Early-Season injury prevention key to protecting young athletes, says sports health expert

By Emmanuel Sekago

As schools and sports clubs begin a new competitive season, sports health experts are emphasizing the importance of injury prevention programs for young athletes to ensure their safety, development, and long-term participation in sports.

Gabriel Isaac Otuk, Director of FHNS Brand, says injury prevention promotion is particularly crucial during the early stages of a season because young athletes’ bodies are still growing and developing.

“Sudden spikes in training volume make young athletes highly vulnerable to both acute injuries such as sprains and chronic overuse injuries,” Otuk told Wallnetnews Digital.

According to Otuk, early education on injury prevention helps establish safe movement habits, improves joint stability, and prevents minor aches and soreness from escalating into more serious injuries that could derail an athlete’s season.

He explained that children and adolescents have open growth plates in their bones, which remain vulnerable to repetitive stress and excessive training loads before full skeletal maturity is reached.

“During rapid growth spurts, bones often lengthen faster than the surrounding muscles and tendons can adapt. This creates muscular tightness, affects balance and coordination, and can temporarily make young athletes more prone to strains, tears, and other injuries,” he said.

Otuk noted that at the beginning of a season, many athletes are eager to perform and often push their bodies beyond their current fitness levels.

“When training intensity and volume increase faster than the body’s ability to recover, severe fatigue and tissue breakdown can occur, increasing the risk of injury,” he added.

He emphasized the importance of teaching proper movement mechanics during early-season training sessions, including correct squatting, landing, and directional change techniques.

“Promoting safe techniques programs the nervous system and significantly reduces the risk of serious ligament injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears as competition intensifies,” Otuk explained.

He further noted that building a strong foundation through strength training, flexibility exercises, and proper workload management helps prevent early burnout and protects athletes from chronic pain conditions that can negatively affect their lifelong relationship with physical activity.

To minimize injury risks, Otuk recommends that coaches and trainers gradually increase the duration, intensity, and complexity of training sessions rather than immediately introducing full-intensity practices.

He also advocates for structured warm-up programs and plyometric exercises, such as the FIFA 11+ and Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) programs, which are designed to improve balance, coordination, and dynamic stability.

Additionally, he urged coaches and parents to ensure young athletes receive adequate recovery time between training sessions and competitions.

“Athletes should be encouraged to participate in multiple sports rather than specializing in a single sport year-round. This promotes overall athletic development, reduces repetitive stress on specific muscle groups, and lowers the risk of overuse injuries,” he said.

Otuk believes that prioritizing injury prevention at the start of every season not only keeps athletes healthy but also enhances performance, confidence, and long-term enjoyment of sport.

“As we develop the next generation of athletes, injury prevention must become part of the training culture. Keeping young athletes healthy is the first step toward helping them reach their full potential,” he concluded.