Strength training including preseason resistance and cardiovascular conditioning may help prepare an athlete for sport-specific demands. Neuromuscular training (balance and coordination) may help reduce lower extremity injuries in field sports. Contrary to popular belief, regular participation in resistance training is beneficial to, and can reduce injury rates in youth athletes. These include improved bone density, more resilient ligaments and stronger muscles. 

Frequent evaluation of equipment during growth spurts should be implemented. Although the research does not demonstrate a correlation between overuse and poor fitting equipment, a hypothetical alteration in biomechanics may occur. If the coach, parent or athlete is experiencing problems with ill-fitting equipment, it should be addressed in a timely fashion. 

Avoidance of over scheduling and excessive time commitment to sport may prevent burnout. For youth athletes, emphasis should be placed on skill development over competition and winning. 

If you are a youth athlete, parent of a youth athlete or coach youth athletics in Miami, Florida and have questions about information presented in this post, give our office a call. We offers seminars to educate the community on best practices for keeping youth athletes participating in sport. As a lifelong athlete myself, I can appreciate the time, effort and role parents and coaches can play in the development of their children. My goal is to keep as many people participating in athletics for as long as possible.