Asian soccer star, London – We’re nearly half-way through the soccer season and at a point where soccer injuries are rife in youth players. Mostly this is due to improper technique, but the cold weather can be a major contributing factor.
Take Sobha for example, now 14 years old he’s spent the last three years training hard and improving his technique in every part of his game. We’re talking right from the bio-dynamics of his running to his speed, agility, strength, endurance, awareness and technical ability.
Every part of his training schedule has been carefully scripted by experts in their field to make sure he is physically and mentally prepared to compete to follow his dream to become a professional soccer player. To become an Asian Soccer Star.
Yet, even with all the carefully laid out plans the risk of injury is a major concern.
During a cup match 2 weeks ago he pulled his hamstring. Albeit a minor pull, he was barred from training and playing matches for 2 weeks while undergoing treatment. The treatment consisted of a combination of strength, flexibility and massage to manipulate and reduce any scarring which could lead to further re-injury.
The point is that in this case, the cause of the injury was more to do with the weather than technique, though we did find some tightness around his lower back and hamstrings.
The weather played a major part as it was a freezing afternoon. The team did their usual warm-up and started the match. Sobha came on as a substitute 25 minutes into the game, by which time his muscles had already cooled down. Playing on the left wing, he needs to move at pace to cross the ball into the opponents box.
The combination of a lack of proper warm-up and crossing the ball is what caused the hamstring pull. Something that could have been averted had he kept warm and moving while on the bench.
The moral of the post?
Make sure that youth players are training with proper technique in every aspect of their game and make double sure that they are warming up properly during training and before matches in these cold winter months. Substitute players come on to make an impact, but need to keep moving while they are on the bench.
In the coming weeks Asian Soccer Star will share some of the training methods from the experts we work with.
Hey, I’m really impressed with this blog. I think there are many talented Asian footballers in this country, though their numbers are not high enough in our top leagues. What you are doing with this blog is hopefully helping promote footballers of Asian origin, which can only be a good thing.
Well done,
David.