Consider the individual when planning practice

• by John Cone , Aug 13, 2015

It's that time of year in soccer when youth teams are kicking into a new season. The "preseason" phase of training is one of excitement and anticipation, and well established in sports science as a time of increased risk of injury. The result being that a player's excitement for a new season can quickly turn to disappointment.

It’s classically a time when emphasis is on “getting players fit,” and not necessarily on playing soccer and developing soccer athletes. Regardless of your philosophical approach to fitness in soccer, I urge you to consider the individual athlete in your team as you develop your preseason training plans.

In order to avoid injury of an individual player it is imperative that you know a good deal about them, as ultimately you need to know how the player fits in your team not just technically and tactically, but physically as well. The goal being to address the individual within the team, accounting for their physical activity leading into the season is an absolute must if injury is to be avoided.

This in mind, I’ve developed a list of questions that you can ask of your players and their parents that will help refine both your approach to training, and potentially save a player from an injury.

1. How long was your break from playing soccer? (Note: You may know this if the player is returning, but important to ask to find out about camps, other training, they may have performed, etc.)
2. Did you play soccer much this summer? About how much each week?
3. Did you play any other sports, or do any other training/physical activities? What sports/activities? About how much each day?
4. If other organized sports were played. How often did/do you train? How frequently do you play games or compete?
5. When was the last time you were challenged physically to work hard? When was the last time you ran as fast as you could? When was the last time you jumped as high as you could?
6. Do you feel like you grew much over the summer break?
7. Do you have any aches and pains from growing (nearly applicable at every age)?
8. Any aches and pains bad enough that you didn’t feel like doing something active?
9. Any injuries where you couldn’t do anything or had to go see the doctor?

Next is considering your team. Prepare by answering some questions honestly from when they were selected, or as soon as possible in preseason.

1. What is the variability in age from my oldest to youngest player?
2. What is the variability in maturation and growth in my team?
3. Does this variability (age, maturation, growth) favor some players more than others in my team?
4. Which players struggle to keep pace physically?
5. Which players are less fit than others?

General concepts in interpreting answers:

1. How long was your break from playing soccer? (Note: You may know this if the player is returning, but important to ask to find out about camps, other training, they may have performed, etc.)
a. The longer the break the longer the build-up and the slower the progression of fitness. Progress the players quickly and you will see injuries.

2. Did you play soccer much this summer? About how much each week?
a. Lots of soccer in the summer may mean the player is good to go now, but be very weary as the season wear’s on for overuse injury. Make sure these players are developing as athletes as well as soccer players. You need to focus being a physical educator as much as being a soccer coach if you find players on your team don’t participate in multiple sports.

3. Did you play any other sports, or do any other training/physical activities? What sports/activities? About how much each day?
a. Activity level will be a good indicator of their fitness level and readiness to train.
b. If this is always in a structured environment, it may also mean that you need to be aware of potential overuse or growth-related injuries.

4. When was the last time you were challenged physically to work hard? When was the last time you ran as fast as you could? When was the last time you jumped as high as you could?
a. This will give you a good indicator of how you will need to build the demands of your training. If the answer indicates they have not performed high-intensity and/or high velocity movements for a while, be patient. Start with bigger games and let the players control the intensity, aka let them play, and give them freedom.

5. Do you feel like you grew much over the summer break?
a. Rapid growth increases injury risk[1], and training stress is proposed to increase injury risk.

6. Do you have any aches and pains from growing (nearly applicable at every age)?
a. May be worth referring to a sports medicine specialist to get exercises specific to the individual’s complaints for preventative measures even if complaints do not currently keep the player from participating.
b. Ensure that a player does not get pushed beyond his or her physical breaking point in training, start slowly, build steadily and be prepared, and have the player and parents prepared, to potentially do less than their peers.

7. Any injuries where you couldn’t do anything or had to go see the doctor? How long ago were you approved to go back to sport?
a. Important to consider that a substantial layoff will contribute to an increased risk of re-injury, both of the previously injured site and others. Again, be prepared to have the player do less than the group. Build the player up more slowly to limit the potential for re-injury.

Next is considering your team. Prepare by answering some questions honestly from when they were selected, or as soon as possible in preseason.

1. What is the variability in age from my oldest to youngest player?
a. It is important to recognize that a bias exists between players born within a single year called the relative age effect, and benefits the players born early due to their physical development.
b. If you have players who are younger than their teammates, build them more slowly in preseason and be prepared to manage them physically throughout the year.

2. What is the variability in maturation and growth in my team?
a. Similar to the above, a later maturing athlete is at an increased chance for injury[2].
b. Be prepared to manage individual player physical development within the team.

3. Which players struggle to keep pace physically?
a. Be prepared to address athletes with different physical characteristics through your managing of their physical load in preseason and beyond.

4. Which players are less fit than others?
a. One of the worst mistakes a coach can make is trying to get a player to “catch-up” to his or her teammates’ fitness level. A player less fit than the teammates will develop overuse more quickly than their teammates and be at increased risk for injury. If you try to “catch them up” you are accelerating the problem and even more likely to see the player injured.

The growth in our understanding of performance, player development, and injury prevention drives improving our methodology as coaches. While we work in a team sport, the ability to address an individual within our team is a key to developing individual success and pathways to elite performance, as much as a life in sport. While coaches may tell their team: “There is no I in TEAM,” the coach must subscribe to a different approach.

John Cone has a Ph.D. in kinesiology, an M.S. in Exercise Physiology and extensive licenses and certifications, including his USSF A. Dr. Cone is a USSF national instructor delivering sports science education on coaching licenses from the F license to the A license, and youth-specific Academy Director course. He was formerly the Director of Sports Science with the Portland Timbers in the MLS, and an assistant coach with Sporting Kansas City (nés Wizards). Dr. Cone has worked at every level of the game from youth through professional as a coach, and as a sports scientist. Through his company Fit for 90, Dr. Cone delivers sports science consulting, and player monitoring for performance, development, and injury prevention. Fit for 90 clients include the U.S. women’s national team, numerous MLS, NASL, NWSL, collegiate, ECNL and USSDA teams. Fit for 90 is the official player monitoring system of US Club Soccer and the ECNL.

1. van der Sluis, A., et al., Sport injuries aligned to peak height velocity in talented pubertal soccer players. Int J Sports Med, 2014. 35(4): p. 351-5.
2. van der Sluis, A., et al., Importance of Peak Height Velocity Timing in Terms of Injuries in Talented Soccer Players. Int J Sports Med, 2015. 36(4): p. 327-332.