FCArmstrong

It is summer time. High school soccer players are doing optional conditioning sessions to prepare for the compressed and condensed fall season in Pennsylvania that runs from mid August to Halloween. One key part to conditioning is making the running/training game like to prepare for the challenges on the rubberized pitches.

Our friends at FIFA published a warmup that is recommended globally for footballers.

https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/medical/injury-prevention

Our friends in North Carolina took the FIFA 11 one step further and provided a review at Wake Med.

https://www.wakemed.org/care-and-services/childrens-services/education-and-resources/ncfc-and-wakemed-healthy-families/fifa-injury-prevention-basic-warm-up

If you were with me during under –8 season, you will know that we did not do these warm-ups. At that younger age developing motor skills with the ball actually build the same muscles and warm up the ligaments. That is why we follow the play—practice—play methodology at the younger ages.

Let’s start with the goalkeeper. The one writing this little post has torn a ACL from a mid-aligned landing on a soggy natural pitch back in college. After rehabbing and training to get back to playing he has personally believed in these protocols.