Mick’s Treatment Table
I have been spending a lot of time at
the magnificent St Georges Park football centre in Burton recently and was there all last week with the countries young elite keepers. I am actually typing this article on my phone in Witton Park in Blackburn which is a big country park where Rovers trained every day during the 80s. We used to clean the dog poo off our selected training area and then unroll long thin sheets of white lino for the touchlines. No gloves,hats,energy drinks or heartrate monitors just good old fashioned sweat and toil on that muddy surface. Standing here now looking over that bog like field the memories are pin sharp. Memories of a different era. In those days we didn’t warm up properly, didn’t eat, sleep or prepare properly and the quality of some of the football of that
with Mick “Baz” Rathbone
I would say this to all aspiring young footballers: get to know your body, what it takes to fuel it, warm it up and cool it down. Select well fitted comfortable footwear with the right studs for the right surface. ALWAYS wear shinpads even for training and ensure you belong to a club that does not encourage reckless challenges! If you have pain stop training until the pain goes. If it does not go then get it checked out. I see far too many kids who have soldiered on and made their injuries much worse. If you want to maximise your potential, lifestyle attention and simple injury prevention is a good starting point and who knows I might see you at Burton one day!
Mick is physio for the England Under 17’s National Team Its all changing now and you only have to visit St Georges Park to see just how far we have come in terms of understanding what it takes to produce optimum performance. Injury prevention and management is a big part of the role of SGP and their facilities in this area are world class.
www.crossingthewhiteline.co.uk
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