A Message to Young Athletes: Be Prepared
Fitness, fun, family time—youth sports can be wonderful. But like every intensive endeavor, these activities require proper care and preparation. In our enthusiasm to give our children every possible opportunity, at times they overdo it, and preparation suffers.
Dr. Timothy Hosea of University Orthopedic Associates in New Brunswick and Princeton, Sky Blue FC team doctor, has worked with all level of youth to adult athlete. He points out the risks of participation without preparation.
“Every youth athlete needs to do more than just show up,” he says. Particularly at a young age, children should be educated to stretch, be well-fed and hydrated, and get sufficient sleep. “Fatigue increases the chances of injury,” says Dr. Hosea. And don’t forget, mental fatigue also increases the risk of burn-out.
“Positive preparation is even more necessary if you want to reach an elite level,” claims Dr. Hosea.
No one knows this better than Sky Blue FC Head Coach Ian Sawyers, who identifies a problem in youth soccer, and it applies to other contemporary youth sports as well. “One of the critical elements is that youth are playing too much, and they’re not getting the chance to space out their work load, and properly develop. These high levels of intensity of training and playing put undo psychological and physical pressure on youth athletes. For just this reason, one of the key features of our Junior Blues program is to identify key indicators of optimal physical and emotional performance.”