Caught the interview on SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN with Oliver Luck.

You know his son by now, Andrew Luck.

Andrew’s life changed tonight – became an instant millionaire – after the Indianapolis Colts signed him in the National Football League draft. Yes, No. 1.

But this is not as much about the 22-year old Luck, the All-American, Heisman Trophy runner-up and NFL player-to-be taking over from someone called Peyton Manning.

It’s about what his father, former pro player and current Athletic Director at West Virginia University, said in giving his son as many opportunities to play a variety of sports as a youngster. Try them all, was the message, and maybe one fits better than another while going the education route. Luck, the younger one, didn’t need help in school. He went to Stanford. Enough said.

Before that, it was Stratford High School in Houston. He threw for 7,139 yards and 53 touchdowns in his high school career, and rushed for another 2,085 yards. But Luck was also active in more than just being on the gridiron.

That brings me to what’s going on in this part of the world.

Schools, based on direction of physical and health education teachers and coaches, are restricting students to one varsity sport per season in much of the Greater Toronto Area. I can remember, for instance, when students were picked as athletes of the year because of a commitment to as many as six or more sports a year. No more.

Apparently, there are many viewpoints to restricting the number of sports. They range from making sure students stay committed to team practices/games. Here’s another one: ensuring students utilize their time wisely for studies. I would think if a student has impressive grades, why restrict him or her to one sport?

It’s all bizarre to me. For instance, I see nothing wrong with a rugby, soccer or baseball player also competing in track. And with all the on-going kerfuffle focussed around controversial high school athletic association transfer rules, maybe educational institutions should find ways to get more students active and while they’re at it – pull the plug on graduate students who return to school, they say to upgrade marks, but we all know it’s just to play sports.

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