Two useful ceilings
The first is the hours-versus-age rule: weekly hours of organised sport should not routinely exceed the athlete's age in years. A 12-year-old doing more than 12 hours a week of structured sport sits in the higher-risk group in multiple cohort studies.
The second is the ratio rule: hours of organised sport should not greatly exceed hours of free play and unstructured activity, particularly in younger children.
A sensible weekly structure
- Under 10: 2–4 sessions a week across varied activities, mostly play-based.
- 10–13: 3–5 sessions including one or two strength sessions, plus one rest day.
- 14–16: 4–6 sessions with two strength sessions, structured recovery, and an off-season.
- All ages: one full day completely off organised sport, every week.
Count everything
The most common cause of overload is not one demanding coach, it is four reasonable ones who cannot see each other's schedules. School PE, school team, club training, club matches, county sessions and extra private coaching all land on the same body.
Write the whole week down on one page. Most families are surprised by the total the first time they do it, and the fix is usually obvious once it is visible.
Rate of change
- Avoid week-on-week increases of more than roughly 30% in total load.
- Pre-season is the highest-risk period: build up over three to four weeks rather than starting at full volume.
- After illness or a break, return at around half the previous load and build back over two weeks.
- Tournament weeks count as a spike, plan a lighter week either side.
Signs there is too much
- Recurring niggles that move around the body.
- Morning stiffness that has become normal.
- Performance plateauing or declining despite more training.
- Mood changes, irritability, or reluctance to go to sessions they used to enjoy.
- Disturbed sleep, or being persistently exhausted at school.
- Frequent minor illness.
What to cut first
When something has to go, cut duplicated low-value volume rather than the things the athlete cares about most. A third weekly session of the same drills usually contributes less than a match, and far less than sleep.
Strength training is generally the last thing to remove, because it is the part of the week that raises capacity rather than just consuming it.