INJURY PREVENTION
If ACL injury prevention programs work … and they do , and If we ’ re diligently applying these programs with our teams … and coaches say we are , then WHY are we not seeing a reduction in ACL injuries in our players ?
In fact , they continue to climb . ACL reconstruction surgeries performed in the U . S . rose by 22 % from 2002 to 2014.3 As you can see below , this rise was particularly steep in 13 to 17 year olds ( yellow circles ), with females showing a much more rapid increase in rates than males .
And our collegiate , semi-pro and professional players are certainly not immune . I regularly communicate with coaches whose teams are doing all the right things to prevent ACL injuries and yet still have athletes sidelined with them . Not infrequently , these players are enduring this devastating injury for the second or third time .
Clearly , our current approach to ACL injury prevention is not doing enough to protect our young athletes .
So , what are we doing wrong ? I believe we are starting ACL injury prevention training too late .
By 13 years old — statistically , the age when kids enter the high-risk zone — most of our soccer-committed kids have already been playing for seven to eight years . Maybe more . They ’ ve spent season after season learning “ soccer moves ” and muscle-memorizing joint mechanics . Thus , by their early teens , movement patterns are highly ingrained , habitual and automatic . For some , unfortunately , these movement habits put their knees at greater risk for injury .
Consider this scenario : You are watching game video from your last match , but the players ’ faces are blurred , and no jersey numbers are visible : do you know which player is which ? Of course you do … by their moves , their decision-making , their signature style . All good , except … when these movement patterns may increase their risk for injury .
By the time these kids reach their mid-teens these “ bad habits ” are almost impossible to train out of them , even with our best injury prevention efforts .
To establish sound movement habits in our players , we need to start “ injury prevention training ” earlier , with kids in the younger age groups . U8s ( especially girls ) are not too young for this . Just blend it into the skill sessions you ’ re already doing . Make it part of the game and make it fun . Just don ’ t call it “ injury prevention ” training , 4 and don ’ t pile on5 to what these kids are doing already .
Here are your “ injury prevention ” movement objectives and progressions for each age-group . You ’ ll notice that they correspond to sport performance objectives as well .
• U8 : Coordination and body awareness
• U10 : Bilateral strength , coordination , balance , “ body learning ” and speed ; introduce a team warm up with sound feedback for healthy form
• U12 : Body control , agility , quickness , reaction time ; take dynamic warm-up seriously and use it as a diagnostic for coaching movement cues
• U14 : Balanced strength , quick strength = power , balance ; employ individualized “ injury prevention ” movement awareness and intentional practice
• U16 : Dynamic strength , balance , power ; insure “ injury prevention ” form is applied in play
• U18 : Endurance , controlled power , game IQ , relationships / team ; teach players to observe and offer capable feedback of a teammate ’ s movement
Here ’ s how to structure healthy movement training games for your club or academy :
U8 – OBJECTIVE : COORDINATION , BODY AWARENESS
• Develop their sense of how their body moves .
• Run , jump , hop , bend , squat , leap frog . Throw , roll . Balance movement right and left . Forward and backward . Shuffling , sliding , moving sideways .
• Coach cuing : emphasize proprioception , not just “ watch how I do it .”
• Games : Side shuffle / monster walk , leapfrog , enhanced ( emphasize twist ) carioca
U10 – OBJECTIVE : BILATERAL STRENGTH , COORDINATION , BALANCE , KINESTHESIS AND SPEED
• They have more body control but there is a wide range among athletes .
• Smooth , balanced movement , bilateral , bent knee , hop , skip , “ squat ” games , BBB position = bent knees , be on balls of feet , head up , be ready to play . Resistance band games create a body-learning environment . Use BBB during all skill drills .
• Coach cuing : lots of movement feedback , begin to develop their proprioception .
• Games : Obstacle course / band games , Cue : the BBB
U12 – OBJECTIVE : BODY CONTROL , AGILITY AND QUICKNESS , REACTION TIME , USE WARM-UP TO ASSESS MOVEMENT HABITS AND CORRECTION
• They are growing in height ; new body proportions can create additional challenges and may require extra patience .
• Agility , quickness , change of direction , accel / decel controlling speed and body ; jump / leap / bound / combination movement with and without ball ; receive touch turn ; soften touch and accel ; defend / tackle in strong safe position .
• Coach cuing : be sure safe movement habits are in place during warm-up and play .
• Games : Leap and volley , hop and shove , plank gates ( core strength )
U14 – Objective : Balanced strength , quick strength = power , body balance , “ injury prevention ” awareness and intentional practice
• Healthy movement must respond successfully to pressure , opponent , game demands / load .
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