ABSTRACT
To facilitate optimal participation and performance in adolescent sport, coaches and sport scientists need to ensure appropriate load management. The training and game demands of some sports for adolescents are becoming increasingly more adult-like (Hollander, 1995). With a ‘more is better’ approach in some training programmes, detrimental effects on health, performance and participation are possible outcomes for adolescents (Polman and Houlahan, 2004). Consequently, there is a need to monitor young players’ participation in sports to determine the most appropriate work loads. The overriding need is to ensure future participation and performance are not compromised (Smith, 2003).
