Why is Injury Prevention Important in Youth Athletes?

Injury prevention is a crucial part of youth sports, yet it's often overlooked. When kids are involved in sports, they want to push themselves, compete, and improve—but their bodies are still developing. That makes them more vulnerable to injuries, especially if they're overtrained or don’t have proper technique. Injuries in youth athletes can lead to long-term health issues, missed seasons, and sometimes even a lifelong impact on their athletic careers.

One of the most important steps in injury prevention is proper training. Coaches and parents should focus on teaching the right skills and techniques from the start. This includes doing the less glamorous drills that are not nearly as fun as the sport they are doing. A child who learns how to move correctly—whether it’s how to run, jump, or tackle—reduces their risk of strain and stress on their muscles and joints. It’s also key to make sure athletes don’t specialize too early in one sport. Playing multiple sports helps develop a wider range of skills and gives specific muscles and joints time to recover, lowering the risk of overuse injuries like tendinitis or stress fractures.

Rest and recovery are equally important. Youth athletes need time to rest and let their bodies heal, particularly during intense training periods or in-season play. Without sufficient rest, fatigue sets in, increasing the likelihood of injury. Coaches and parents should encourage healthy habits like stretching, hydration, and good nutrition, which play a big role in preventing injuries.

At Empower Youth we specialize in full body conditioning. Working on those small stabilizing muscles to support their bigger counterparts. 

If you have a child that is active in a sport or is a multi-sport athlete you might want to consider doing supplemental training that can help prevent injuries and round out their overall training program.

Check out our great Varsity, Junior Varsity and Homeschool PE programs on our website. We also offer customized personal training, small group and team training. Go to Empower Youth Fitness and Development for more information. Come join us today!

See you at the gym

-OG

Thursday Workout

This week we will take on a strength set. We will be doing a 5x3 Back Squat. Depending on where you are in your training, this can be a solid working set or you can go heavier and do a 3 rep max. This workout was previously done on April 2, 2024 and April 3, 2023 so take a look and set your goals for tomorrow. For those morning crew, it is coffee time!

WOD

Back squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

Compare to 240402 and 230403.