How much soccer is too much?

[SoccerQs]

I'm the parent of a male U12 goalie, trying to reconcile recommendations from my kid's coaches, my kid's desires, and guidance like this

https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/yss_recommendation_infographic.pdf

From the National Athletic Trainer's Association.

My kid would like to do soccer 24/7, and then some other sports on top of it. He gets up on his own to work out before school. He really wants to join a team that practices 4 days a week, plus Super Y and private training and summer camps. Plus he's at a school that does a sport each season, is very attached to his summer swim team, and does sport related things a lot in his free time (e.g. goes for a bike ride, takes an online martial arts class, plays pick up basketball with siblings). If I let him do everything he wants he's way over some of those recommendations, such as no more than 8 months (he'd like 12), no more than one team a season (with school teams and swim team he's always got soccer plus something else), no more than 5 days a week (with either school or club practice every weekday plus weekend games). He also has the perception that if he doesn't do these things he'll be "behind".

How do other families find balance. Is him telling me that all the other kids are doing all these things (Super Y, private training, futsal, summer camps) like when other kids say that all the other parents let their kids play video games all night? Or is there some truth? If I tell him he has to play on a lower team, or he needs to take the whole summer off, am I ruling out playing in college?

[GloryHunter]

SoccerQs wrote:I'm the parent of a male U12 goalie, trying to reconcile recommendations from my kid's coaches, my kid's desires, and guidance like this

https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/yss_recommendation_infographic.pdf

From the National Athletic Trainer's Association.

My kid would like to do soccer 24/7, and then some other sports on top of it. He gets up on his own to work out before school. He really wants to join a team that practices 4 days a week, plus Super Y and private training and summer camps. Plus he's at a school that does a sport each season, is very attached to his summer swim team, and does sport related things a lot in his free time (e.g. goes for a bike ride, takes an online martial arts class, plays pick up basketball with siblings). If I let him do everything he wants he's way over some of those recommendations, such as no more than 8 months (he'd like 12), no more than one team a season (with school teams and swim team he's always got soccer plus something else), no more than 5 days a week (with either school or club practice every weekday plus weekend games). He also has the perception that if he doesn't do these things he'll be "behind".

How do other families find balance. Is him telling me that all the other kids are doing all these things (Super Y, private training, futsal, summer camps) like when other kids say that all the other parents let their kids play video games all night? Or is there some truth? If I tell him he has to play on a lower team, or he needs to take the whole summer off, am I ruling out playing in college?

Don't stop greatness.

[SoccerQs]

Should I not stop greatness by preventing a career ending overuse injury, or by allowing him to practice a ton and thus get great?

[whothey]

SoccerQs wrote:Should I not stop greatness by preventing a career ending overuse injury, or by allowing him to practice a ton and thus get great?

What career ending overuse injury do you expect a keeper to suffer?

[Mdmom22]

Is he great? That is, is he already talented or can he only be great if he does all the things he wants to do? What does it say about this skill level if he's already concerned about being left behind? FWIW, I don't believe all the extra training (on top of regular club practices, etc.) is going to make a huge difference if the talent is not there. And also, are his grades solid? If he has aspirations for going pro and he has the talent to do so, I would let him do what he wants but will make him cut down if his schedule imposes on his parent's ability to get him to places or because of finances. If he only has aspirations for playing in college, I don't think cutting back would hurt. He needs to be a solid player of course to play in college but he also needs the grades, being well rounded, etc. Good luck!

[SoccerQs]

whothey wrote:

SoccerQs wrote:Should I not stop greatness by preventing a career ending overuse injury, or by allowing him to practice a ton and thus get great?

What career ending overuse injury do you expect a keeper to suffer?

My understanding is that GK’s can suffer the same kind of knee injuries as field players, albeit less frequently.

[SoccerQs]

Mdmom22 wrote:Is he great? That is, is he already talented or can he only be great if he does all the things he wants to do? What does it say about this skill level if he's already concerned about being left behind? FWIW, I don't believe all the extra training (on top of regular club practices, etc.) is going to make a huge difference if the talent is not there. And also, are his grades solid? If he has aspirations for going pro and he has the talent to do so, I would let him do what he wants but will make him cut down if his schedule imposes on his parent's ability to get him to places or because of finances. If he only has aspirations for playing in college, I don't think cutting back would hurt. He needs to be a solid player of course to play in college but he also needs the grades, being well rounded, etc. Good luck!

He’s 11, I think it’s way too early to sort out long term plans. For an 11 year old the feedback I get is that he’s very good, but I am far from an expert. Will he still be good at 18? Will he even want to play at 18? Who knows?

As far as being “behind”, I think that worry partially comes from hearing what other kids are doing and feeling like he needs to do the same, and partially because he wants to play and so he had to come up with some reason to convince me.

He’s a very capable student, his grades aren’t suffering. He has a couple other hobbies, but sports are his main passion.

[Godot]

My kid, at 12, did all the things that were possible without bending the time-space continuum, including multiple sports and super y/swim/futsal. He’ll be fine if he’s doing it because he wants to and not because he feels he’ll fall behind. If he’s doing out of love, not fear, he’ll be able to self-regulate and you’ll be able to let him skip things every once in a while when it’s clear he needs a rest.

[greypanther]

SoccerQs wrote:
How do other families find balance. Is him telling me that all the other kids are doing all these things (Super Y, private training, futsal, summer camps) like when other kids say that all the other parents let their kids play video games all night? Or is there some truth? If I tell him he has to play on a lower team, or he needs to take the whole summer off, am I ruling out playing in college?

This is true. At our club, most of the kids do everything you listed year round. The only one I monitor and do as needed is the private training which can add up quickly. My ds is younger than yours.

I try to max at around 5 days a week for activities and leave a day for park or video games, and rest.

I would never tell/ make my child to play on a lower team unless he wanted to. Especially if he had aspirations of playing at a higher level.

[GKDad]

DD (now 14) likes to keep busy, so she plays/trains 5-6 days a week in season -- 2 club GK trainings, 2 club team trainings, and games on the weekend.

We dial it back in the winter -- usually one training a week with some futsal on the weekends, while she plays travel basketball (3 or 4 practices/games a week). BB takes priority in the winter -- so she will skip any soccer/futsal if they conflict, but she usually likes to play in both if they are same day and don't conflict. Summer is swimming every day, but we are going to try to add in SuperY this summer.

I am very sensitive to overtraining (both physically and mentally), so this is 100% her choice. She hasn't experienced an overuse injury yet, but I am constantly keeping a close eye out for it and we will address if it comes up.

[DMVCoach]

Hi,

First as a coach AND a parent, I'm glad you are asking these questions - they are important.

As far as him telling you what all the other kids do, I think this is combined with his feeling of not wanting to fall behind. This can be a good attitude to have for a competitive player with the right mentality but can also be done for the wrong reasons.

At his age I wouldn't worry too much about over use injuries. They CAN occur and can be recovered from fairly quickly if you listen to the feedback from the doctor. What I find often is players that get these injuries have parents don't slow them down afterword and are the ones that develop serious injuries as they get older. So pay attention to signs of chronic pain or discomfort, but I'd be surprised if he develops anything at his age - much more likely to have a contact injury, or stepping/landing wrong.

I wouldn't worry to much about college right now. A lot can change between U12 and U16. IF you and him are serious about college I would just try to position him to be on the right teams and training environment, more so then HOW MUCH training. You can always get more training if needed...

I will note that it is harder to break in to better teams as you get older, so I would NOT encourage you to have him play on a lesser team if he's able to play at a high level (and you can afford it!) quality in this case is much more important than quantity.

If he loves sports and physical activities so much, keep him going. A side note on college - how you do in school greatly matters and there is WAY more money in scholarships scholastically then sports wise for soccer. Don't let him fall behind in school.

Good luck to you and your son - keep us posted on how things go!