A friend of mine has a 6 year old boy, who has just joined a Premier League clubs pre-academy group. After speaking to some of the parents, he has found out that some of the boys there (6 and 7 year olds) play 3-4 matches at the weekend and train everyday, sometimes twice.
I think that is too much and have advised against following suit, but was wondering if anyone here thinks their body now suffers from playing too much football at a young age? Or maybe not and you are fine?
Edit: I’m not looking for pro footballers opinions, anyone at any level.
Everyone is talking about physically injuries but for me it was mental. When I was a teen I was so competitive, I wanted play all the time and win all the time. I never quite got to academy level, but my school was one of the best in the region so there was an expectancy on us. And I played Sunday football, which was always way too serious. But by the age of 20 I’d totally fallen out of love with the game and used to get really anxious before games. I only kept going till mid-twenties cos my dad is football mad and I though he’d be annoyed if i quit. I think the amount I played in my teens was too much, that I just got burnout mentally.