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There Is Such A Thing As Playing Too Much Soccer
The Washington Post recently wrote an article that discussed the injuries that can be associated with the sport as a result of being overworked. Playing soccer year-round is definitely helpful when trying to be recruited by college coaches and is a necessity for higher level teams, but you have to be careful not to overdo it.
It’s common to play on your club team year-round and then when your high school season comes around, your schedule will become more intense as you juggle the schedule of both teams. There is typically more of a risk of overdoing it when an athlete is a full-time member of multiple club teams throughout the year. One of the athletes that was mentioned in the article plays approximately 90 games in a year and has already had a long list of injuries that she has incurred in the past year. To these athletes and to most other athletes, all of the injuries they were able to recover from are worth it if they have the opportunity to play soccer in college.
Not everyone is so lucky, however. Some injuries are career-ending or consistently re-occurring. Concussions are becoming more and more frequent and they commonly go undiagnosed. ACL tears are increasing as well, especially in females. These are all serious injuries and they can have lifelong affects on an athlete. Accidents happen on the field, but you should do everything you can to make sure they don’t and that you can stay healthy.
It is essential for an athlete with aspirations of playing collegiate soccer to be dedicated, but it is not wise to overload yourself 365 days of the year. Your body simply cannot handle the stress and you need to give yourself some recovery time. If you don’t, you will be too mentally and physically drained to perform at your best and may actually hurt your chances of being recruited. You will increase your chances of injury and if you do get injured, your body will take longer to come back from those injuries.
In order to be a collegiate athlete, you must make sacrifices and you must be disciplined, but you also have to listen to your body and be smart. It’s admirable if you want to get as much experience as you can and play in the best tournaments possible, but it is not worth it to overload yourself to the point of risking your health. Most doctors recommend that adolescents take off one or two days per week of competition or training in order to remain healthy. You shouldn’t be playing seven days a week and have multiple games or practices on the majority of those days. If you are constantly falling asleep in class and are struggling through practice, you need to take a break.
College coaches don’t expect you to be on 5 different teams and play every single day of the year. Many have even acknowledged this trend and have spoken up on the dangers. The recruiting process can be overwhelming and you have to find out what the best balance is for you because it will be different for everyone. Your soccer schedule should not have a negative effect on your grades or your health; if it starts to, you need to make some changes. You won’t be beneficial to any team if you aren’t one hundred percent physically or if you don’t have the grades to attend the school. Soccer should be a large part of your life if you intend to continue playing in college, but it should never affect you in a bad way. Challenge yourself, but be smart. There are a lot of quality soccer teams out there, and if you work hard and keep yourself healthy you will give yourself the best chance.
About NCSA:
NCSA, the “Official Scouting Organization and Provider of Recruiting Education” for Cal South, is the premier source for matching high school student–athletes with colleges and universities across the country. Visit www.ncsasports.org for more information about NCSA.
