What parents should know before ramping up their kid’s soccer training

Q: There is a term you hear a lot when it comes to raising young athletes: sport specialization. For someone whose kid plays soccer this summer, what does that actually mean?

A: Sport specialization comes down to three questions. Does your child have a main sport? Do they train or compete in it more than eight months a year? Have they quit all other sports to focus on it?

If the answer is yes to all three, we consider them highly specialized. Our research shows that the more specialized a young athlete is, the higher the risk of serious overuse injury, up to twice as much compared to less specialized peers. We are talking about stress fractures, growth plate injuries and overuse injuries.

It is worth noting that a soccer-specific study we conducted did not find the same strong link, though the general guidance still applies.

Q: You mention free play as something young athletes are missing. For a parent who may not be familiar with the term, what is it and why does it matter?

A: Free play is simply sports or physical activity without organized coaching or adult instruction. Think back to the 1980s — kids just playing outside with their friends, making their own rules, deciding who wins and loses, stopping when they are tired or something hurts. No coach telling them to keep going, no parent worried about whether the team wins.

Our research suggests that kids with more free play in their routines have lower rates of serious overuse injuries. Specifically, we recommend for youth athletes to do more than half their sports time in free play versus organized sports to “protect them” from serious overuse injury.

The benefit comes from variety of movement and from the kids being in control. It develops better motor skills, reduces burnout and it is free.

Credit: Jack Kearse / Emory University

Credit: Jack Kearse / Emory University

Q: What practical guidelines should families follow when it comes to training specialization?

A: Pre-adolescent kids, generally under 12, benefit most from sampling multiple sports and accumulating unstructured movement. Specialization becomes safer to consider in mid-adolescence, after the body has had more time to grow and adapt before the training load intensifies.

As a general rule, children should not spend more hours per week in organized sports than their age in years. So, a 9-year-old should not be doing more than nine hours of organized soccer a week. And 16 hours per week is really the upper limit for older athletes.

Q: You mention growth plates. Why does that matter for a young soccer player?

A: Kids can have adult-level skills in a child’s body, and you forget they may still be just beginning their rapid growth spurt.

The most vulnerable area for injury in a growing body is the growth area, and that includes where tendons attach to bone, like in the knee. These growth area injuries can really impact performance, not just cause pain.

If a child is going through a growth spurt and struggling with growth area stress, parents can ask their coach about modifying training, usually meaning reducing rapid directional changes, playing on shorter fields, and focusing more on strength and skill development rather than volume.

Q: What are the warning signs a child’s training has become too much?

A: Limping during or after activity is one. Joint swelling is another. But just as important are the emotional signs.

Ask your child simple questions. Are you having fun? Do you want to keep doing this? We assume kids always want to be out there, but sometimes they might surprise you and say they need a season off. Not a year, just a season. Respect that and let it be more child-driven.

Q: If you could give every soccer family one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: Find opportunities for your kids to play for fun. Not organized practice, not drills, just playing with their friends. You will be surprised what a difference it makes, at every level.

If your kid is not as good as the others, they will still feel great because everyone is having fun. If they are really good, it is an easy day where the pressure is off. Either way, they will love it.

Dr. Neeru Jayanthi is a sports medicine physician at Emory Healthcare and co-director of Emory Youth Sports Medicine. He is a professor of orthopedics and family medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and has spent more than 20 years researching sports specialization and injury prevention in young athletes.