We have seen the rates of injuries, especially overuse injuries, among young athletes skyrocket in recent years. Looking at the schedules of some of these kids might explain why. It’s not uncommon to see a child practice every day for hours and then play 3 or 4 games on the weekend.

Is there a better way to decide how much a young athlete can safely practice and play to avoid an overuse injury?

In this video, I describe an easy rule you can use to determine how much time in formal practice and competition is safe for your child. It’s based on your son or daughter’s age. Basically, you use their age and use that number of years as the total number of hours they spend in practice or competition each week.

There are some finer points to consider with this rule, so watch the video to understand how you can use it to keep your children out of the doctor’s office or operating room!

Also read:
Give kids time to rest each week
Youth pitching injuries: Don’t let kids pitch more than 100 innings per year