FROM NEW YORK POST: Studies suggest that over half of children aged 6 to 17 participate in youth sports. It’s essential to establish good habits around sleep, nutrition, hydration and practice at the beginning of a sports season to minimize injury risk and maximize performance.
Here is how parents can help their goal-getters avoid perils that can hinder their physical and mental well-being.
1. Ask the important questions: You should ask the school or club about their resources and emergency action plans, whether there is an athletic trainer or physical therapist details about their strength and conditioning programming, if there is a specific gym with someone guiding kids, the weather protocol for outdoor sports, and if there’s an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site.
2. Ease the transition: Make the transition from a more sedentary summer to athletic practice slowly. They can start by jogging or playing less vigorous active games. They must also stretch, as muscles and tendons stretch and lengthen during a child’s natural growth process, but if they become tight, they will be prone to injury.
3. Beware these three alley oops:
-Overuse – kids cannot do as much as adults can since their bones are growing. A general rule of thumb is that kids should not participate in organized sports for more hours per week than their age (10 hours for a 10-year-old, 12 for a 12-year-old, etc.).
-Diversify – they should be playing different sports. Playing the same sport for more than eight months a year can lead to burnout, injuries, and repetitive stress on the body.
-Mini Muscles – They should exercise different muscle groups, the larger groups like the quads, hamstrings, biceps, and triceps, and smaller groups such as the core. Strengthening the various muscles helps to prevent pain and improve performance.
4. Warm-ups and cool-downs: Have your kids arrive five to 10 minutes early to jog or stretch, and encourage them to take five to 10 minutes after practice to stretch and rehydrate. The FIFA 11+ or PEP (Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance) programs are good to use.
5. Remember to fuel and hydrate: Athletes need to consume complex carbs and enough protein to build muscle mass. Hydration is also important, so they need to go to practice with enough water to drink throughout the practice and after.
6. Rest and recovery: Exercise causes microscopic damage to muscle fibers, so the body needs to repair and rebuild during sleep and on rest days to help muscles grow stronger. Kids should have one or two days a week of no sports and get adequate sleep (children aged 6 to 13 should get nine to 11, and 14- to 17-year-olds need eight to 10).
7. See a doctor: Difficulty walking, bearing weight on their hip, knee, or ankle, swelling in their knee or another joint, or if they can’t fully straighten or bend their knee are all reasons to seek medical advice. Playing through pain is not recommended as it puts kids at risk of other, sometimes more significant injuries and reduces the gains from practice.
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