Take any AFL team you like, national or local. Now, make a list of the 10 most valuable players in that team. Watch the season through and you’ll see that if those players combined miss 27 or more matches, the team will not make finals. Don’t believe me, well that’s what Daniel Hoffman from Deakin University discovered when he observed the entire AFL data from 1997 to 2016. His research reaffirms why Richmond’s 2017 season was so successful and why the Brisbane Lions were able to make their first finals series in a decade last year.
I hope that you can now see that injuries affect a team’s performance and where Injury Prevention Programs, or phrased more appealingly to coaches and players, Performance Enhancing Programs have their place.
The programs aim to ensure players are regularly available for selection, prepare them for the games and improve their individual performance.
All programs are designed for coaches, players and sports trainers to implement. These programs sound good in theory but the most common reason they are not used is due to lack of confidence in rolling out the program. This is where a physiotherapist can help. Here at Good Country Physiotherapy we have experience in running these programs and can help coaches and players feel confident in adopting them to their local club.
If you’re interested in increasing your club or team’s chance of finals, let us know!
For more information about injury prevention programs see below:
Netball = The KNEE Program (https://knee.netball.com.au/)
AFL = Prep to Play (https://coach.afl/prep-play-warm) and Footy First (http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Coach_AFL/Become_a_Coach/Accreditation/FootyFirst_-_Manual.pdf)
Soccer = FIFA 11+ (https://fit4football.co.nz/the-11plus/) and FIFA 11+ kids (https://footballnsw.com.au/protection-and-safety/injury-prevention/fifa-11-kids/)
Rugby Union = ACTIVATE (https://australia.rugby/participate/coach/coaching-resources/world-rugby-activate)
General = Get Set - Train Smarter (https://www.ostrc.no/en/about-us/news/get-set---new-free-app-for-injury-prevention-training/) and PEP program (https://www.aclstudygroup.com/pdf/pep-program.pdf)
~ Kimberley Langley
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