The Trainer
by: Matt Martinsonposted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 at 03:10 PM
You may have heard the saying, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” I would
like to add, “By failing to properly prepare, you are preparing to get injured.” I remember trying out for my high school JV soccer team as a slender, but growing 9th grader who played multiple sports year round. Being 14, I thought my youth, athleticism, and determination could carry me through the rigors of tryouts without any additional preseason preparation. After just 2 days of drills, scrimmages and conditioning, I reported to the training room with the typical early symptoms of overuse injuries in my knees and ankles.
How could this be? One would think an active adolescent athlete could endure the challenge of soccer tryouts. Ironically, the message the athletic trainer gave me was the same one I would be echoing to other young athletes for years to come, “You need to properly prepare for your sport before it starts.”
The highest percentage of soccer injuries occur during the first 2-3 weeks of the season. This is especially true for young athletes ages 13-16 during tryouts for higher level teams such as ODP, club travel teams or teams that practice daily like high school teams. These tryout periods typically require intense training, possibly with multiple practices per day over a short period of time. Injuries occur as sudden changes in training load or training conditions put stress on the growing body beyond its ability to adapt to that stress. These early season injuries can be avoided or minimized with proper preconditioning, progression of training,
and early recognition and treatment of injuries.
Pre-conditioning
Pre-conditioning refers to the training that occurs during the 6-8 weeks prior to the start of the soccer tryout period. The training focus is to build a fitness base to allow the athlete to sustain effort throughout the training sessions. An assessment of individual fitness level gives the athlete a starting point for training. The training program should focus first on general cardiovascular fitness through aerobic training and muscular endurance through light to moderate intensity training exercises. Once that base is established, training can progress to look more like the training that will be encountered during tryouts.
Some running exercises that would accomplish the goal of base training would be distance runs of 1-3 miles, quarter-mile repeats, and 50 yard bursts followed by 50 yard recovery jogs. The distance and number of repeats will vary depending upon your fitness. This base training phase may last from 3-6 weeks until the athlete is comfortable with aerobic training at a steady pace.
Exercises for muscular endurance should be done concurrently and may include bodyweight lunges and squats, crunches or v-sits, core strengthening, pushups and pull-ups. Again, the initial training focus is general endurance. This focus gradually shifts to speed and power as the season draws near.
Progression
Players often come into a season assuming that the coach will tailor the training progression for their individual fitness. Coaches, however, plan their progression according to the season schedule and players who incur injuries along the way may be left behind or risk not making the squad due to limited activity. Diligent athletes will prepare during the weeks prior to tryouts begin so that by the time tryouts begin, they are accustomed to the training load.
Keys to proper progression of training are:
• start 6-8 weeks prior to the start of your season
• determine current fitness level with simple mile run, sit-up
and push-up tests
• set long-term performance goals for your fitness based on
your pretest results
• set short-term goals, or benchmarks, that lead to the big
goal
• write out a training plan including days per week, intensity
and daily training focus
• as the season approaches, adjust training to resemble the
kind of workouts to be encountered in tryouts
• schedule rest days to allow for adequate recovery
Early recognition of injuries
Players typically try to “tough it out” during tryouts as they feel missing a practice jeopardizes their chances of making the team. In truth, hobbling around the field for a couple practices and then missing more days when the injury worsens hurts the player more than if the problem was treated early. In most cases, early treatment can be done with few limitations on participation, giving the player a chance to stay in practice with the coach’s understanding that the player is working toward recovery. An athletic trainer should be able to evaluate the problem and chart a course of treatment while keeping the athlete active enough to maintain fitness and resume activity quickly.
Symptoms that commonly occur that signal a need for
professional intervention are:
• persistent sharp pain in muscles or joints
• swelling in the muscles or joints
• pain in the heels, ankles, shins or knees during running
activity
• pain that does not subside with cessation of activity
• pain that limits normal range of motion
in the joints
Soccer can provide great enjoyment and fitness for the young athlete but, without a well-planned training program, can lead to pain and frustration. Following these basic principles of training will help athletes endure the challenge of tryouts by maximizing their performance potential during the early season. Don’t fail to prepare. Instead, prepare to succeed!
like to add, “By failing to properly prepare, you are preparing to get injured.” I remember trying out for my high school JV soccer team as a slender, but growing 9th grader who played multiple sports year round. Being 14, I thought my youth, athleticism, and determination could carry me through the rigors of tryouts without any additional preseason preparation. After just 2 days of drills, scrimmages and conditioning, I reported to the training room with the typical early symptoms of overuse injuries in my knees and ankles.
How could this be? One would think an active adolescent athlete could endure the challenge of soccer tryouts. Ironically, the message the athletic trainer gave me was the same one I would be echoing to other young athletes for years to come, “You need to properly prepare for your sport before it starts.”
The highest percentage of soccer injuries occur during the first 2-3 weeks of the season. This is especially true for young athletes ages 13-16 during tryouts for higher level teams such as ODP, club travel teams or teams that practice daily like high school teams. These tryout periods typically require intense training, possibly with multiple practices per day over a short period of time. Injuries occur as sudden changes in training load or training conditions put stress on the growing body beyond its ability to adapt to that stress. These early season injuries can be avoided or minimized with proper preconditioning, progression of training,
and early recognition and treatment of injuries.
Pre-conditioning
Pre-conditioning refers to the training that occurs during the 6-8 weeks prior to the start of the soccer tryout period. The training focus is to build a fitness base to allow the athlete to sustain effort throughout the training sessions. An assessment of individual fitness level gives the athlete a starting point for training. The training program should focus first on general cardiovascular fitness through aerobic training and muscular endurance through light to moderate intensity training exercises. Once that base is established, training can progress to look more like the training that will be encountered during tryouts.
Some running exercises that would accomplish the goal of base training would be distance runs of 1-3 miles, quarter-mile repeats, and 50 yard bursts followed by 50 yard recovery jogs. The distance and number of repeats will vary depending upon your fitness. This base training phase may last from 3-6 weeks until the athlete is comfortable with aerobic training at a steady pace.
Exercises for muscular endurance should be done concurrently and may include bodyweight lunges and squats, crunches or v-sits, core strengthening, pushups and pull-ups. Again, the initial training focus is general endurance. This focus gradually shifts to speed and power as the season draws near.
Progression
Players often come into a season assuming that the coach will tailor the training progression for their individual fitness. Coaches, however, plan their progression according to the season schedule and players who incur injuries along the way may be left behind or risk not making the squad due to limited activity. Diligent athletes will prepare during the weeks prior to tryouts begin so that by the time tryouts begin, they are accustomed to the training load.
Keys to proper progression of training are:
• start 6-8 weeks prior to the start of your season
• determine current fitness level with simple mile run, sit-up
and push-up tests
• set long-term performance goals for your fitness based on
your pretest results
• set short-term goals, or benchmarks, that lead to the big
goal
• write out a training plan including days per week, intensity
and daily training focus
• as the season approaches, adjust training to resemble the
kind of workouts to be encountered in tryouts
• schedule rest days to allow for adequate recovery
Early recognition of injuries
Players typically try to “tough it out” during tryouts as they feel missing a practice jeopardizes their chances of making the team. In truth, hobbling around the field for a couple practices and then missing more days when the injury worsens hurts the player more than if the problem was treated early. In most cases, early treatment can be done with few limitations on participation, giving the player a chance to stay in practice with the coach’s understanding that the player is working toward recovery. An athletic trainer should be able to evaluate the problem and chart a course of treatment while keeping the athlete active enough to maintain fitness and resume activity quickly.
Symptoms that commonly occur that signal a need for
professional intervention are:
• persistent sharp pain in muscles or joints
• swelling in the muscles or joints
• pain in the heels, ankles, shins or knees during running
activity
• pain that does not subside with cessation of activity
• pain that limits normal range of motion
in the joints
Soccer can provide great enjoyment and fitness for the young athlete but, without a well-planned training program, can lead to pain and frustration. Following these basic principles of training will help athletes endure the challenge of tryouts by maximizing their performance potential during the early season. Don’t fail to prepare. Instead, prepare to succeed!
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