Here in the northeast the weather starts to get chilly and the soccer turns from the outdoor version to the indoor version. Here is what I have been seeing from youth indoor soccer: injuries, over training, bad habits, burn out. Let’s look at the schedule for a soccer player that plays all year round starting in the fall season
August- Preseason and start of some seasons
Sept- Mid to late November- Actual spring season
November-March- Indoor season sometimes three different sessions
March - May - Spring season
June - july Playoffs, regionals, camps
When is the recovery time?
The most important seasons are spring and fall not the winter season or the indoor season but i see far to many coaches put a large emphasis on winning during the indoor season. Causing all sorts of issues. It is virtually impossible to play 12 months of high level soccer without risking health, injury, and love of the game.
One of the major problems is that many of the overuse injuries seem minor at the time but build up slowly as the winter season ends and the spring season starts. The injuries may come and go or change from one spot to another. This is a brutal injury cycle that does not allow the body to fully recover. This injury cycle can lead to frustration and loss of performance.
I am not saying that you should not have practices or even play games during the winter season but the emphasis should be on player development not winning a indoor session or indoor tournament. This is also a great time to increase your overall all strength and speed for the spring season.
This is just the beginning of this topic for me, as the winter season starts to ramp up more I will keep you posted on the observations of the athletes i am working with.