The right balance of training; length (how long to stay on the court), intensity (how hard to work), and frequency (how often to train) is different for every child. When you talk about your child’s tennis to other parents, comparing your child’s tennis routine to that of other children, it is easy to worry that your child isn’t playing enough – or is playing too much. Is there such a thing as too much tennis or sport for a child’s young body? There definitely is; it’s called over-training. We’ve put together a few simple questions to help parents and coaches monitor kids and be alert to possible over-training.
Signs of the right level of training
A child who is positive, happy, and energetic! Their body feels fit and healthy!
Signs of overtraining
A child who is cranky, unhappy and exhausted. Their body feels tired and muscle soreness doesn’t go away.
How can you tell if your child is overtraining?
ASK QUESTIONS to help you to assess how a child feels…
LISTEN to what the child is saying…
WATCH how the child is behaving…
Are they running about, kicking a ball around, hitting against a wall, playing active games? Or, are they sitting about, sleeping, or just less active and more grumpy than normal?
Further reading
If you’d like to understand more about the symptoms of overtraining we can recommend the following article, published in the Telegraph since we wrote this post, Overtraining syndrome: five signs you need to take it easy.
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