US Soccer researched that today’s youth, especially in our country, play too many games (a result too many tournaments and the year-round competition that many teams have transitioned to. Our European counterparts have a much better training to game hours ratio. Lack of training is reflected in the increased number of injuries we find within youth sports. The incidence of medical treatments for injuries peaks between the ages of five (5) and fourteen (14) years and progressively decreases afterwards.
Inadequate physical preparation exposes a player to conditions of muscle fatigue that place players at greater risk of injury. Such typically occurs later in a soccer game and often in early parts of a season. This inadequate physical preparation is pointed at, along with inadequate motor skills, as the factors that increase risk of youth soccer injuries. Young athletes are not properly taught the mechanics of running, decelerating, jumping, and changing directions.
Club Training Agreement (Sample)