How much is too much for training (U9-12)

[Anonymous]

ds already has 3 days of practice with his current team and 2 days of HpElite, and he wants us to put him with a private coach, Is this too much for a young kid?
He loves soccer and playing in big clubs (top teams) and a lot of his teammates have a private coach/trainer outside the club.

[Anonymous]

My kid does rec soccer but also plays basketball, flag football and does swimming, cross country, track and karate. This is at 8. Various things during various seasons obvs.

All to say seems too much soccer to me but all depends on his goals. My son doesn’t want to give up his other activities.

[Anonymous]

Drop HP Elite once in season. Use for in between times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid does rec soccer but also plays basketball, flag football and does swimming, cross country, track and karate. This is at 8. Various things during various seasons obvs.

All to say seems too much soccer to me but all depends on his goals. My son doesn’t want to give up his other activities.

We let him try hockey, swimming, track, karate, basketball and tennis but he only loves soccer and only wants to do soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid does rec soccer but also plays basketball, flag football and does swimming, cross country, track and karate. This is at 8. Various things during various seasons obvs.

All to say seems too much soccer to me but all depends on his goals. My son doesn’t want to give up his other activities.

We let him try hockey, swimming, track, karate, basketball and tennis but he only loves soccer and only wants to do soccer.

Got it. If he loves it and it’s his thing, go for it!

My DD is a little like that too. Each kid is different.

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth I know several kids at a big club that have 3 days a week of team practice plus 2-3 sessions with a private trainer plus games

[Anonymous]

Train as much as he wants but watch for overuse injuries while he's growing like Osgood Schlatters. Mine got it and was out for 6 months

[Anonymous]

I have a kid that age and it sounds like a lot to me because it is all very structured. Not to mention all the driving and money. My son enjoys HP Elite in between seasons, but I think it's a bit much on top of regular practices and games during the season. I am no expert, but I worry about injuries and maxing out potential too early. If a kid needs all that to stay on the top, what happens when other kids start adding all that in as teens?

[Anonymous]

A general rule of thumb is one hour per week per year of age, so a 10 year old should train 10 hours a week, 12-12, etc. This is not a hard and fast but a general rule from some fitness and therapists.

https://activedgefit.com/proper-training-frequency-for-youth/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A general rule of thumb is one hour per week per year of age, so a 10 year old should train 10 hours a week, 12-12, etc. This is not a hard and fast but a general rule from some fitness and therapists.

https://activedgefit.com/proper-training-frequency-for-youth/

That’s an insane amount of soccer training. When are rest/recovery days for a 12 year old?! Are they expected to train Monday - Friday for 2.5 hours a day then play 2+ games a weekend and no days off?

We just had our meeting for our middle schoolers ECNL team this week and they came out very strongly against outside training because of training load. The kids have an app they use for drills at home plus 3 days of training plus 2-3 games a weekend.

If your kid loves soccer that much, a private session for skills once a week is fine, but hour to age is ridiculous bc of rest days and game days.

[Anonymous]

The volume and intensity of training load/recovery is not tied to age number

Its tied to each individual and their sport performance training maturity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A general rule of thumb is one hour per week per year of age, so a 10 year old should train 10 hours a week, 12-12, etc. This is not a hard and fast but a general rule from some fitness and therapists.

https://activedgefit.com/proper-training-frequency-for-youth/

That’s an insane amount of soccer training. When are rest/recovery days for a 12 year old?! Are they expected to train Monday - Friday for 2.5 hours a day then play 2+ games a weekend and no days off?

We just had our meeting for our middle schoolers ECNL team this week and they came out very strongly against outside training because of training load. The kids have an app they use for drills at home plus 3 days of training plus 2-3 games a weekend.

If your kid loves soccer that much, a private session for skills once a week is fine, but hour to age is ridiculous bc of rest days and game days.

12 hours of soccer is actually not much for a 12-year-old in a week. Most European kids are hitting that mark over the weekend alone. And this is why Kobe Bryant said, "Most kids practice an hour and a half two or three times a week. That's not going to get it done." If you're wanting to just have fun with soccer, 12 hours or less is fine. But, save your money and go back to rec if that's the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A general rule of thumb is one hour per week per year of age, so a 10 year old should train 10 hours a week, 12-12, etc. This is not a hard and fast but a general rule from some fitness and therapists.

https://activedgefit.com/proper-training-frequency-for-youth/

That’s an insane amount of soccer training. When are rest/recovery days for a 12 year old?! Are they expected to train Monday - Friday for 2.5 hours a day then play 2+ games a weekend and no days off?

We just had our meeting for our middle schoolers ECNL team this week and they came out very strongly against outside training because of training load. The kids have an app they use for drills at home plus 3 days of training plus 2-3 games a weekend.

If your kid loves soccer that much, a private session for skills once a week is fine, but hour to age is ridiculous bc of rest days and game days.

12 hours of soccer is actually not much for a 12-year-old in a week. Most European kids are hitting that mark over the weekend alone. And this is why Kobe Bryant said, "Most kids practice an hour and a half two or three times a week. That's not going to get it done." If you're wanting to just have fun with soccer, 12 hours or less is fine. But, save your money and go back to rec if that's the case.

You just made up that so-called European stuff 🤣

[Anonymous]

I think 4 hours of activity for 6 days a week and 1 day of rest is normal for a 9-12 year old.

I'd think there is 2-3 hours of practice and 1 hour of running or "other" ways to cross train.

When there is a weekend tournament I would try to take a day off during the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A general rule of thumb is one hour per week per year of age, so a 10 year old should train 10 hours a week, 12-12, etc. This is not a hard and fast but a general rule from some fitness and therapists.

https://activedgefit.com/proper-training-frequency-for-youth/

That’s an insane amount of soccer training. When are rest/recovery days for a 12 year old?! Are they expected to train Monday - Friday for 2.5 hours a day then play 2+ games a weekend and no days off?

We just had our meeting for our middle schoolers ECNL team this week and they came out very strongly against outside training because of training load. The kids have an app they use for drills at home plus 3 days of training plus 2-3 games a weekend.

If your kid loves soccer that much, a private session for skills once a week is fine, but hour to age is ridiculous bc of rest days and game days.

12 hours of soccer is actually not much for a 12-year-old in a week. Most European kids are hitting that mark over the weekend alone. And this is why Kobe Bryant said, "Most kids practice an hour and a half two or three times a week. That's not going to get it done." If you're wanting to just have fun with soccer, 12 hours or less is fine. But, save your money and go back to rec if that's the case.

Yeah, thanks for the tip, but we are fine in our ECNL team and will follow their suggestions for training and not some PT/training clinic that is in the business of selling training sessions outside of club opportunities.