Anterior Cruciate ligament injuries continue to be increasingly common among competitive soccer players. Female athletes are particularly at risk. Surgical repair, recovery and return to play are a 9-12 month ordeal. Even athletes who make a full recovery are at increased risk of developing early onset osteoarthritis. Thus, ACL injury prevention is essential. Programs to reduce the risk of this injury are successful if employed regularly and diligently.

I will be hosting 2 sessions at the United Soccer Coaches Convention this year.

In the classroom session, we’ll look at:

• What an ACL does and what happens when we tear them
• Why ACL tears are so prevalent in high school athletes
• What prevention programs work and how to teach and coach them
• Best practices for helping athletes return to play after an ACL tear

At the field session, we’ll look at:

• Common movement errors that put High School athletes at risk of ACL tear
• Components of effective ACL injury prevention programs (IPP)
• How to implement ACL IPP on your training field
• Ways to transfer healthy movement to game play