not known that there was so much coaching authority in support of playing multiple sports.