Game Plan for Youth Athlete Success

A Game Plan for Success in the Youth Athlete

Success is No Accident

The Youth Athlete is experiencing rates of injury at greater proportions. These injuries can be life threatening, such as head trauma that occurs in concussion. Injuries can involve ligaments, muscles and bones sustained as a result of sudden or repetitive trauma. The fact is that many of these injuries can be avoided with proper education and design of performance enhancing training programs. The goal of the Game Plan for Success program is the health and well-being of the young athlete in sports, and through adulthood.

Proprioceptive Training

There is a growing demand for the young athlete to play in sports year round, participating in school and club sports, often specializing in one sport before entering high school. The result is an athlete that has not developed athleticism, and is only exposed to consistent movement patterns and experiences. 

As a practicing physical therapist with over 25 years of experience training athletes of all ages and abilities, I have seen far too many young athletes suffer an injury that has sidelined there participation in sports for a season, and a career. There are two primary causes to this growing rate of youth injuries:

Overexposure to injury due to increased practice and competition.
I have had discussions with soccer athletes returning from college, and when asked if they are playing more soccer in college or high school/club, the answer is always high school/club. Too many contacts through out year round play in games and practice, combined with limited rest and recovery, a there will be an increased frequency of injury.

Lack of specific and individualized training progression.
Designing a sport-specific training program requires careful consideration of individual abilities, musculoskeletal development and the demands of the season. Many injuries are directly related to poor training program design. A sports performance training program must include core components:

• Reduce the risk and prevention of injury strategies
• Neuromuscular and Proprioceptive training 
• Health and well-being (Recovery, Nutrition, Mental Preparation) 
• Education of youth athlete, parents, and coaches. 
• Fitness and Health Testing

The training of a 12 year old will require a program that is different than that of a high school senior. Likewise, training a female athlete will demand a different approach to training than that of a male athlete. The female athlete is 7 times more likely to injure the Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL) than their male counterpart. These findings express the need for gender specific training programs.


Recommended book by +Warren Potash 

They're Not Boys - Safely Training the Adolescent Female Athlete

Game Plan for Success: Youth Athlete (follow this link)
By completing the above link you will begin to define Your Game Plan for Success. Randy Bauer, Physical Therapist will contact you with an personal email for a 20-minute session to outline Your First Steps to a Game Plan. If you have any comments or questions please enter in the comment session below.



Strategies that prevent re-injury also demand attention. Young athletes that are injured have a greater incidence of reoccurring injury. Return to play strategies must include fear avoidance strategies, progressive return to play opportunities and development of fitness levels consistent with competitive demands.

Included below are a series of excerpts that discuss the youth athlete game plan for injury prevention, sport-specific training, fitness and health. 



https://plus.google.com 06/03/2013 18:40

Youth athletes are being overexposed to practice and competition in sports, and the result is increased overuse and traumatic injury. Youth sports is important for the development of our children's well-being. The are some helpful tips that can be followed to take proactive approach to monitoring the youth athlete. There must be an Athlete Game Plan that ensures safety and well-being of the youth athlete.
#athletegameplan   #youthsports   #youthsoccer   #overuseinjury  
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Performance Nutrition for Energy, Recovery and Health

http://www.slideshare.net 2011-11-07

A Successful Athlete will have a Game Plan. A Vital Component to High Level Performance is Nutrition. Performance Nutrition Provides Energy for Training, Recovery and Maintains Mental Function, all Vital to Success on the Competitive Field.
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Speed Training and Dynamic Warm-up

GamePlan for Success:Speed Training Dynamic Warm Up
http://www.slideshare.net 2011-10-09 
Speed training requires proper warm-up to prepare for the workout session. Speed training is an intensive neuromuscular activity. Proper preparation is required for successful outcome and injury prevention. Gear For Success: Athlete Wellness Game Plan

Speed Testing and Training for Football

Football Training: Speed Testing and Training Considerations
http://www.slideshare.net 2012-08-11 
Football Speed Considerations Energy systems Testing considerations Periodization Dynamic Warm-up Speed training Sprint techniques Specific-conditioning Presented by Randy Bauer Bauer Physical Therapy Laguna Hills, CA www.bauerpt.com 94 ...
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Ankle Injuries in Soccer: Treatment and Prevention

GamePlan forAthlete Success: Treatment and Prevention of Ankle Injuries in Soccer
http://www.slideshare.net 2011-07-30 23:47:38 UTC
Ankle sprains are common in soccer. Prevention and initial treatment of the ankle sprain will improve return to play and reduce the incidence and re-injury, maximizing performance on the field. www.bauerpt.com
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Return to Play Following an ACL Injury

https://plus.google.com 10/20/2013 14:02
ACL Injury: When Can I Play?

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL) Injury devastates athletes of all ages. From the aspiring young athlete to the seasoned professional. Careers are interrupted and often ended by the ACL injury.

Reducing the risk of injury requires preparing the athlete to meet the sport-specific demands of the activity. Decreasing the exposure to injury is another way to impact the growing number of sports injury, specifically in the young athlete population. 

The development of sport and age-specific training programs must consider neuromuscular and technical training concepts to ensure gradual progression of a comprehensive performance based program. The young athlete must not be trained 'as if ' they are already at the next level.

Read more on Overexposing the Youth Athlete to Injury  http://goo.gl/6Hlf29

Read More on the Mechanism of Injury and Reducing the Risk of ACL Injury in Soccer http://goo.gl/MNpgAF

Read More on Teens and ACL Injury: Reducing the Exposure and Return to Play  http://goo.gl/ZWUilO

#aclinjury #youthsportsinjuries #returntoplay

+Warren Potash +Bradford Lowry +Joe Napolitani +Soccer Talk
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Teens and ACL tears

 Year-Round Sports: Teens and ACL Tears

Year-round sports increase the incidence of athletic injuries. Sports like soccer are played year-round. The high exposure rate to practice and competition increases the exposure to injury, namely, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears of the knee. To reduce the incidence of injury the athlete must adequately train and recover the body; better preparing for the upcoming season, or competitive demand of the sport.

Youth sports has increased seasons making many sports a year round commitment. Youth soccer has a highly competitive Club season that is immediately followed by the high school season. This results in increased exposure to injury, and little time to adequately rest, recover and prepare for the upcoming season. Specific sports conditioning is a must for injury prevention. 






The year-round cycle of sports training must include a periodized strength and conditioning program. This periodized program addresses off-season, pre-season and in-season training guidelines. The sport-specific periodized program schedules varied training intensities for improved fitness in areas of strength, speed and endurance, power, agility and core conditioning.

Preparing the Joint to Dynamic Loading: Hopping

Preparation of the athlete for return to play following ACL injury requires simulating loads to the joint that will be experienced in specific-sport. Running, change of direction and acceleration and deceleration place increase joint stress on the knee. Progressive resistive strengthening and single and double leg hops are performed to meet the dynamic nature of the activity(soccer, football, basketball), with careful inspection of the athletes' ability to control the joint forces. Specifically, the athlete must be able to control the valgus(adduction) stress of the activity, in this case hopping.

A year-round Sports Conditioning Program that is periodized to address the individual, and the ebb and flow of the competitive season, is essential for maintaining high level performance and health in the young athlete.

Athlete Game Plan for Success
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Teens & ACL tears: More year-round sports lead to injuries - WNEM TV 5

Ankle Injuries: Treatment and Prevention for the Soccer Athlete

Ankle Injuries: Treatment and Prevention for the Soccer Athlete

Ankle injuries are one of the most common injuries in soccer . The lateral (outside) ankle sprain is the most common site of ankle injury. This injury can range from grade I, mild sprains, to grade III, complete ruptures. There are three ligaments of the lateral ankle. These ligaments can be partially or completely involved with an ankle sprain, dictating the severity of ankle sprain.

View more PowerPoint from Bauer Physical Therapy

The most important point in recovering from an ankle sprain is early management of the injury. This includes medical examination and diagnosis, protection of the injury for healing, and physical therapy for restoration of function, and return to play. Recurring injuries to the ankle are often experienced when management of injury is incomplete. The choice of ankle brace for adequate protection during the return to play phase of an ankle injury is an important consideration. I highly recommend the ASO Ankle Brace.

Braceshop.com – Extremity Braces, Therapy Products & Accessories! Click here!

Performing balance activities helps to restore the ankle joint's responsiveness to change of position. Position sense of the ankle can be impaired by sustained immobility, swelling and pain. A recommended addition to training the ankle for return to sport and prevention of ankle injuries is the use of the Dynamic Disc Pillow for challenging the joint position sense of the structures about the ankle.

Ankle Injuries: Treatment and Prevention for Soccer 072611 2Related sites:

Check the Mayo Clinic Site