Children today are starting their sports careers earlier and their training is much harder. The stakes are higher and the pressure is building on the kids to be fitter and to have better skills. To achieve this, there must be repetition. Perfection comes with doing the same thing over and over again. It is important to balance their skill development and fitness so that we can avoid overtraining. Here are some signs to look out for:

  • A child who is unmotivated when it comes to practice
  • A child who tires easily
  • Slower times when it comes to distance sports including swimming, cycling and running
  • The achievement of training goals decreases
  • The child not being willing to cooperate with his or her teammates as well as irritability
  • Routines and sports plays experience deteriorated execution in sports such as gymnastics and figure skating.

The unfortunate thing is that when parents or coaches see these signs, they tend to push the child much harder which simply makes things worse. This may also lead to injuries resulting from overuse as well as damage to the soft tissues and bones since they do not have enough recovery time.

When it comes to asking how much training is too much, there isn’t much available data to help. In order to get the necessary data, a large number of kids would have to be taken through very demanding sports drills. There is not a parent yet willing to take their child through such torture.

Here are some guidelines to avoid overtraining:

  1. The child should only train between 18 and 20 hours weekly.
  2. Restrictions that have been put in place to guard against extreme sports activity should be adhered to.
  3. If there is joint pain that lasts over 2 weeks, see a sports doctor.