ECNL Soccer Injury Prevention

In total, Agile Physical Therapy tested over 280 soccer players from both the boys and girls squads of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) soccer teams. We provided pre and re-testing, and myself, alongside three colleagues, provided twice-weekly trainings, designed to improve both speed and agility as well as decrease injury risk based on pre-testing results. As a collegiate soccer player myself, I was privileged to have coaches that valued strength training alongside technical skills from an early age. I had an absolute blast working with high school soccer players again, and was astonished by the far superior play compared to when I played against those teams. Unfortunately, alongside this improvement, there seems to be a parallel relationship with injury frequency. In one Fall season a patient of mine and 5 of her teammates had all either torn their meniscus and/ or ACL during play. The national adolescent injury stats are astounding, and I hope that we can find a way to lift athletes up without wearing down their bodies in the meantime. I am forever grateful for my coaches, teammates, and physical therapists who supported me as an athlete. I am passionate about giving my thanks by providing a high level of care for the athletes I get to work with in the clinic.