Soccer has been identified as one of the top three sports contributing to injury rates in Canadian youth (ages 11-18). Bone and Joint Canada (BJC) joined with the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) to receive funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) to increase awareness and adoption of the FIFA 11+ program across youth clubs in Ontario.
FIFA 11+ is a 20-minute neuromuscular training warm?up program designed to reduce the risk of injury in soccer. Studies have shown that participating in the program at least 1.5x per week results in a 29?43% injury reduction over the course of one season. The program consists of 15 exercises, including running, strength, plyometrics, and balance and has been designed to be run independently by the coaches.
Training opportunities
Training sessions are being hosted across the province for the coaches and other team staff, such as the trainers. They have been arranged either through the clubs, individual teams or through the district association. All of the training is provided through the OTF grant and as such is free to the club.
There are three types of sessions:
Introductory session: A training session that is approximately 1.5 hours in length and provides training on injury prevention, implementation models within a club as well as demonstrating the FIFA 11+ warm up exercises. This session is hosted for multiple coaches.
Team training sessions: 45 min session with individual coaches and their teams to go through the exercises, ensuring quality movement and answering the coach's questions.
Refresher sessions: 30 – 45 min session with the coach and their team to ensure the exercises are being done correctly and provide advice on exercise progression.
Other training opportunities: The provincial training team are always available through email, phone calls and attendance at practices to answer question. For individuals who are familiar with physical conditioning and who wish to participate in the training with teams, such as strength and conditioning coaches, we can arrange an alternate training approach as needed.
To find out about training opportunities in your area contact the provincial training team.
For more information contact the Membership Services Department