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School’s back in session, and so is open enrollment for team sports. Whether your 9-year-old is begging to play flag football or your 16-year-old wants to run track (and play soccer and join the dance team and march in the band…) know that it’s safe — and encouraged — for you to let them try out and have fun.
There are, however, some things to keep in mind when your kids add their names to the roster, including the potential for injuries, the pressure to succeed and the risk of burnout.
Thankfully, Charles Kenyon, DO, MS, a sports medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the UW Medicine Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium and Harborview Medical Center, has some helpful tips for parents.
Tip #1: There’s no such thing as “too early” to enroll your kids in sports
If you want to enroll your little one in swim lessons or let your 5-year-old play T-ball, there’s no harm in doing so. During these formative early years, the emphasis should be on creating a fun environment, exposing kids to a variety of physical activities and developing foundational skills.
“It’s never too early to get kids involved in age-appropriate sports activities,” says Kenyon. “The important thing is to be focused on your kid’s fun, enjoyment and creating a love for physical activity and free play.”
The right fit for every child and family may be different. Whether signing up for the local rec league or encouraging family fun in the park, the important part is to get your kids having fun, moving and exposed to different sport and activity environments at a young age.
Tip #2: Don’t let your kids play sports for longer than they need to
Kenyon’s rule of thumb is that your kid’s age equals the number of recommended hours to spend each week playing organized sports or doing structured team activities. For example, if your third grader just turned 9, they shouldn’t spend more than nine hours a week practicing for or competing in their next soccer game.
“As your kids get into their high school years, that hourly training number per week should cap around 16 hours,” says Kenyon. “There seems to be a correlation with increased risk of injury and athletes training over 16 hours a week, which is a pretty reasonable amount for most kids.”
Experts also recommend that organized sports activities should be balanced with free play. For every two hours of organized sports, young athletes should engage in at least one hour of unstructured free play.
Unstructured free play during the younger years helps kids develop diverse movement patterns and promotes fun physical activity while protecting against injury.
Tip #3: Recognize if your kid is starting to specialize in a single sport
Experts define sports specialization as intentional, focused preparation in a single sport for most of the year, which restricts opportunities to engage in other sports and activities.
Athletes may be considered specialized if they participate in a single sport for more than eight months of the year, which includes regular organized practices, competitions or other structured training.
If your teen is specializing in one (or more) specific sports and training more intensely, make sure to remind them that it’s OK to push themselves, as long as they take the breaks their bodies need.
Rest days and recovery should be planned and include sleep, hydration and well-rounded nutrition. Check in with your kids about their fatigue levels and encourage a healthy dialogue with their coaches to foster balance.
Tip #4: Inform (but don’t scare) them of their risk of injury
In contact sports, there’s a higher risk of acute traumatic injuries. If you played sports growing up, you know it’s just part of the territory. But it’s different when it’s your kid; you want them to be safe and protected, no matter what. That desire doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t let your kids play certain sports — but ultimately, it’s your call.
“Every family is going to have their own sense of risk tolerance,” says Kenyon. “In American culture, football gets a lot of focus in terms of whether it’s worthwhile to let your kids play or not, with the risk of both physical injuries and concussions.”
Overuse injuries are also a risk in both team and individual sports. Understanding the growth curve and carefully planning activities with your child can be helpful. Kenyon says the research shows that rates of overuse injuries increase during their growth spurt, typically between the ages of 12 to 15 for boys and 10 to 14 for girls. During this time, your kid is growing, and their body is getting stronger.
This higher risk of injury can occur because their bones can grow faster than their muscles and tendons lengthen. Plus, their growth plates, or the cartilage at the ends of their bones, haven’t matured and can be easily damaged by repeated strain and stress.
“The way most sports development systems in the U.S. are set up right now is that kids’ training intensity increases during the same window they’re most vulnerable to injury,” says Kenyon. “So there’s a bit of a mismatch there, especially as the kids are starting to join high-level select teams, which require greater demands.”
This can be especially hard if your kid feels passionately about the sport (or sports) they play. Ultimately, it’s up to you to inform them of the risks, provide the necessary gear to help protect them from injury, and encourage them to take care of their bodies.
Tip #5: Know mental health impacts
Playing sports offers plenty of health benefits for your kids, both to their bodies and their brains.
“Team sports can impact their lives in ways that have long-term benefits,” says Kenyon. “It can lead to the development of good, well-rounded motor and leadership skills and help them develop healthy relationships with sports and exercise.”
In general, staying active is good for the body and the brain (and depending on your kids’ ages, it can help them run off some energy, too). But too much of anything can be harmful.
“Even though I encourage multi-sport participation, you still want to closely monitor their workloads and ensure they’re balancing their activities outside of sports,” says Kenyon. “As they get older, that increased demand, along with overcommitting themselves, can lead to burnout very quickly.”
If you notice your kid feeling overwhelmed (or if they tell you outright), chat with them to determine which activities they enjoy most and whether they need help balancing or managing their sports commitments.
Tip #6: Allow your kid to follow their passion
Kenyon says it can be detrimental to your kids’ mental health to make them participate when they’re not interested, and, especially if they’re young, they might end up dropping out later.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, up to 70% of kids drop out of team sports before age 13. If your 12-year-old starts to push back against going to hockey practice, a sport they once loved, it may be a sign of developing burnout. This can be an opportunity to talk about the demands of sports and find the right balance between physical activity and commitment for your child.
“Allow young kids to sample various athletic activities, and find the environments and activities that they enjoy,” says Kenyon. “Some children and families may choose to specialize, and it is important to closely monitor these circumstances to support the long-term engagement and enjoyment of their sport.”
Tip #7: Be your kid’s biggest fan
Ultimately, setting your kids up for success in sports starts with you. Let them be your plus one to the pickleball courts, or cheer for them in the stands at their first game.
“Help them establish a love for sports and physical activity, first,” says Kenyon. “Maintain that as the priority over wins and losses, or if they make their dream team or not.”
