# Injuries



## timbuck (Aug 25, 2016)

The "The Day the Game Stopped" thread got me wondering.  For any of you with kids that are dealing with injuries, I wish you speedy recovery.
Has your player or their teammates had to deal with any serious injuries?
It seems that the age of 11-12 is about the time that things start to happen.  I don't remember seeing friends get hurt from sports back in the day.  Sure, you had an occasional broken arm or there was that one kid who would jump his bike off of/over anything and he was always getting stitches.
Why does it seem to be happening more now?

Is it because of changing bodies?
Is it because of "overuse"? - IE Playing and practicing year round with 80 games a year being "normal"?
Is it because they are playing more physical?  There were physical teams at younger ages or teams had 1 or 2 kids that played physical.  Now you are seeing more players using their bodies.  And some kids have hit a growth spurt, while others haven't.
Is it because coaches are expecting kids to do more?  I know a team that just moved to 2 hour practices from 90 minutes.  Many coaches expect kids to be doing conditioning outside of practice.
Is it because parents (or coaches) are pushing kids to play if they are slightly dinged up?  (You don't want to lose your spot on the team.  We are spending this money, you better get on the field).
Is it because of nutrition?
I think it's probably a combination of all of the above and some bad luck.
We have 3 on our team right now that are hurt.
1. Decided to drop soccer. She's been dealing with dizziness that is yet to be diagnosed. She tried to play through it, but it's gotten worse. Glad that she didn't get hurt as a result.
2. We had a week long team camp for 3 hours a day.  At the end of the 4th day, her foot was bothering her.  Went to the doc and found out she has a torn tendon in her ankle.  She's in a boot for a few more weeks.  She's a kid who doesn't play super physical, but she had a few injuries last year.
3.  Just had another one who was complaining about her ankle bothering her.  She's new to the team and didn't want to sit out during a scrimmage two weeks ago..  She played most of the scrimmage in goal and a few minutes on the field, but she was in pain.  She played on the field during a tournament this past weekend.  She looked ok on the field, but maybe a bit slower than usual.  She didn't complain during the weekend.  Yesterday, she was just diagnosed with tendinitis and advised to take a week or 2 off.


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## pulguita (Aug 25, 2016)

Severs syndrome - 12 years old.  Basically had to be retaught how to run
Misaligned patella tendon due to compensating for Severs
Groin pull - dealt with for 8 months finally had to take 6 weeks off and heal
Broken thumb
Knee tendinitis- too numerous to count and currently experiencing
Tight calves from compensation
Grade 1 MCL Strain current - out for 2 weeks
All part of the journey....


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## MakeAPlay (Aug 25, 2016)

pulguita said:


> Severs syndrome - 12 years old.  Basically had to be retaught how to run
> Misaligned patella tendon due to compensating for Severs
> Groin pull - dealt with for 8 months finally had to take 6 weeks off and heal
> Broken thumb
> ...


She will be back out on the pitch before you know it.  Your kid is a warrior!


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## pulguita (Aug 25, 2016)

MakeAPlay said:


> She will be back out on the pitch before you know it.  Your kid is a warrior!


Yeah she is.  2 weeks will probably be good for her in the long run.


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## Overlap (Aug 25, 2016)

My DD had a grade 2 groin tear, sat for 3 weeks, (wasn't enough), had a tough start of the last season as it effected her speed and her first step ability. Although she played through it, I think she should have sat longer to allow the healing process. To make it worse, her team was short numbers due to players leaving for various reasons and that forced her to play sooner and longer minutes. She finally healed toward the end of last season and what a difference! Don't risk it, take the proper amount of time to heal


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## mommato2girls (Aug 25, 2016)

Kiddo is 11. She's (knock on wood) never had a serious injury. She's taken a ball to the head that shook her up a bit and taken a fall onto her knee that swelled up but was taken care of with ice and rest. My husbands cousin (not sure what that makes her to me) plays at UC Davis. The advice she gives me kiddo is to strength train. She goes to a strengthening class at a studio once a week where they work with bands, light weights, etc. They focus on the core a lot. When she gets a little older I will let her weight train more, I think a lot of injuries are a combination of overuse and lack of proper stretching/strengthening and even lack of proper training in running form, basic kicking techniques etc. I've heard lots of people say they don't recommend 2 sports at one time but the cousin at Davis said her coach tells them all to take up another sport for fun that uses different muscles or is low impact. She said most of the girls swim laps together a few mornings a week. Hope everyone that is injured heals well. Hate seeing the girls go down. But pls don't take a knee, stretch!


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## Buddhabman (Aug 25, 2016)

Dealing with injuries is unfortunate aspect of game as kids get older. Growth, physical play and bad luck are all factors.  Severs, Osgood and assorted other knee, shin, foot injuries crop all the time on growing kids.  Some kids have better pain tolerance, other kids gut it out but compensate with different mechanics. If you sense your kid is not running as hard and not that usual buzzing bee on the field, have a talk with them.  Having a kid continue to gut it out and compensate for his initial hurt can often lead to more difficult problems. It's hard to keep a kid out for 4-6 weeks of a 10-12 week league season. It's super frustrating to them, ,   but a kid running in pain is not going to run as hard.  You can mask a lot of pain in short bursts of practice, but in the crunch during a game it's not as easy. Bottom line is the kids need rest when they get injured. Good luck with that though.


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## Sunil Illuminati (Aug 25, 2016)

Young players need rest. Too much pressure from coaches and parents to play multiple games week in week out. Too many coaches don't understand the need to strengthen and develop players bodies specifically to match the demands of the game. Pointless long distance running exercises, developing nothing other than long distance running stamina and adding constant pounding to the young players bodies and joints. Ever notice that kids go on incredible growth spurts during the summer or winter break? It's not by accident, it's the only time the kids bodies have the opportunity to rest and grow! Watch your coach in action. How do they prepare your kids? watch other coaches too...There's usually a pattern of coaches/teams who can't field healthy teams for half of the season and it's only rarely down to bad luck! http://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/08/01/raymond-verheijens-football-action-theory/


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## timbuck (Aug 25, 2016)

Are they the same coaches that take the maximum roster?


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## zebrafish (Aug 25, 2016)

timbuck said:


> 1. Decided to drop soccer. She's been dealing with dizziness that is yet to be diagnosed. She tried to play through it, but it's gotten worse. Glad that she didn't get hurt as a result.
> 2. We had a week long team camp for 3 hours a day.  At the end of the 4th day, her foot was bothering her.  Went to the doc and found out she has a torn tendon in her ankle.  She's in a boot for a few more weeks.  She's a kid who doesn't play super physical, but she had a few injuries last year.
> 3.  Just had another one who was complaining about her ankle bothering her.  She's new to the team and didn't want to sit out during a scrimmage two weeks ago..  She played most of the scrimmage in goal and a few minutes on the field, but she was in pain.  She played on the field during a tournament this past weekend.  She looked ok on the field, but maybe a bit slower than usual.  She didn't complain during the weekend.  Yesterday, she was just diagnosed with tendinitis and advised to take a week or 2 off.


I think any kid that does sports on a serious level is at higher injury risk. However, I injured myself more doing stupid non-team sport related stuff than I did playing serious sports.

Broken ulna/radius grade 4
Broken radius grade 9
Broken ankle grade 10
Broken finger grade 12 (needed surgery)
Broken ankle freshman college
Many ankle sprains

Only the broken finger was a primary or team-sport related injury. The rest was goofing around (mostly doing sports like pickup hoops, falling out of a tree, etc). As a kid I played tennis year-round from age 8ish through college + seasonal soccer. I had lots of intermittent joint stuff (shoulder, lower back).

Among your group, #1 is unlikely to be a soccer/sports-related injury in a player w/o prior history of concussion/head trauma. I'd take that off the list as relevant. That is unfortunate. Hopefully, they can get to bottom of things medically-- it may very well be premature to quit sports b/c of this. But obviously, I don't have all the information.

#2/3 should take time off to recover. They should get better with rest. But I would have them not come back until their injuries are treated and symptoms are gone. I think it is important to try to heal acute injuries so they don't become chronic issues with secondary injuries which I think is harder to shake.

To me, your team's injury stuff isn't a huge red flag for me. The thing that worries me more about what you bring up in regards to overuse is the stuff like ACL tears and such which I do worry about in the context of how kids (especially girls) do athletics today.


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## madcow (Aug 25, 2016)

My daughter has had 3 ACL surgeries. Tore her ACL in the spring of her 8th grade year, finally played her first real club game the spring of her junior year. While her touch hasn't changed much, trying to match her team's speed of play and overall fitness and speed has been the hardest part of her return. We were hoping to finish out her senior year with just no more injuries, but she has been working hard enough that she is actually battling for a starting spot. She still has a long way to go, but this has made her stronger, more focused and realize she loves the game more than ever.


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## MakeAPlay (Aug 25, 2016)

madcow said:


> My daughter has had 3 ACL surgeries. Tore her ACL in the spring of her 8th grade year, finally played her first real club game the spring of her junior year. While her touch hasn't changed much, trying to match her team's speed of play and overall fitness and speed has been the hardest part of her return. We were hoping to finish out her senior year with just no more injuries, but she has been working hard enough that she is actually battling for a starting spot. She still has a long way to go, but this has made her stronger, more focused and realize she loves the game more than ever.


She is a heck of a player and great to have her back on the pitch.  She is an amazing young women with a great attitude and amazing mental toughness.  She will be back to playing at the level she was at in her ODP regional team days!  Good luck to her sir.


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## Sparky9 (Aug 25, 2016)

Sparky7 recovering from a broken arm from a rough but not dirty play. Last year 2 month concussion from a dirty play. My girl is on the average/smaller side. Enrolling in martial arts to deflect blows.
Her keeper has been plowed over at least 4 times and hit in the head with no cards to opposing forwards this summer. As a hockey fan, it drives me crazy keepers arent more protected as they are vulnerable.


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## dfbmike (Aug 26, 2016)

Sunil Illuminati said:


> Young players need rest. Too much pressure from coaches and parents to play multiple games week in week out. Too many coaches don't understand the need to strengthen and develop players bodies specifically to match the demands of the game. Pointless long distance running exercises, developing nothing other than long distance running stamina and adding constant pounding to the young players bodies and joints. Ever notice that kids go on incredible growth spurts during the summer or winter break? It's not by accident, it's the only time the kids bodies have the opportunity to rest and grow! Watch your coach in action. How do they prepare your kids? watch other coaches too...There's usually a pattern of coaches/teams who can't field healthy teams for half of the season and it's only rarely down to bad luck! http://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/08/01/raymond-verheijens-football-action-theory/


that's why coaching education is important.  all these things, including when to increase practice intensity when to decrease, recovery periods/schedules etc etc  are taught in the advanced courses.  
having a "wise"coach with the big picture in mind is def always a plus.


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## etc1217 (Aug 26, 2016)

My DD started playing club soccer when she was 10 and has been in and out of physical therapy, chiropractors, neurologists and urgent/emergency care ever since.  Now at the higher age level the play is even rougher.  My DD keeps wrist and ankle braces, icy hot and cold compresses in her bag for just in case during a game something happens.  One time on the field, she fell hurt her wrist (later found out she sprained it) and one of the other players took off her wrist brace and handed it to my DD and they both got up and continued to play the rest of the game.  Injuries are bound to happen, its just knowing how to best prevent them especially in a fall or just overuse.  I laugh when people say football is the most dangerous contact sport...apparently, they haven't seen soccer with just shin guards as their only protection.


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## Gragg (Aug 26, 2016)

Unfortunately, from my view and opinion, my boys team has less injuries than my DD team at 14.  My buddy's view is the same who happens to be ref and coach licensed, he came to my older DD's team game and said without a doubt 3-5 red cards should have been handed out.  In fact no cards were handed out. He couldnt believe what was going on in the game. I think boys side games are handled more agressively by the center refs early on the games, and that takes alot of the players unnecessary aggression away, so they can focus on the game more.  Alot of the Girls sided games are just plain survival....BTW that game my buddy observed there were 4 injuries, including broken bones...


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## timbuck (Aug 26, 2016)

dfbmike said:


> that's why coaching education is important.  all these things, including when to increase practice intensity when to decrease, recovery periods/schedules etc etc  are taught in the advanced courses.
> having a "wise"coach with the big picture in mind is def always a plus.


There really should be more coaching education on this.  
Periodization needs to be better understood when dealing with young players (pre-high school). 
Development Academy seems to be thinking this way. More practice. Less games.  But with their 4 practices per week, will they have a long term plan for fitness and recovery.


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## zebrafish (Aug 26, 2016)

Gragg said:


> Unfortunately, from my view and opinion, my boys team has less injuries than my DD team at 14.  My buddy's view is the same who happens to be ref and coach licensed, he came to my older DD's team game and said without a doubt 3-5 red cards should have been handed out.  In fact no cards were handed out. He couldnt believe what was going on in the game. I think boys side games are handled more agressively by the center refs early on the games, and that takes alot of the players unnecessary aggression away, so they can focus on the game more.  Alot of the Girls sided games are just plain survival....BTW that game my buddy observed there were 4 injuries, including broken bones...


I have to agree on some level with this-- I watched a game last weekend where there was a 9 year old girl who committed 3 yellow card level offenses-- I have them all on video, and the player has no intention of going for the ball-- she is just taking out the player-- and this is a 9 year old girl. No cards were given. I am still kind of in shock watching it.


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## timbuck (Aug 26, 2016)

Is part of the reason that the boys don't play as rough because they know they might catch a fist to the mouth if they do?
If a girl isn't getting a card and there is no fear of the other team providing a little vigilante justice, then they play rough.  And if the coach doesn't discourage it or even encourage's rough play, then there's nothing to stop it from happening.
And I'm certainly not suggesting that girls need to start throwing punches to make the field a safer place.


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## zebrafish (Aug 26, 2016)

I will say that the dirty plays in this GU9 game I witnessed last weekend really went down very silently-- it was only once I looked at the video that I really noticed the degree of foul-- pretty egregious stuff.

I think boys are more conditioned to get up and get in your face, yell, get incredulous, whatever.

Probably it becomes more obvious to the ref that something bad has happened if there is a commotion -- they realize they need to get the game under control.

So, I think you're onto something.


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## goldentoe (Aug 31, 2016)

timbuck said:


> The "The Day the Game Stopped" thread got me wondering.  For any of you with kids that are dealing with injuries, I wish you speedy recovery.
> Has your player or their teammates had to deal with any serious injuries?
> Why does it seem to be happening more now?
> 
> ...



 
Hey Timbuck,  I will share a little bit about my daughter's story with you.  I believe that body changes have a lot to do with it, and I believe that luck plays an enormous role. My daughter grew up playing the game in a fearless fashion, putting her body in harms way often.  It finally caught up with her when she broke her collarbone.  And while she had many bumps and bruises, and even a broken finger along the way, the following injuries actually caused her to miss time on the field.

Major Injuries:  1. Broken collarbone - 12-16 week recovery.  Fully broken in half, no surgery required to repair.  It happened right before the Region 4 finals. 2.  Torn Right ACL/Meniscus early freshman year of high school.  Missed 9 months recovering.   3.  Torn Left ACL/Meniscus early sophomore year.  Missed 9 months recovering.  4.  Quad/Hip/Hamstring/groin soreness -  Limited ability to return, missed 2015 ECNL finals.

I am glad to say that today she is healthy and feeling great.  Her orthopedic has speculated that her ACL tears may have been the result of genetics.  She was born with the wrong ones, and now has the right ones.  He thought maybe the original parts weren't the proper fit.  Sounds good to her parents, so we're going with that.  I can't really put a finger on what happened.  Both injuries were non-contact.  She's always trained hard, but rested well.  She has always been aware of her diet, and her sleep habits are amazing. After the first ACL tear we employed a personal trainer who has become an enormous part of her life.  He has brought her back to the field twice, and brought out of her a mental and physical strength that has changed her life.  I think maybe she was supposed to go through this, it's made her who she is.  I have had the pleasure of meeting up with Madcow and his daughter on a few occasions.  I get the feeling they were chosen to travel their path because they had the strength to do it.  They are inspiring.

We've found there are so many mental, social, and team dynamic issues that can result from major injury.  Too many to list here.  We never consulted with one, but a sports psychologist, or some sort of professional may be helpful to someone going through it.

Good luck, and Good Health to everyone this upcoming season!


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