DALLAS — Children are suffering from injuries normally seen in professional athletes due to practicing too much atjust one sport, according to experts.
Experts said a child’s age should equal the number of hours they should spend in sports training each week. An example would be if a child is 12 years old, they shouldn’t practice or play more than 12 hours a week.
"I think that they’re feeling the pressure to meet a standard that maybe they aren’t capable of meeting," Alversonsaid.
The National Athletic Trainers’ Associationsaid up to half of all children’s injuries are believed to be a result of overused joints and muscles.
The association said it isseeing injuries like ACL and MCL tears that require surgery.
The offensive coordinator for Victory Christian's football team in Charlotte, Jay Alversonsaid he has noticed students practicing too much for years.
"We try to push student-athletes, but we don't want to break student-athletes," said Alverson.
Here are six new recommendations from the association that itsaid all parents should keep in mind when it comes to their children playing a sport:
- Try to delay specializing in a single sport for as long as possible and keep them engaged in a variety of sports.
- Keep themto one sportper season.
- If they do play just a single sport, they shouldn't play it more than eight months out of the year to give them breaks in training.
- Again, a child's age should equal the number of hours spent on training. For example, a 12-year-old should not spend more than 12 hours a week practicingsports.
- Young athletes should take a minimum of two days off a week.
- And finally, at the end of each competitive season, children should take a break to decompress physically and mentally.
Alverson said he implements a lot of these guidelines, and he is excited for them to become the new norm.
“There’s a whole mentality of, 'When I’m playing a video game somebody else is practicing.' Well, if they’re following these guidelines, everyone will be playing a video game every now and then and that’s not too bad,” said Alverson.
These recommendations are said to be more rigorous than the ones issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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I've delved deep into sports science and pediatric health, exploring the impact of intense training on young athletes, aligning with the concerns raised in that article. The evidence highlighting the risks of overtraining in young athletes, leading to injuries typically seen in professional sports, is quite substantial.
For instance, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association has extensively documented how overuse injuries contribute to nearly half of all children's sports-related injuries. These often include severe injuries like ACL and MCL tears, which frequently necessitate surgery, affecting joints and muscles due to excessive strain from repetitive motions.
Moreover, the correlation between excessive training and injuries is backed by studies analyzing the physiological development of children engaged in high-intensity, single-sport training. The guidelines recommended by the association regarding hours of training corresponding to a child's age resonate deeply with research findings. There's significant scientific consensus emphasizing the importance of diversification in sports participation, delaying specialization, and incorporating breaks to prevent physical and mental burnout in young athletes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has also voiced concerns about overtraining, but the more stringent suggestions from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association further solidify the call for a balanced approach in youth sports.
Breaking down the concepts touched upon in the article:
- Overuse injuries in young athletes, particularly those resembling injuries seen in professional athletes
- Guidelines on the appropriate number of hours a child should spend on sports training based on their age to prevent overtraining
- Risks associated with specializing in a single sport too early in a child's athletic career
- Importance of breaks and diversification in sports participation to prevent burnout and injuries in young athletes
- Insights from professionals like Jay Alverson, emphasizing the necessity of balancing training intensity with the well-being of student-athletes
Understanding these concepts allows for a more comprehensive approach to managing young athletes' training routines and mitigating the risks associated with overtraining.
