16/04/2025
In the clinic I commonly see young athletes who train at school, club and representative level, as well as across multiple sports. This infographic is a simple rule of thumb for how much training is recommended before there is an increased risk for overuse injuries
A study by Jayanthi et al. (2015), published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, examined 1,214 injured athletes between the ages of 7 and 18. These athletes, recruited from two hospital-based sports medicine clinics, were compared with healthy peers from primary care clinics during routine sports physicals.
Participants completed surveys reporting how many hours per week they spent in organized sports.
The results?
Young athletes are at increased risk of serious overuse injuries when they train more hours per week than their age in years.
What does that mean?
10 years old? Stay under 10 hours/week.
Athletic development isn’t about doing more.
It’s about balancing training, recovery, and nutrition to support healthy growth and maximize performance.
Want to train young athletes the right way?
Check out our expert resources:
• Books Formula for Success in Sports
• Integral Physical Conditioning for Young Athletes video series
Available only at: https://mozaiqsports.com/shop/
Reference: Jayanthi NA, LaBella CR, Fischer D, Pasulka J, Dugas LR. Sports-specialized intensive training and the risk of injury in young athletes: a clinical case-control study. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Apr