They are already doing it
Skipping, hopscotch and jumping off walls are plyometrics. Children have been doing them safely forever. The idea that plyometric training is an advanced adult method to be delayed until 16 does not survive contact with a playground.
What changes with a structured programme is intent: the exposures become planned, progressive and measured, rather than random.
Readiness criteria
None of those require a particular age. Many nine-year-olds meet them; some fifteen-year-olds do not.
- Can land from a small box and hold the position still for three seconds.
- Knees track over toes rather than collapsing inwards on landing.
- Can perform a controlled single-leg squat to a comfortable depth.
- Can follow coaching instructions and stop when told to.
- No current painful growth-related condition being aggravated by impact.
The progression
Each stage should be comfortable and technically sound for two to three weeks before moving on. Most youth injuries associated with plyometrics come from skipping stages, not from the method itself.
- Stage 1: landing mechanics - drop and stick, two feet, low height.
- Stage 2: rhythmic low-level jumping - pogo hops, skipping, ankle bounces.
- Stage 3: bilateral jumping for distance and height, with controlled landings.
- Stage 4: single-leg hops and lateral bounds, stuck landings.
- Stage 5: repeated and reactive hops, bounding, depth jumps.
- Stage 6: sport-specific reactive work with unpredictable cues.
How much is enough
- Beginners: 40–60 ground contacts per session, one to two sessions a week.
- Intermediate: 80–100 contacts, twice a week.
- Advanced adolescents: up to 120–140 contacts, with full recovery between sets.
- Always perform plyometrics fresh, before conditioning or heavy strength work.
During growth spurts and with current symptoms
During a rapid spurt, reduce jump height and volume and shift the emphasis onto landing quality. If the athlete currently has Sever's disease, Osgood-Schlatter or SLJ, plyometrics is reintroduced late in rehab - after strength work, and after pain-free hopping, rather than removed permanently.
Why it is worth doing
Plyometric training improves sprint speed, jump height and change of direction, and it builds tendon and bone capacity that protects against exactly the growth-related conditions parents worry about. Avoiding impact entirely does not make a young athlete safer, it leaves them unprepared for a sport that is full of it.