How much soccer is too much soccer?

[Unregistered]

Even better is to play other sports, even if it's just casually. Helps develop different muscle groups.

There's plenty of data (and just common sense) that 7 days is too much. Yes I know professionals train virtually every day - but they have real trainers to guide them and they aren't playing every day (weight room, running etc). And even the pros take time off.

[Unregistered]

7 days a week of competitive soccer is too much. Athlete's bodies need recovery time. Take a look at the Stanford Soccer fitness guidelines and suggestions for workout routines based on the intensity of play schedule: http://froeberg.com/soccerunited/stanfordfitness.pdf

That guide is obviously for college level athletes, but similar principles should guide children's development as well. There needs to be recovery time, even if it means doing a different activity, sport or workout that works different muscles groups. Having different disciplines like swimming or karate to break up the soccer training makes sense.

Pick-up soccer works in the off-season, whether that is winter or summer. During the competitive season (fall and/or spring), instead of pick-up soccer, extend practice times to allow time for players to work on juggling, shooting, 1v1 skills, etc on their own or in small groups.

It's not your decision whether or not a family decides to let their kid play soccer 5 days or 7 days so take that part of your advice off the table and focus on making a specific recommendation as to how a family that does wish to let their child do a whole bunch of something they love healthily. Contrary to what some of you seem to think most kids barely break a sweat in their club practices so all of the concern about proper recovery is just politically correct BS. The reality is these kids are usually doing less than 10 hours of physical activity a week and are not in good shape at all. You have to expend some energy in order to need recovery and if you are proper condition then recovery is a much smaller issue.

[Unregistered]

This whole thread is silly, but so is this entire site. A bunch of experts. These are kids, right ? So as a parent, your best bet is to talk to people like professional trainers, physical therapists, or your pediatricians and orthos, and get advice from them. Then make the right decision for your child.

[Unregistered]

It's not your decision whether or not a family decides to let their kid play soccer 5 days or 7 days so take that part of your advice off the table and focus on making a specific recommendation as to how a family that does wish to let their child do a whole bunch of something they love healthily. Contrary to what some of you seem to think most kids barely break a sweat in their club practices so all of the concern about proper recovery is just politically correct BS. The reality is these kids are usually doing less than 10 hours of physical activity a week and are not in good shape at all. You have to expend some energy in order to need recovery and if you are proper condition then recovery is a much smaller issue.

First off, if your child is playing club soccer at U12/U13+ and they aren't breaking a sweat in practice, then you should find another team/coach/club that actually trains them properly. It sounds like your players do quite a bit of standing around during practice, which means poor planning and organization or too low intensity, either which seems like you're not getting your moneys worth from that particular club.

My D had pre-season workouts sent out by her coach 6 weeks before practices started that included technical skills and running/intervals/sprints, etc. First day of practice, the coach had them running through technical drills with minimal recovery and at a high pace. Water breaks were infrequent and short, and used to change drills and move cones around. If speed of play was too slow or the drill was done improperly, crunches and pushups were done to reinforce a high level of effort and intensity from everyone. My D, along with her teammates were all sweating and grabbing their sides, and that was with her running and training throughout the summer.

Second, feel free to do whatever you want, but every single expert in the field of sports training science will tell you the same thing: Overuse injuries are easily prevented by not overtraining/overplaying in the same sport, by ensuring proper recovery time, and by cross-training in different activities. Feel free to ignore, but don't come crying on here when your player has a season or sport-ending injury after too many years of not adhering to the above.

[Unregistered]

It's not your decision whether or not a family decides to let their kid play soccer 5 days or 7 days so take that part of your advice off the table and focus on making a specific recommendation as to how a family that does wish to let their child do a whole bunch of something they love healthily. Contrary to what some of you seem to think most kids barely break a sweat in their club practices so all of the concern about proper recovery is just politically correct BS. The reality is these kids are usually doing less than 10 hours of physical activity a week and are not in good shape at all. You have to expend some energy in order to need recovery and if you are proper condition then recovery is a much smaller issue.

dont know where your son or daughter plays club soccer, but my son comes home sweaty and tired from every practice...sounds like your club is more like town rec soccer perhaps

[Unregistered]

First off, if your child is playing club soccer at U12/U13+ and they aren't breaking a sweat in practice, then you should find another team/coach/club that actually trains them properly. It sounds like your players do quite a bit of standing around during practice, which means poor planning and organization or too low intensity, either which seems like you're not getting your moneys worth from that particular club.

My D had pre-season workouts sent out by her coach 6 weeks before practices started that included technical skills and running/intervals/sprints, etc. First day of practice, the coach had them running through technical drills with minimal recovery and at a high pace. Water breaks were infrequent and short, and used to change drills and move cones around. If speed of play was too slow or the drill was done improperly, crunches and pushups were done to reinforce a high level of effort and intensity from everyone. My D, along with her teammates were all sweating and grabbing their sides, and that was with her running and training throughout the summer.

Second, feel free to do whatever you want, but every single expert in the field of sports training science will tell you the same thing: Overuse injuries are easily prevented by not overtraining/overplaying in the same sport, by ensuring proper recovery time, and by cross-training in different activities. Feel free to ignore, but don't come crying on here when your player has a season or sport-ending injury after too many years of not adhering to the above.

Schmuck, so called over use injuries are just an excuse for injuries that happen when you aren't in shape. If your kid can't run a beep test in an age adjusted time then they aren't in shape.

[Unregistered]

Schmuck, so called over use injuries are just an excuse for injuries that happen when you aren't in shape. If your kid can't run a beep test in an age adjusted time then they aren't in shape.

I suggest you have a conversation with a sports medicine orthopedist my friend...I brought my son to one of the top local ones at one of the major boston hospitals and he is of a very different opinion. Kids in their teens growing at a rapid pace are quite succeptible to such injuries. Types of issues varies by sport he told me, but its real and can happen. Not sure an ACL tear is one of them as that was not my sons injury.

[Unregistered]

I suggest you have a conversation with a sports medicine orthopedist my friend...I brought my son to one of the top local ones at one of the major boston hospitals and he is of a very different opinion. Kids in their teens growing at a rapid pace are quite succeptible to such injuries. Types of issues varies by sport he told me, but its real and can happen. Not sure an ACL tear is one of them as that was not my sons injury.

Thought the idea was that kids are supposed to just go out and engage in free play instead of doing any sort of S&C? that is just bad advice. For those that don't know, the protocol for ACL prevention is a heavy dose of stretching, strengthening, plyometrics, and sport specific agilities to address potential deficits and since girls are 2 to 10 times more likely than a boy to sustain a knee ligament injury and since many of these injuries seem to occur around the 8th-9th grade it really means that girls should start working on at least ACL prevention in the 7th (maybe even 6th) grade. That is where the conflict really pops up since we all know that you can't be in two places at once.

[Unregistered]

Schmuck, so called over use injuries are just an excuse for injuries that happen when you aren't in shape. If your kid can't run a beep test in an age adjusted time then they aren't in shape.

This has to be one of the most ignorant posters I have ever seen on this board, and that is saying something considering this is TS. Please, no one listen to this idiot.

[Unregistered]

This has to be one of the most ignorant posters I have ever seen on this board, and that is saying something considering this is TS. Please, no one listen to this idiot.

If your kid can't do a decent time for their age on a beep test why is anyone worrying about playing soccer 7 days a week? What are they walking on the field?

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;1886659]Thought the idea was that kids are supposed to just go out and engage in free play instead of doing any sort of S&C? that is just bad advice. For those that don't know, the protocol for ACL prevention is a heavy dose of stretching, strengthening, plyometrics, and sport specific agilities to address potential deficits and since girls are 2 to 10 times more likely than a boy to sustain a knee ligament injury and since many of these injuries seem to occur around the 8th-9th grade it really means that girls should start working on at least ACL prevention in the 7th (maybe even 6th) grade. That is where the conflict really pops up since we all know that you can't be in two places at once.[/QUOTE

Gym class should be mandatory...lot less injuries in those days

[Unregistered]

If your kid can't do a decent time for their age on a beep test why is anyone worrying about playing soccer 7 days a week? What are they walking on the field?

Clubs want the money so they convince the parents that if their kid just does soccer 24/7 they will have a good shot at a big money scholarship. Delusional parents are driving most of these boats.

[Unregistered]

If your kid can't do a decent time for their age on a beep test why is anyone worrying about playing soccer 7 days a week? What are they walking on the field?

Beep test is extremely overrated test especially for teenagers and youth playing soccer. The liberal substitution policy and slower pace of play make unnecessary.

It's really used as a stick to ensure kids come into the season in decent shape.

Perhaps in college or professional it's necessary but not youth or high school.

[Unregistered]

Beep test is extremely overrated test especially for teenagers and youth playing soccer. The liberal substitution policy and slower pace of play make unnecessary.

It's really used as a stick to ensure kids come into the season in decent shape.

Perhaps in college or professional it's necessary but not youth or high school.

This. Really not sure why beep tests were even mentioned in this thread. It is a proxy for testing VO2 max, which isn't necessary unless you're talking high level college or professional soccer. How is this relavant to youth soccer players and parents? I think the age of the OP's daughter was u12...