How much soccer training is too much

Although the conventional approach of having sports governing bodies reduce physical activity levels in youth athletes may seem intuitive, it ignores one of the root causes of injury in youth sports — or any sports for that matter — which is, unpreparedness for the physical demands of the sport itself.

From the results of my assessments, it is clear that youth soccer players in the country are not in good shape. Despite the fact that our youth players are not in good shape, we expect them to compete — that is, to play in regular weekly competitions — with the same volume, frequency, and intensity as their professional youth counterparts, who are in much better physical condition and therefore are much better prepared for these demands.

Think about it this way: in any sports team youth or adult , at any competitive level grassroots to professional , the athletes who get injured less frequently and recover the fastest from the injuries they do incur, are the ones who are the most aerobically fit.

This is because injury risk is negatively correlated to aerobic fitness, while the ability to recover from injury is strongly correlated to it. Many recent studies support these facts, including, specifically, that athletes with higher levels of aerobic fitness:. Thus, if youth athletes can raise their aerobic fitness levels, they will be better prepared for the demands of sports competition, including soccer competition, and as a result they will get injured less frequently, and recover quicker from any injury they incur.

With a sound foundational understanding of the principles of periodization of training load, coaches and athletes can better prepare themselves for the demands of training and competition This will combat and eliminate undertraining, so athletes will experience fewer injuries and recover faster when they do.

Drop me a line here to get the conversation started. Afsharnezhad, T. The relationship among flexibility, aerobic fitness, leg extension power and agility with lower extremity injuries in footballers. The articles concede there is limited research on the subject of children's sport but some of the most relevant parts say. Those who participate in a variety of sports and specialize only after reaching the age of puberty tend to be more consistent performers, have fewer injuries, and adhere to sports play longer than those who specialize early.

Without specific studies on academic performance, they do make some notes on psychosocial development. Take time off from organized or structured sports participation 1 to 2 days per week to allow the body to rest or participate in other activities.

Permit longer scheduled breaks from training and competition every 2 to 3 months while focusing on other activities and cross-training to prevent loss of skill or level of conditioning. Focus on wellness and teaching athletes to be in tune with their bodies for cues to slow down or alter their training methods.

US Youth Soccer offer some things to look out for such as Unfortunately, the tendency when a parent or coach is confronted with signs of overtraining is to push the child harder. But if overtraining is the culprit, any increase in training will only worsen the situation. TL;DR There isn't any evidence on academic achievement in relation to sports and it's really up to you to look out for the signs of when it's too much.

I think it's good for your kid to learn a strong work ethic and teamwork early on. Emphasize the importance of keeping his grade up and in addition to his soccer. A lot of my high achieving high school students also play sports. Personally, I always wanted to play soccer as a kid about your son's age, but my mother forbade it and told me to focus on my studies.

It's always been a big regret of mine. My two daughters 6 and 12 LOVE dance. They both dance 3 hours after school everyday, and 5 hours on Saturday. Joint pain could become an issue. Or abnormalities in growth or maturation could occur. Pre-adolescent athletes face specific risks. Growth plates in the knees, feet and shoulders make these body parts particularly vulnerable to overuse.

Youth sports used to be primarily about fun and character development. Unfortunately, as a result of this common misconception, much of the core musculature often goes neglected. Another common misbelief is that the core is best stimulated by low-intensity, high-volume training. Due to the lack of intensity, most instability training would be categorized this way. However, the core is best developed through high-intensity, low-volume efforts, which are commonly seen in traditional maximal force and power development.

Tremendous core stability is a frequently overlooked by-product of becoming strong and powerful with compound movements. You will have a brutally strong core if you are squatting 2. Thoughtful ways to enhance bracing and postural muscles while still working the powerful hip musculature would be changing a traditional back squat to a front squat, overhead squat, or Zercher squat, or even integrating cambered bars to alter the center of mass, etc.

These alternatives would be far more potent at both forcing functional bracing and stability and imposing the necessary forces a soccer player must deal with than low-intensity, high-volume instability training.

Although it is true that soccer players rarely hit max velocity because the nature of the game dictates constant changing of direction—which is more commonly associated with accelerating, decelerating, and agility—it is still important to develop top end speed.

Developing top end speed provides context for acceleration work. For the athlete to achieve higher and higher maximum velocities, they must become more efficient in their buildup to maximum velocity. Top speed and acceleration work very much in tandem with one another.

This concept is critical and often overlooked in ball court athletes. Increasing maximal linear speed allows the athlete to expend less energy during both maximal sprints and submaximal runs, giving the perception of greater fitness. Being able to properly control this narrative in a fully rested training scenario prior to competition is important to make sure the hamstring is properly conditioned.

Continually playing at sub max speeds in training does not prepare a soccer athlete for the maximum speeds experienced during a game. Appropriately integrating small doses of top end speed work when a soccer athlete is fully rested goes a long way.

Priming proper upright mechanics with fly in wicket runs over yards with various run-up distances is a simple way to ensure proper frontside mechanics. It also provides immediate feedback to the athlete as to the feel of the appropriate rhythm of ground contacts at top speed. Float hit float runs are also great to teach an athlete to relax at top speed, allowing them to truly explore what max speed should feel like.

Continuous reevaluation of current paradigms will always be necessary to drive further growth in the physical preparation of the soccer athlete. Unless we spend time educating the coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves, we will fight the same battles every year without creating the necessary programs to truly advance the sport. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes.

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Mike Whiteman is the strength and conditioning coach for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy. For the past six years, he has worked to develop athleticism within a broad age range of elite soccer players from youth to professional, both males and females. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

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