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Healthy training at home by age
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For families
Healthy training at home by age
| Age | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
- Weekly hours. Organized training each week stays at or under the child’s age in hours. Team practices, games and a trainer’s work all count.
- Rest days. Every week keeps at least two days with no organized training.
- Time away from the sport. Plan two to three months a year away from the main sport (it can be split into one-month breaks).
- Warm up. Start with a moving warm-up, not still stretches. Gentle stretches belong after training, never to pain and never bouncing.
- Sore knees and heels. During a growth spurt muscles can feel tight and landings clumsy for a while. Keep the work light and the stretches gentle. Knee pain just below the kneecap or heel pain after sport is common in growing children: tell a parent or coach, rest it, and see a doctor if the pain keeps coming back, causes a limp, or is there at rest.
Sources: Brenner 2016, AAP: Sports specialization and intensive training in young athletes (Pediatrics); Brenner & Watson 2024, AAP clinical report: Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Young Athletes (Pediatrics); Jayanthi et al. 2013, specialized training and overuse injuries (summary); AAOS, Osgood-Schlatter disease.