Good practice, better performances ... Train up a child

WHAT IF I told you that the overall risk of injury in young football players could be reduced by almost 50 per cent and the risk of severe injury by nearly 80 per cent?

What if I also told you it could be as simple as replacing traditional warm-ups with programmes developed and tested by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) for children under 14? If your interest is piqued, read on.

In 2016, the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre, alongside international experts, developed an injury prevention programme known as the FIFA 11+ Kids, specifically designed for children under 14. Compared with traditional warm-up strategies, it reduced the overall risk of lower limb injuries. All it takes is the same equipment used for conventional warm-up techniques: cones, footballs, shoes, and 15-20 minutes to complete seven exercises under supervision. The FIFA 11+ Kids is designed to use the athlete’s body weight to train the muscles to respond better to the signals the brain sends through the nerves.

The seven exercises include a running game, two jumping exercises, a balance or coordination task, two exercises targeting body stability, and one to help improve falling technique. You may notice that all these movements are performed throughout a football match but, surprisingly, aren’t usually addressed in traditional warm-up strategies.

Combining these activities with dynamic stretching (movement-based stretching as opposed to holding the stretch) can significantly reduce injury risks in our young athletes. The best part about this is it’s free of cost. FIFA has freely released this information on various platforms, including YouTube videos demonstrating the exercises. All it requires is a coach’s willingness to learn and implement and the athlete’s buy-in.

In recently conducted interviews with a few under-13 football coaches, it was found that while they were aware of FIFA 11+ and FIFA 11, they were unaware there were specific warm-up and injury prevention programmes for children. Barriers to integrating proper injury prevention programmes in coaches’ training include:

• Lack of knowledge.

• Lack of motivation or incentive to implement them.

• A football culture among clubs and athletes where training is all about “playing ball” and not as much about technical work and preparation.

If we are serious about safeguarding our athletes, injury prevention must be a top priority. We cannot wait for them to become adults before we make proper warm-ups an integral part of their routine.

In a previous article, I discussed the injury risk faced by adolescent and child population football players. Their immature neurological and musculoskeletal systems predispose them to muscle and joint injuries that could sideline them for days, weeks, or even months. I recall recently covering a girls’ football match, and a player suffered a knee injury on the field after minimal contact with another player. After getting her off the field of play and taking a closer look at the knee, I suspected she had a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (adolescent females are at a higher risk of these injuries than their male counterparts). The injury was confirmed by a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study, and she was referred for management by an orthopaedic surgeon. Obtaining an MRI, purchasing the equipment for the surgery, and the surgery itself can be pretty costly.

Additionally, physiotherapy, required after surgery, adds to overall expenses. This athlete had to miss months of training and matches as she recovered from the injury, and undoubtedly, this took an emotional and mental toll on the player and her parents. This is but one of many stories that take place each football season, and while there is not a 100 per cent guarantee that implementing programmes such as the FIFA 11+ Kids will prevent all injuries in our child athletes, being able to reduce the chances of injury or severe injury can make a difference.

There’s a popular proverb that says, “Train up a child in the way he must go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” – Proverbs 22:6. If we can instil these injury prevention practices from the grassroots (U-13) level, then as they grow, they will continue to utilise them and reap the rewards from it. This could allow them to experience long, illustrious careers in the sport or, at the very least, a reduced chance of early-onset arthritis due to joint injury. It’s in the best interest of our football players to use best practice when preparing them to perform at their best. I strongly encourage coaches working with youth football programmes to integrate the FIFA 11+ Kids routine in their training.

Dr Hoshane White is currently pursuing a master’s degree in sports medicine at the Faculty of Sport, UWI.