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The Biggest Mistake I'm Seeing Athletes Make

Jack Anderson, MS, CSCS · February 2, 2026

This February, as we transition from winter to spring sports, athletes must focus on planning out their approach to this transition.

For athletes approaching the end of their season, it is a MUST they take time to rest before they move onto their next sport or club sports. I am seeing overuse injuries in athletes across multiple sports and that will only continue to increase if they don’t significantly reduce practice and playing time for 2-4 weeks after their season ends.

Taking time off can feel counterproductive, but it is critical to allow joints, muscles and the mind to recover from the stresses of the season. Over time, strategic periods of rest will help offset, injury and burnout while helping support long-term performance success.

For athletes entering their seasons, most teams open the year with a huge spike in workload over practice, fitness and team lifting sessions. Most kids have not done enough to prepare for the demands of the first few weeks of their sport.

Without fail, this drives inflammation/soreness, tendon pain and loss of mobility. All of this can increase injury risk and leave the athlete in a compromised position entering the regular season.

While some of this is unavoidable, athletes and their parents need to do the following:

  1. Advocate for coaches to have a more structured increase in workload in the preaseason - sport coaches need to be held responsible for intelligent, safe practice plans

  2. Dial in their sleep, nutrition and daily mobility/prep work

  3. Prepare with a knowledgeable performance coach so they can either handle the increased workload or have a resource to help them navigate any injuries that occur with the workload spike.

Ultimately, these transitions between seasons, are where athletes often go wrong and can severely set back their progression/career. The goal should be to maximize performance over a four-year period rather than burn the candle at both ends month after month and flame out before the end of high school.