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Youth Soccer Injury Prevention
Youth Soccer Injury Prevention is a beginner soccer program that runs 12 weeks at 2 sessions per week. It is built into Ægir Iron and free to load for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster.
What this program is
A 12-week team warm-up for youth soccer players from about 13, girls and boys, done before practice at least twice a week and taking about 20 minutes. It follows the FIFA 11+: 8 minutes of running drills through a cone course, 10 minutes of planks, side planks, Nordic hamstring lowers with a partner, single-leg balance, squats and jumps, then 2 minutes of faster running, bounding and cutting. The middle part moves up a level every 4 weeks, from level 1 to level 3. No weights and no Olympic lifts.
At a glance
| Discipline | Soccer |
| Experience level | Beginner |
| Length | 12 weeks |
| Training days | 2 per week |
| Equipment | Cones + Ball |
| Season phase | Team warm-up before practice |
| Loading | The FIFA 11+ levels 1 to 3, moving up one level every 4 weeks. No weights. |
| Price | Free for individual lifters and rostered athletes |
Free for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster. Coaches pay only for roster tools.
How it works in Ægir Iron
Inside Ægir Iron the plan is real Cycle, Block, Week, Day structure. The 12 weeks are grouped into 3 blocks, and the sets, reps and effort targets change from one block to the next. The FIFA 11+ levels 1 to 3, moving up one level every 4 weeks. No weights. You load it in a couple of taps, then adjust any session, and a coach can push it to an athlete's account in real time.
Original source
Ægir Iron's template is built from these sources. Under each one is what the template takes from it.
- Soligard T, Myklebust G, Steffen K, Holme I, Silvers H, Bizzini M, et al. (2008). Comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in young female footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2008;337:a2469.The FIFA 11+ strength part at three levels in the youth warm-up: plank and side plank 3x20-30 s, Nordic 3-5 / 7-10 / 12-15 reps, single-leg balance 2x30 s each leg, squats 2x30 s (level 3: one-leg squats 2x10 each leg), jumps 2x30 sThe warm-up structure: 8 min of running drills, 10 min of strength, plyometrics and balance at one level, 2 min of faster running, about 20 min once learned, before every training session
- Sadigursky D, Braid JA, De Lira DNL, Machado BAB, Carneiro RJF, Colavolpe PO (2017). The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program for soccer players: a systematic review. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2017;9:18.The youth warm-up runs at least twice a week for 12 weeks: the 11+ cut injuries by about 30 percent, with 10-12 weeks needed to show it
- Silvers-Granelli H, Mandelbaum B, Adeniji O, Insler S, Bizzini M, Pohlig R, et al. (2015). Efficacy of the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program in the Collegiate Male Soccer Player. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(11):2628-2637.The 11+ works in adult men too (NCAA, RR 0.54), and more sessions a season means fewer injuries
- Waldén M, Atroshi I, Magnusson H, Wagner P, Hägglund M (2012). Prevention of acute knee injuries in adolescent female football players: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2012;344:e3042.Knee Control, a 15-minute neuromuscular warm-up twice a week, cut ACL injuries in girls 12-17: one reason the youth warm-up is written for girls' teams as well as boys'
- Hägglund M, Atroshi I, Wagner P, Waldén M (2013). Superior compliance with a neuromuscular training programme is associated with fewer ACL injuries and fewer acute knee injuries in female adolescent football players: secondary analysis of an RCT. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(15):974-979.Compliance is the dose: the most compliant third had 88 percent fewer ACL injuries, so the youth warm-up is written for every practice
- Beaudouin F, Rössler R, Aus der Fünten K, Bizzini M, Chomiak J, Verhagen E, et al. (2019). Effects of the '11+ Kids' injury prevention programme on severe injuries in children's football: a secondary analysis of data from a multicentre cluster-randomised controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(22):1418-1423.Players under 13 have their own version, the 11+ Kids, which more than halved severe injuries in children
Start Youth Soccer Injury Prevention
Open Ægir Iron, go to Program and choose New Program, then the Program Wizard. On the first screen pick your discipline, then choose Youth Soccer Injury Prevention from the cards under WHAT DO YOU WANT TO RUN? It is free on iOS, Android, and the web, with your data synced across all three.