Because your teen athlete’s growing body can change so quickly, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the season ahead so his or her muscles and joints aren’t shocked to return to the stresses and movements of sports. Preparing in the offseason can lower your teen’s risk for a training-related injury when practice starts next season.

It can be a little stressful figuring out the best ways to help your teen between sports seasons, but the sports medicine team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is here to share tips on how to get your kid back on the field, court or course safely after the offseason.

“Parents and coaches should be mindful of how to properly help a teen condition his or her body to safely return to sports after taking time off,” says Logan Caplan, MD, Children’s sports medicine primary care physician.

So what are the best ways for your teen to prep in the offseason?

Every sport is unique, but our pediatric sports medicine experts recommend these five tips to up your game.

1. Cross-train for balance

Focusing on a different sport during the offseason gives often-used bones and muscles a break and lets them practice different movement patterns. For example, soccer requires a lot of dynamic running, so your soccer player could try biking, swimming or low-intensity jogging as cross-training. Cross-training is a great way for your teen to participate in multiple sports. Your teen can continue to increase his or her skills and strength while his or her bones are still growing without overstressing any one area of the body for too long.

2. Do strength and cardiovascular training for performance

Strength exercises engage muscles that athletes use in their sports and make them stronger and more coordinated. A strength training program utilizes body weight exercises, resistance bands, weight machines, and free weights to help strengthen muscle groups specific to an athlete’s performance. Correcting relative muscular weaknesses in the offseason is an important way to prevent injury, especially of the core and posterior chain (muscles of the backside of the body including the rotator cuff, glutes, and hamstrings). There are even specific programs for ACL injury prevention, like the FIFA 11+ program. Some parents are concerned that strength training and weight-lifting may be detrimental to youth athletes’ development and growth. However, there is great evidence to show that not only is resistance training safe for developing growth plates, but it may actually be beneficial for bone growth as long as it loads are progressed properly under adequate supervision.

Cardiovascular exercise, or aerobic exercise, involves any sustained activity that increase heart rate and breathing rate to build stamina and function of the heart and lungs. These exercises, like swimming or jogging, allow an athlete to play his or her sport for longer periods of time before becoming fatigued.

To find an appropriate training program for your teen, look into working with a sports performance coach or personal trainer who is familiar with your child’s sport of interest and appropriate exercise mechanics.

3. Improve flexibility

Due to rapid growth during childhood and again during adolescence, youth athletes are prone to muscular tightness which can lead to pain and injury. Tightness may increase during the offseason when the athlete is less active. Therefore, the offseason is a great time to improve flexibility by doing regular exercises that help lengthen and loosen the muscles used in his or her sport. A exercise program prescribed a personal trainer or coach is a great place to start. Yoga and Pilates are two activities that can also help improve flexibility and core stabilization in growing athletes.

4. Eat healthy, hydrate and sleep well

Eating healthy meals, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep are just as important when a teen is taking time off as they are during the sports season. Maintaining proper nutrition in the offseason keeps muscles and bones strong and growing, and hydration can help an athlete avoid heat-related illness during hot training months. Check out these breakfast and lunch ideas to fuel your athlete. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 9 to 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night for children 6 to 12 years old and 8 to 10 hours of sleep for children ages 13 to 17, with at least 7 hours per night recommended for those 18 years and older. Teens who do not get enough sleep are at a higher risk for obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, and problems with attention and behavior.

5. Return to sports slowly

If athletes jump back into their sports at full volume and intensity too quickly, they are more likely to experience an overuse injury. In the weeks leading up to the start of a new season, teens should slowly resume training. They should gradually increase the number of days per week and the length of time they practice, as well as the intensity of their practice. For example, one month prior to the start of a season, athletes may increase training volume inclemently by 15 minutes per session (i.e. practice twice in the first week for 45 minutes, three times in the second week for 60 minutes and so on) until they are back to practicing full time and are ready for competition.