Limit the Amount of time they Spend Practicing a Sport- Studies have shown that athletes should practice fewer hours a week than years they are old. For example, if your athlete is 12, he or she should not practice/play more than 12 hours per week (Jayanthi 2013).

Encourage Free Play- Athletes should have a 2-1 free play to structured play ratio. This means athletes should be encouraged to be doing whatever they want, without coaching twice as long as they should be in a structured coaching environment such as practice (Jayanthi 2013).

Understand Kids get Stressed- Athletes feel pressured by parents to perform well, especially when parents have paid money for the athlete to play on a select team (Jayanthi 2013). It is important to take a slow and steady approach to allow the athlete to train at the level of their maturity. This is a healthier approach to training and will keep your athlete physically and mentally healthier (Halvorson 2014).

Car Pool-Some families find it hard to get their athlete to and from practice or games. See if there are other families who would be interested in car-pooling and alternating days for pick up and drop off.

Scholarships- Many schools have gone to a "Pay-to-play" model, which requires each student to pay a fee to participate in each sport. Many schools have combated this by creating scholarship funds to help parents pay for their students to play. School booster clubs have also started to create scholarship accounts to help. Before telling your student they cannot do a sport because of the financial burden, check with your athletic director and booster club.