09/09/2024
How much football is too much for 6-year-olds?
A lot has changed in grassroots football over the last 12 years!
This weekend, I coached my new U7 team in their first-ever ‘official’ match together at the club, and it was great!
I have already coached one team at the club from U7 to U16, and after a year off, I am back at the start again. A lot has changed in the 12 years since I last coached an U7 team.
Back then, we picked our training day, and everybody was like, ‘yeah, fine’. The boys' schedules were pretty open at age 6 back then.
During the recruitment process for new players this time around, I was struck by how busy today’s six-year-olds are compared to the U7s we recruited 12 years ago.
One parent told me that their son could play for us on Sundays but wouldn’t be able to train with us, as the other six days were already taken by development centres, pre-academies, and soccer schools.
That was an extreme example, but there are many boys now being asked to train with 3 or even 4 pre-academies a week, on top of their grassroots club commitments.
It feels like a lot of physical load on very young bodies to me, but is it too much?
💬 - I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
