Key Takeaways
- Current youth athletes are weaker and slower than previous generations, yet many organizations still avoid implementing strength training programs despite decades of research proving safety for kids as young as 5-7 years old
- 93% of U14 elite Portuguese soccer players were born in the first half of the year, revealing significant selection bias favoring early maturers that causes organizations to lose late-developing talent
- ACL prevention programs reduce non-contact knee injuries by 50% and cut ankle sprains and hamstring pulls, but most youth clubs don’t integrate these 20-minute protocols despite proven performance benefits
- Experts recommend limiting organized sport time to no more hours per week than a child’s age in years (10-year-olds should practice less than 10 hours weekly)
- Programs like FIFA 11+ work best when completed immediately before practice or games due to nervous system activation, not just during preseason training
via: NY TIMES
Athletic trainer Ian McMahan spent years working with athletes in the NFL, Major League Soccer, and at the Women’s World Cup. In a recent article for The Athletic, he outlined three areas where youth sports organizations consistently ignore well-established, scientifically validated best practices, creating gaps that affect both athlete development and long-term participation.
Strength Training Remains Underutilized Despite Clear Safety Data
The myth that resistance training isn’t safe for children was disproved decades ago, according to Avery Faigenbaum, a leading expert on pediatric strength training and professor at The College of New Jersey. Research shows the injury risk from supervised strength training is roughly equivalent to playing soccer, basketball, or baseball.
Faigenbaum’s research reveals a concerning trend: “This generation of youth are weaker and slower than previous generations.” He describes properly designed strength or resistance training as not just safe and effective, but essential.
Evidence suggests children who begin strength training before age 12 achieve greater gains in strength and coordination compared to those who start later. The training is safe and produces no negative effects on growth, growing bones, or the cardiovascular system when properly supervised.
According to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, children can begin resistance training as early as 5 to 7 years old, once they demonstrate enough maturity to understand and follow instructions. The key is making exercises developmentally appropriate, using movements like frog jumps and bear crawls for younger children instead of traditional squats and push-ups.
Most injuries associated with youth strength training stem from misuse or inattention to safety protocols, primarily affecting hands and muscles. Programs should begin with 1 to 2 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions using low resistance, progressing over time to higher volume and weight. Sessions need to last 20 to 30 minutes and occur 2 to 3 times per week to produce measurable strength gains.
Birth Timing and Maturity Create Systemic Selection Bias
Physical maturity plays an outsized role in determining which young athletes are identified as “talented” between ages 10 and 14. This creates consequences for both early and late maturers that many organizations fail to address in their selection and development systems.
Kevin Till, a researcher and professor at Leeds Beckett University, explains that earlier maturing athletes who physically dominate youth sports need continued development of technical, tactical, and psychosocial skills for long-term success. Meanwhile, later maturing athletes need patience and opportunities suited to their developmental stage.
The data on birth timing reveals a stark pattern. In one study cited by Joe Eisenmann, director of the exercise science graduate program at St. Xavier University, 93% of U14 district and national team soccer players at a Portuguese national tournament had birthdates in the first two quarters of the year. Additionally, 90% of these players were classified as early or on-time maturers.
This relative age effect means organizations systematically overlook late-developing athletes who may ultimately possess greater long-term potential. Experts emphasize keeping these later-maturing kids in the system as long as possible, both for their long-term health and enjoyment of sports, and for future athletic development.
The recommendation for parents and coaches is clear: smaller or later-maturing athletes should compete with others at similar maturity levels when possible, and training should focus on developing athleticism and sport-specific skills that will benefit them when their physical development catches up to peers.
Injury Prevention Programs Deliver Performance and Health ROI
Despite research dating to the early 2000s showing that many serious knee and elbow injuries can be prevented, most clubs and teams don’t integrate prevention programs into regular practice. For sports involving cutting, jumping, and direction changes, ACL prevention programs reduce non-contact knee ligament injuries by more than 50%. These same programs significantly lower the likelihood of ankle sprains and hamstring pulls.
Holly Silvers-Granelli, a physical therapist who has researched injury prevention in high school, college, and professional athletes for over two decades, now works with an NFL task force implementing ACL prevention protocols. The NFL’s investment in such programs signals that even elite athletes benefit from specific training to reduce non-contact injury risk.
One barrier to adoption is the perception that prevention programs require too much time: 20 minutes, 2 to 3 days per week. However, like other forms of strength training, these programs also increase strength, speed, and vertical jump height, providing performance benefits beyond injury mitigation.
Timing matters significantly for effectiveness. ACL prevention programs show larger risk reduction on the day they’re completed, likely due to increased nervous system activation. This means completing the program as a warm-up before practice or games proves more effective than preseason or offseason training alone.
Effective injury prevention programs should include core and lower body strengthening, plus coordination, balance, and cutting/landing technique work. The most commonly used protocols include FIFA 11+, PEP, Sportsmetrics, and RIIP Reps.
Nirav Pandya, director of sports medicine at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, offers a general guideline for volume management: “You should be doing no more hours per week (of practice and play) than your age in years. So if you’re 10 years old, that’s less than 10 hours a week of organized sport.”
Strategic Implications for Youth Sports Organizations
The gap between established research and current practice across these three areas represents both a risk and an opportunity for youth sports operators. Organizations that implement evidence-based strength training, account for maturity variations in player selection and development, and adopt injury prevention protocols position themselves to deliver measurably better athlete outcomes.
The research suggests that clubs and academies prioritizing these approaches may achieve competitive advantages through improved athlete retention (particularly of late maturers), reduced injury-related attrition, and enhanced performance outcomes. As McMahan notes, without the support structure of professional or college sports, youth organizations must take direct responsibility for athlete health and development.
For organizations competing in increasingly crowded markets, demonstrating commitment to scientifically validated practices may become a differentiating factor in attracting families willing to invest in quality programming over convenience alone.
Photo: TSH.org
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