Why do parents allow this to happen?

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I don’t want to say what school as it will ID the player. Local school though. I agree, she was playing in a showcase she didn’t need to play in, but maybe she was there to support her unsigned teammates. The bigger issue is she was doing too much with few breaks and likely no strength training.

A friend who runs a sports performance center told me that he sees more ACL tears from women’s soccer players than other sports and they are the least likely to be in the gym using his program prior to injury. He trains athletes in everything from gymnastics and softball/baseball to football, track, swimming and diving, etc. Soccer players just don’t make up a large percentage of his business, but are over-represented in his rehab work.

One easy thing to do to reduce risk of acl tears (and similar torsion injuries) is to stop wearing grass cleats on turf. Grass cleats have longer spikes which get caught in turf which does not give like grass does. Wear purpose-designed turf cleats with much smaller spikes. It seems like 90% of kids just wear the same cleats regardless of surface. Obviously that is only one factor of several but investing in two pairs of shoes rather than one is a pretty cheap countermeasure compared to some of the other alternatives being thrown around.

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Too much training can weaken too. Cross fit isnt best for active athletes. Adds too much muscle mass.

And was she training properly? There's lots of trainers out there that don't know what they're doing, or may be better skilled for certain things and not others. My kids' trainer teaches at a local college and has credentials out the wazoo. Do your research.

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Club coach to blame. Running kids into ground. Nice job azzhole.

You're making a lot of assumptions. These things can happen even in practice. One of our players tore theirs away from play, literally just stepped funny and boom. That was it. As for the decision to play in a showcase? Players want to play; they're competitive. Seniors can't take the entire year off to get ready for college.

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So my kid hasn't done any of this extra stuff, and she committed this fall as 2021.
I agree intellectually that she needs to, but the issue is time and balancing mental health with physical health. Summing academic, club, and HS demands, i could never see where a plyo session would fit and allow her to be a teenager that also just wants to sleep in one day a week. Hopefully we can introduce it now that some of the recruiting pressure is off

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One easy thing to do to reduce risk of acl tears (and similar torsion injuries) is to stop wearing grass cleats on turf. Grass cleats have longer spikes which get caught in turf which does not give like grass does. Wear purpose-designed turf cleats with much smaller spikes. It seems like 90% of kids just wear the same cleats regardless of surface. Obviously that is only one factor of several but investing in two pairs of shoes rather than one is a pretty cheap countermeasure compared to some of the other alternatives being thrown around.

I agree. Some colleges dont have both available to the kids. I think that is crazy.

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You're making a lot of assumptions. These things can happen even in practice. One of our players tore theirs away from play, literally just stepped funny and boom. That was it. As for the decision to play in a showcase? Players want to play; they're competitive. Seniors can't take the entire year off to get ready for college.

Who is saying take off sr yr? Why play in a meaningless showcase in the cold except the coach wants a win.

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So my kid hasn't done any of this extra stuff, and she committed this fall as 2021.
I agree intellectually that she needs to, but the issue is time and balancing mental health with physical health. Summing academic, club, and HS demands, i could never see where a plyo session would fit and allow her to be a teenager that also just wants to sleep in one day a week. Hopefully we can introduce it now that some of the recruiting pressure is off

Hs soccer is done and club is moving into a quiet phase. Now is a good time for her to get started. Surely she can find 2-3 hours a week to hit the gym? She best figure out a way because that is what her college schedule will be like. A trainer can give her a program(s) she can work on in phases, on her own at a closer gym if that helps her schedule. At least that's what mine did - mine worked out close to home then went back to him every 4-5 weeks to chart progress and change the routines. she sent videos sometimes of parts of her workouts and texted with questions. Worked her tail off with the trainer in the summer to get ready for pre season.

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Hs soccer is done and club is moving into a quiet phase. Now is a good time for her to get started. Surely she can find 2-3 hours a week to hit the gym? She best figure out a way because that is what her college schedule will be like. A trainer can give her a program(s) she can work on in phases, on her own at a closer gym if that helps her schedule. At least that's what mine did - mine worked out close to home then went back to him every 4-5 weeks to chart progress and change the routines. she sent videos sometimes of parts of her workouts and texted with questions. Worked her tail off with the trainer in the summer to get ready for pre season.

Was this a private trainer or one from her destination college?
Thanks for input

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Was this a private trainer or one from her destination college?
Thanks for input

For my D, she has worked with a group of sports performance trainers since middle school that were affiliated with URI athletics. They branched out to the private sector, initially targeting HS athletes/teams and college athletes who needed to train when they return home in the summer. They also do a ton of rehabilitation for injured athletes, which is why they started working with athletes as young as middle school, to try and cut down on injuries later in their sports career.

As I mentioned in another post, very few soccer players have been in the program. My D is one of the few soccer players that started in middle school and has kept with it into HS. URI is not one of her picks for recruitment, but having trainers with experience training D1 college level athletes and teams can't hurt.

If you're looking for "evidence", here is a paper reviewing existing research and conclusions:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577417/

The cliff note version: Competitive athletes between the ages of 15 and 25 are at the greatest risk of injury. The majority (80%) of the injuries are non-contact, and therefore, the mechanisms are modifiable. Female athletes are at risk four to six times greater than their male counterparts. Female high school athletes had a ninefold increase injury risk and fivefold in collegiate sports and those that competed at a higher level of play had a five times higher risk than their male counterpart. Sports that require high dynamic loading of the knee and report a high incidence of injury include soccer, volleyball and basketball.

Conclusion: This review concludes that those programs which utilize neuromuscular training and strength training at a young age show the most promise in reducing ACL injuries.

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Was this a private trainer or one from her destination college?
Thanks for input

Private, but she also spoke with her future coach in the spring and he put her in touch with school trainers to make sure everything was lined up. Her school is pretty far away so visiting with those trainers wasn't an option. She came in locked and loaded in August and was surprised that several players clearly were not. No real injuries so far (a broken finger), had lots of PT as a frosh :)

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For my D, she has worked with a group of sports performance trainers since middle school that were affiliated with URI athletics. They branched out to the private sector, initially targeting HS athletes/teams and college athletes who needed to train when they return home in the summer. They also do a ton of rehabilitation for injured athletes, which is why they started working with athletes as young as middle school, to try and cut down on injuries later in their sports career.

As I mentioned in another post, very few soccer players have been in the program. My D is one of the few soccer players that started in middle school and has kept with it into HS. URI is not one of her picks for recruitment, but having trainers with experience training D1 college level athletes and teams can't hurt.

If you're looking for "evidence", here is a paper reviewing existing research and conclusions:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577417/

The cliff note version: Competitive athletes between the ages of 15 and 25 are at the greatest risk of injury. The majority (80%) of the injuries are non-contact, and therefore, the mechanisms are modifiable. Female athletes are at risk four to six times greater than their male counterparts. Female high school athletes had a ninefold increase injury risk and fivefold in collegiate sports and those that competed at a higher level of play had a five times higher risk than their male counterpart. Sports that require high dynamic loading of the knee and report a high incidence of injury include soccer, volleyball and basketball.

Conclusion: This review concludes that those programs which utilize neuromuscular training and strength training at a young age show the most promise in reducing ACL injuries.

I'm in your camp, but not for everyone. College bound, even college aspirations for sure. It's not a guarantee to prevent injuries. Sometimes you're just unlucky no matter how well you prepare. But it certainly can help reduce risks and get kids in the workout habit. Money well spent (and we got 4 kids together which really helped the cost).

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Private, but she also spoke with her future coach in the spring and he put her in touch with school trainers to make sure everything was lined up. Her school is pretty far away so visiting with those trainers wasn't an option. She came in locked and loaded in August and was surprised that several players clearly were not. No real injuries so far (a broken finger), had lots of PT as a frosh :)

Thanks for info and congrats on her PT - must have been fun for you too!

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Thanks for info and congrats on her PT - must have been fun for you too!

Thanks - like winning the lottery :) but she earned it all

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Good piece on ACL risks with female players. Having a good trainer can help lower the risk. Nothing will ever be risk proof but there is evidence showing this is making a difference

https://www.postandcourier.com/sport...LC2fOuaDuTOBDQ

These non-contact ACL tears afflict female athletes much more frequently than men. A 13-year study of ACL injuries in NCAA men’s and women’s soccer found that the rate of ACL tears for female soccer players is about three times higher than it is for males. Studies of other ages and sports show similar trends. Females athletes have anywhere from 2 to 8 times the risk of tearing their ACLs in sports...

The PEP (Prevent injury and Enhance Performance) Program, the FIFA 11, and other exercise programs aim to teach female athletes how to land and turn properly and build appropriate muscle strength to control forces at the knee. Players perform the exercises for 10-15 minutes as part of their warm-ups several times per week.

Some studies have shown tremendous success in decreasing the rates of ACL tears. The first study of the PEP Program implemented in the Coast Soccer League in Southern California showed an 88 percent decrease in the first year of the program and 74 percent decrease in the second for athletes who performed the PEP Program compared to players who didn’t. Other studies have shown a trend for lower risk but no statistically significant difference....

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My D is in HS and has stopped doing other sports to focus on soccer and strength and fitness. Strength training 2 days per week, soccer training 2 days per week, cardio or anaerobic training 2 days per week. 1 day completely off for rest and recovery. This is "pre-season", with the intent of starting the spring competitive season and showcases as strong and fit as possible while minimizing injuries. We adjust based on how she feels and if there is pain/soreness. No need to "push through" things. Pain is a warning sign that needs to be listened to. Also, proper sleep and nutrition is key. D takes protein shakes post training and eats plenty of carbs leading up to training. So far has worked like a charm.

What type of strength training is she doing? My daughter is feeling stressed out because she has put on weight and is not as fast as she was when she committed last year (will be playing fall 2020). Wants to do Keto and crossfit with her non-soccer bff and I think this is a terrible idea.