“Off Season” & Recovery

Compared to other sports, soccer requires greater physical conditioning. The games are long, physically demanding and played at a high intensity.

A soccer player’s body is subjected to a lot of stress and the result could mean an increase in soccer related injuries. The solution to preventing these injuries is to incorporate an “off-season.”

For example:

• Football athletes play at a very high intensity but there is only one game a week.
• Basketball is comparable to soccer in the amount of games played and the high intensity. However, soccer games last twice as long as a basketball game.
• Baseball players have more games than soccer players but the intensity is much lower.
• Football, basketball and baseball all have a designated “off seasons.”

Complete Recovery of Injury:

SOCCER PLAYERS:

• You need to understand that an injury should be completely healed before returning to play.
• You risk re-injury and possibly more serious injuries, if you return to the game before completely recovering.
• Let the body recuperate and heal. Don’t risk further injuries.

For example, a soccer player that returns to play too soon following a serious ankle sprain could possibly be setting themselves up for an ACL tear.

If the player jumps up to head the ball and lands incorrectly on the bad ankle, the force the ankle would have absorbed is now shifted to the knee. This extra force to the knee could cause a more severe injury than the initial sprain, such as a ligamentous tear, meniscus tear, patellar dislocation, etc.

Athletes must recognize the importance of letting their injuries heal completely before returning to the game. Again, failure to heal can result in more traumatic injuries and a longer time away from the game and the injuries were most likely preventable by taking some time off.

In addition to preventing injuries, recent research has shown that a designated “off season” for soccer players, results in an increased physical performance!