Every year, we hear the same thing from parents.
“My athlete is starting their season, so we’re going to pause sports performance training for now.”
At first, that makes sense.
Your child already has practices. Games are starting. School is back. Their schedule is packed. The last thing you want is to add more stress to their body.
But then a few weeks go by.
Your athlete starts looking slower. Their legs feel heavy. Their knees, ankles, hips, or back start bothering them. They are tired after games. Their confidence dips because they do not feel as strong, quick, or explosive as they did during the summer.
What happened?
They did not suddenly lose talent.
They stopped doing the sports performance training that helped them build strength, speed, power, movement quality, and durability in the first place.
That is why parents need to rethink the idea of “taking the season off.”
For many youth athletes, there is no real off-season anymore. Between school teams, club teams, tournaments, showcases, camps, private lessons, and weekend games, athletes are playing more than ever. According to Project Play, an estimated 27.3 million youth ages 6 to 17 participated in organized sports in 2023, which was about 55.4% of kids in that age group. [1]
But playing more does not always mean their body is prepared to handle more.
That is where in-season sports performance training matters.
It is not about adding more practice.
It is not about making athletes more tired.
It is not about replacing sport skill work.
In-season sports performance training is about helping your athlete stay strong, fast, powerful, healthy, and confident while they are competing.
Youth sports today are very different from what many parents grew up with.
A lot of athletes used to play one sport in the fall, another in the winter, another in the spring, and then spend the summer being active in different ways. Their bodies experienced different movements, different speeds, and different physical demands.
Now, many youth athletes play the same sport most of the year.
They go from school season to club season. Then club season turns into tournaments. Then tournaments turn into camps and showcases. Before you know it, there is barely a break.
That year-round schedule matters because athletes are often repeating the same movements over and over with less time to recover or build their bodies outside of sport. Research on youth sport specialization has linked higher levels of specialization with increased injury risk, especially overuse injuries. [2]
Practice helps skill.
Games help competition.
Private lessons can help technique.
But none of those fully replace sports performance training.
Sports performance training develops the physical qualities that support the athlete:
Strength
Speed
Power
Mobility
Balance
Deceleration
Landing mechanics
Change of direction
Core control
Injury-risk reduction
If your athlete is only playing their sport, they may be getting more sport reps, but they may not be building the body that helps them handle the season.
A lot of parents still think the sports year works like this:
Off-season: build strength and speed
Pre-season: get ready
In-season: just play
Post-season: rest
That sounds simple, but it does not match the reality of youth sports anymore.
For many athletes, the “off-season” is only a few short weeks between teams, tournaments, or showcases. If your child only does sports performance training when the calendar is quiet, they may only be developing strength and speed for a small part of the year.
The problem is that strength, speed, and power are not qualities athletes build once and keep forever.
They need to be maintained.
If your athlete gets stronger and faster in the summer, then stops sports performance training completely once games start, those qualities can begin to fade. That is one reason athletes often look great early in the season, then start to slow down, feel beat up, or lose confidence halfway through.
In-season sports performance training helps prevent that drop-off.
The goal is not to train harder than the season.
The goal is to support the season.
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings in youth sports.
More games do not automatically create a stronger, healthier, or more durable athlete.
More games create more exposure.
More games create more experience.
More games create more stress on the body.
The question is whether your athlete’s body is prepared to handle that stress.
Research on youth sport specialization has identified several risk factors, including playing one sport year-round, playing on multiple teams, and participating in more weekly organized sport hours than the athlete’s age in years. [2]
That last point matters.
If a 13-year-old is doing more than 13 hours per week of organized sport activity, that may increase the risk of overuse problems.
That does not mean your athlete is weak.
It means the total workload matters.
If your athlete is practicing multiple days per week, playing games on weekends, doing private lessons, and traveling for tournaments, their body is constantly absorbing stress.
In-season sports performance training helps support the body through that stress by building strength, improving movement quality, and addressing weak links before they become bigger problems.
This is important for parents to understand.
In-season sports performance training is not the same thing as more sport practice.
It is not another shooting lesson.
It is not another hitting lesson.
It is not more ball handling.
It is not more conditioning just to make athletes tired.
In-season sports performance training is physical preparation.
It helps your athlete maintain the qualities they need to perform well during their season.
Those qualities include:
Strength to absorb contact
Speed to separate from opponents
Power to jump, sprint, throw, or strike
Mobility to move efficiently
Deceleration to slow down safely
Single-leg strength to cut and change direction
Core control to transfer force
Tendon strength to tolerate repeated stress
Better mechanics to reduce wasted movement
Sport practice helps your athlete play the sport.
Sports performance training helps your athlete build the body to handle the sport.
Both matter.
Parents often worry that in-season sports performance training will make their athlete too tired.
That is a fair concern.
Bad sports performance training can absolutely be too much during the season.
But good in-season sports performance training is not about crushing athletes. It is about giving them the right dose at the right time.
During the season, sports performance training should focus on:
Maintaining strength
Maintaining speed and power
Improving movement quality
Managing fatigue
Reducing unnecessary soreness
Supporting recovery
Addressing aches before they become injuries
Helping the athlete feel confident and prepared
In-season sports performance training should not look exactly like off-season sports performance training.
The volume is usually lower.
The exercise selection is more intentional.
The goal is quality, not exhaustion.
A good in-season sports performance session should leave your athlete feeling better, sharper, and more prepared, not destroyed.
Strength is one of the most important qualities a youth athlete can develop.
It supports almost everything else.
Stronger athletes are often better prepared to:
Sprint
Jump
Land
Cut
Change direction
Absorb contact
Hold position
Stay balanced
Handle the demands of practice and games
Strength also plays an important role in reducing injury risk.
A major systematic review and meta-analysis found that strength training reduced sports injuries to less than one-third, and overuse injuries could be almost cut in half. [3]
That is a big deal for parents.
If your athlete stops sports performance training during the season, they may be removing one of the best tools they have for staying strong and durable.
This does not mean your athlete needs to max out during the season.
It means they need smart, age-appropriate strength work that fits around their sport schedule.
For many athletes, one to two in-season sports performance sessions per week can help maintain strength and keep the body prepared.
Parents notice speed right away.
You can see when your athlete looks explosive.
You can also see when they start looking slow, heavy, or tired.
Many athletes build speed and power during the off-season, then lose some of it during the season because they stop training those qualities directly.
Playing the sport does not always solve this.
A soccer player may run a lot during practice, but that does not mean they are getting true acceleration work, max-speed exposure, or sprint mechanics.
A basketball player may sprint in transition, but that does not mean they are improving first-step quickness, landing mechanics, or deceleration.
A volleyball player may jump often, but that does not mean they are building the strength and landing control needed to tolerate repeated jumping.
A softball, baseball, lacrosse, field hockey, football, or tennis athlete may play often, but still need sports performance training to maintain strength, power, speed, and durability.
In-season sports performance training helps athletes keep those physical qualities alive while they compete.
Parents are right to care about rest.
Youth athletes need recovery.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that young athletes take at least 1 to 2 days off per week from competition and sport-specific training, and 2 to 3 months away from any one specific sport during the year. [4]
That is important.
But rest from sport-specific activity does not always mean stopping sports performance training completely.
There is a difference between:
Taking a break from repetitive sport stress
Skipping unnecessary extra practices
Reducing tournament overload
Doing smart in-season sports performance training that supports the body
A well-designed in-season sports performance session can actually help your athlete feel better because it addresses things sport practice often misses.
That may include:
Mobility
Strength
Core control
Landing mechanics
Deceleration
Balance
Tendon strength
Low-volume power work
Recovery-based movement
The key is not to do more for the sake of doing more.
The key is to do the right things.
Many parents feel pressure to have their child specialize early.
They worry that if their athlete plays fewer tournaments, skips a showcase, or takes a break from one sport, they will fall behind.
But early specialization comes with risks.
The National Athletic Trainers’ Association has stated that current evidence supports an association between sport specialization and overuse injury in adolescent and young athletes. [5]
This matters because specialization often exposes athletes to the same movements over and over.
A soccer player repeats sprinting, cutting, kicking, and decelerating.
A basketball player repeats jumping, landing, cutting, and sprinting.
A volleyball player repeats jumping, landing, approach steps, and overhead movements.
A baseball or softball player repeats throwing, swinging, sprinting, and rotational patterns.
The more repetitive the sport schedule becomes, the more important it is to develop the body outside of that sport pattern.
Sports performance training gives athletes the strength, control, and movement variety they may not get from sport practice alone.
In-season sports performance training should be simple, focused, and efficient.
It should not be random.
It should not be designed to leave athletes sore for days.
It should be built around what the athlete needs during the season.
A good in-season sports performance session may include:
This gets the athlete warm, improves mobility, and prepares the body for better movement.
Examples include:
Dynamic warm-up
Hip mobility
Ankle mobility
Skips
Crawls
Band activation
Movement coordination drills
This should be low-volume and high-quality.
The goal is to keep the athlete explosive without creating too much fatigue.
Examples include:
Short accelerations
Low-volume jumps
Med ball throws
Sprint mechanics
Landing practice
Change of direction technique
This helps maintain the foundation that supports performance.
Examples include:
Trap bar deadlifts
Goblet squats
Split squats
Push-ups
Rows
Romanian deadlifts
Carries
This targets areas that are commonly stressed during sports.
Examples include:
Hamstring strength
Adductor strength
Calf and Achilles work
Shoulder stability
Core control
Single-leg balance
Deceleration mechanics
This helps the athlete leave feeling better.
Examples include:
Breathing
Mobility
Light movement
Soft tissue work
Low-intensity cooldown
An in-season sports performance session does not need to be long to be effective.
It needs to be consistent, intentional, and appropriate for the athlete’s schedule.
For most youth athletes, one to two sports performance training sessions per week is enough during the season.
The right number depends on:
Age
Sport
Practice schedule
Game schedule
Tournament load
Training history
Injury history
Sleep
Stress
Time of year
A beginner athlete may only need one in-season sports performance session per week to maintain strength and movement quality.
A more experienced athlete may benefit from two shorter sessions per week.
The biggest mistake is treating in-season sports performance training like off-season sports performance training.
During the season, the question should be:
“What does this athlete need to perform and recover this week?”
Not:
“How hard can we make this workout?”
Your athlete may benefit from in-season sports performance training if you notice:
They look slower as the season goes on
They complain about knee, ankle, hip, back, or shoulder pain
They lose strength during the season
They get tired late in games
They struggle to recover between practices
They look stiff or heavy when moving
They have poor landing or cutting mechanics
They are playing on multiple teams
They are specializing in one sport
They have a history of overuse injuries
They looked great after summer, then declined once the season started
These are signs the body may need more support.
In-season sports performance training helps address these problems before they become bigger issues.
When youth athletes stop sports performance training during the season, several things can happen.
They may lose strength.
They may lose power.
They may lose speed.
They may lose movement quality.
They may become more dependent on sport practice alone to stay in shape.
They may keep adding sport stress without enough physical support.
This is why many athletes feel great after a strong summer, then start to break down halfway through the season.
They built the foundation, then stopped maintaining it.
Think about it like this.
You would not tell your athlete to eat well only in the off-season.
You would not tell them to sleep well only in the summer.
You would not tell them to warm up only before the season starts.
Sports performance training works the same way.
It does not need to take over the schedule.
But it should stay in the plan.
The biggest shift is this:
In-season sports performance training is not extra.
It is support.
It supports strength.
It supports speed.
It supports power.
It supports movement quality.
It supports durability.
It supports confidence.
It supports the athlete’s ability to keep competing.
Your athlete’s body is still growing. They are dealing with school, homework, practices, games, travel, pressure, and fatigue.
They do not need random hard workouts.
They need smart sports performance training that fits the season.
That means the program should adjust based on what is happening in their sport schedule.
Some weeks may be lighter.
Some weeks may include more recovery.
Some weeks may focus more on strength maintenance.
Some weeks may focus more on speed, power, or movement quality.
The goal is not to do everything all the time.
The goal is to give the athlete what they need at the right time.
For many youth athletes, not really.
There may be a break from one team.
There may be a few weeks between seasons.
There may be a lighter month in the calendar.
But the old idea of a long off-season where athletes can fully rebuild is becoming less common.
That is why parents should stop thinking of sports performance training as something athletes only do when their sport is not happening.
The better question is:
“What does my athlete need right now?”
In the off-season, they may need more strength, speed development, muscle, and power.
In the pre-season, they may need to prepare for the demands of practice and competition.
In-season, they need to maintain strength, speed, power, mobility, and durability while managing fatigue.
Sports performance training should change with the season.
But it should not disappear.
There is no true off-season for many youth athletes anymore.
That does not mean athletes should be pushed harder all year.
It means they need smarter sports performance training throughout the year.
If your athlete is practicing, competing, traveling, and playing tournaments, their body needs support.
In-season sports performance training helps athletes maintain strength, speed, power, movement quality, and confidence while reducing the risk of breaking down during the season.
Parents do not need to choose between sport and sports performance training.
They need to understand how the two work together.
The athletes who stay healthy and continue improving are usually not the ones doing the most.
They are the ones doing the right things consistently.
At Prepare for Performance in Rockville, MD, we help youth athletes train with purpose during every phase of the year.
Our in-season sports performance training helps athletes maintain strength, improve speed, build power, move better, reduce injury risk, and stay ready to compete.
If your athlete is in-season and you are worried about them getting slower, losing strength, or feeling beat up, we can help.
Reach out to Prepare for Performance to learn more about our youth sports performance training program in Rockville, MD.
Project Play. “Youth Sports Facts: Participation Rates.” Project Play reported that 27.3 million youth ages 6 to 17 participated in organized sports in 2023, about 55.4% of kids in that age group. Read source
Jayanthi, N. et al. “Health Consequences of Youth Sport Specialization.” This review discusses the relationship between youth sport specialization and injury risk, especially overuse injuries. Read source
Lauersen, J. B. et al. “The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries.” This systematic review and meta-analysis found strength training reduced sports injuries to less than one-third and overuse injuries could be almost halved. Read source
American Academy of Pediatrics. “Professionalization of youth sports can lead to burnout, overuse injuries.” The AAP recommends young athletes take 1 to 2 days off per week from competition and sport-specific training and 2 to 3 months away from one specific sport each year. Read source
National Athletic Trainers’ Association. “Sport Specialization Recommendations for Adolescent and Young Athletes.” NATA states current evidence supports an association between sport specialization and overuse injury in adolescent and young athletes. Read source
