Youth sports injuries are dominated by three causes: cold starts, unmanaged load, and unspoken fatigue. All three are within a parent's and coach's control.
Warm-up: not optional, not decorative
A structured 10–12 minute warm-up (RAMP or FIFA 11+ for football, dynamic mobility + sport-specific movement for others) meaningfully reduces soft-tissue injuries. A coach who skips this or shortens it to "kick a ball around" is a red flag.
Workload: sessions per week is the wrong metric
Total minutes at high intensity, and back-to-back days with no recovery, matter more. If your child does club training Tuesday and Thursday, a match Saturday, and a 1-to-1 Sunday morning — that's four hard days in seven. Rotate what a 1-to-1 focuses on based on that context.
Fatigue is data, not weakness
A tired 12-year-old doing repeat sprint drills is how hamstring injuries happen. Give juniors permission to say "I'm knackered" — and coaches worth their fee will adjust the session on the spot rather than pushing through.
If pain is present rather than fatigue, that's a physio conversation. See our guide to what a sports physio does.