what would you do?

[skatingmum2]

One of dd's closest skating friends confided in her - says her mother has not allowed a day off for nearly 6 weeks now and she is exhausted. I'm a PhD (and the kids think I'm the last word on anything "science")and she told my daughter - "can't your mum find an article about children needing a day off a week and then I can accidently make sure my mum finds it".

To be fair - none of this is our business and I have my usual "keep your head down and stay out of it" policy - but - my daughter (and her friend) are convinced this is the way to go.

I haven't even looked if there is a scientific basis to the day off a week (coaches have always told us this is how it should be and thats what we've done and it works for us). However - even if this is the case I'm not convinced I should interfere.

I suspect the main coach of this skater is unaware just how much she is doing and reckon dd's friend should tell her.

[Sk8tmum]

How old is the kid? 

[jjane45]

And how many hours does she skate?

[nicklaszlo]

I think a lot depends on the condition of the skater and the sort of training she is doing.  In some sports (I think usually racing) it is normal for adults to train eight hours every day.  In others, you don't do more than every other day.  My guess is that this has not been studied in skating.  Some kinesiology or sports medicine department really should start a skating research program.

If you think this skater is at risk of injury specifically because she's being forced to skate, then I think you are obligated to take some action, presumably starting with the skater's coach.  But it's up to your judgment to determine the line between unpleasant and dangerous.

I've often seen less-experienced coaches have small children do large numbers of off-ice jumps.  Something like 50+ doubles.  Do you think that is safe?

[AgnesNitt]

(Edited)
You want scientific basis on the effects of not having a rest day? Here's citations from the Wikipedia article on overtraining: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtraining. Since most of these are from medical journals I think they should suffice in providing scientific justification for having a rest day.

^ Roose, J; De Vries, WR; Schmikli, SL; Backx, FJ; Van Doornen, LJ (2009). "Evaluation and opportunities in overtraining approaches". Research quarterly for exercise and sport 80 (4): 756–64. PMID 20025117. edit
^ Jeremy Adams, Robert J. Kirkby (1998), "Exercise dependence: A review of its manifestation, theory and measurement", Research in Sports Medicine 8 (3): 265–276, doi:10.1080/15438629809512532
^ Draeger J, Yates A, Crowell D. 2005. The obligatory exerciser: assessing an overcommitment to exercise. Pys Sportsmed. 33(6): 13-23.
^ Dave R. Baldwin (2002-03-27), Exercise Motivational Triggers, iUniverse, p. 53, ISBN 9780595216031
^ [Bresciani G, Cuevas MJ, Molinero O, Almar M, Suay F, Salvador A, de Paz JA, Marquez S, Gonzalez-Gallego J. 2011. Signs of overload after an intensified training.International Journal of Sports Medicine. 32(5): 338-343. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21380974 ]
^ Sharp, NC; Koutedakis, Y (1992). "Sport and the overtraining syndrome: immunological aspects". British medical bulletin 48 (3): 518–33. PMID 1450881. edit
^ Bresciani G, Cuevas MJ, Molinero O, Almar M, Suay F, Salvador A, de Paz JA, Marquez S, Gonzalez-Gallego J. 2011. Signs of overload after an intensified training.International Journal of Sports Medicine. 32(5): 338-343. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21380974
^ Smith DJ (2003), "A framework for understanding the training process leading to elite performance", Sports medicine 33 (15): 1103–26, doi:10.2165/00007256-200333150-00003, PMID 14719980

You want non-technical citations for people who aren't physicians? The about.com article are pretty good.
Training rest Day
Overtraining

As to what you should do? Well, I'll be interested in seeing what the skate moms have to say. If the hours are to the extent that the child feels abused then that's an interesting question. Mention it to the skating director and let her investigate and handle it behind the scenes? It depends on the director and the coach I suppose. I thought about this and decided I want to withdraw the idea. There's a lot wrong with it.

[skatingmum2]

Dd's friend is 11 and doing about 14+ hours on ice/week (a guess on dd's part - it could be slightly more), 6 hours off ice training/week plus ballet twice a week (no idea how long the sessions but starting pointwork) and flexibility at home every night.

Thanks for the links - the about.com one looks the most readable although not sure if I want the source traced anywhere near me.

Above mentioned child does have chronic knee problems but apparantly these are related to growth spurts rather than overtraining (or so sports-med person told the mother).

[AgnesNitt]

Skate moms have it hard. I don't envy you being in your position. As a singleton, I get to plead total ignorance about other people's kids.

[Sk8tmum]

Kid's old enough to talk to her coach; if the coach doesn't know about all of this training (which I believe was part of your original post). She should be talking to the coach about her concerns. Coach needs to know, particularly if she is a main/base coach.  BTW: what happened six weeks ago? The reference to "in the past six weeks" - is this a) new b) or as a result of, say, a summer program or something else? I know my guys kick their on-ice hours up to about that in the summer ...

Skate Canada has specific "guidelines" for age appropriate training - I'm not sure if it's publicly searchable or not, but, I'll try to find either the link OR I'll copy and paste it. Somewhere or another, I remember hearing that the USFSA also does. Sport-specific guidelines are more likely to influence parents.

Then again, I remember my kid at around the same age informing an adult that we were "cruel and horrible people" who "made him train every hour possible" and that he "was miserable and hated it" and "had no life".  Ahem. He was p**ssed off because we took away his electronic game because he was playing it at night instead of sleeping.  We had a very nasty phone call from the individual with whom he shared his woes.  They also felt very embarrased and upset when they found out from him what the reality was ... he learned a major lesson about being honest and the value of personal integrity ... 

[skatingmum2]

Your last paragraph and the potential thereof is exactly why I've avoided being involved. Base coach away and has not been around a few weeks and yes - its school holidays so the potential is there to skate 3 times a day 7 days a week.

You're right - this kid needs to chat to her coach about it when she gets back. Think thats the line I will take with my daughter.

(OTOH my daughter says I'm mean and cruel because I won't let her skate as much as she wants to - think she'd learn after previous significant injury. She's also tried her hardest to avoid our family holiday later this week).