Coach JJ's Blog: The 5 Most Common Causes of Football Injuries

A simple, preventable, injury that sidelines a player can cripple his morale and effect the whole team. In football, injuries are common, and sadly, a majority of them are preventable. Most of the discussion about neck injuries and concussions these days, seems to be all about equipment. Equipment does play an important role in preventing injuries, but it is in no way an end all.

In the NFL the players have to have the best possible equipment, which is carefully selected by equipment managers. With this in mind, it's interesting that all of the talk surrounding football injuries is still about the equipment and no one talks about pre-season training, conditioning, flexibility, nutrition, and rest.

When the NFL players' lockout was over and the 2011 season finally started, it was one of the most injury-riddled seasons in history. If you followed football that season you'll remember the abnormally large number of back-up players starting because of injuries.

As a coach it is pretty easy to predict why these injuries occur as the season progresses. It all boils down to physical preparation for the season and it can be broken down into the following 5 areas:

#1 - PRE-SEASON TRAINING

As a coach, I can always tell if players haven't done any preparation before camp. To properly prepare for any physical sport, particularly a contact sport like football, the athlete should begin to prepare at least 2 months before training camp or practices start.

Workouts don't need to be intense but there should be a definite mental attitude that football season has started. It's time to start developing habits and enforcing discipline in your daily activities. During this time it is a good idea to start workouts and drills designed for your position. This includes footwork, catching, throwing, form blocking, tackling, etc. Most football drills can be done without any pads or special equipment.

Drills when practiced thoroughly, will help to make most of their movements on the field second nature. When your body naturally lines up just right to make a block, put on a hit, or take a hit, the chances of sustaining an injury is reduced dramatically.

#2 - CONDITIONING

Conditioning is probably one of the most important things and athlete can do to have an injury-free season. Most injuries are a result of sloppy play and it's no accident, that most injuries occur during the second half of the game, particularly in youth football.

Why? Well when your body starts looking for ways it can save energy, it typically takes away from your muscular system and redirects it to your vital organs. Have you ever seen anyone who just woke up and someone who's exhausted? The exhausted person's posture will be different. They won't be standing up straight, their shoulders will sag, and their head will typically be leaning forward.

Take an exhausted player and picture him playing football. Bad posture turns into bad form and bad form, plus impact, turns into injuries. These injuries also tend to be the most severe since the body naturally wants to lower the head when it's exhausted. Dropping your head into a hit, is by far, the easiest way for a player to hurt their neck playing football.

At the youth level (ages 8-14) parents should be proactive in preparing their child before the season begins. Whatever your tactics might be, it is important to have your young athlete running, jumping, and doing sit-ups and pushups as well as other basic strength exercises.

#3 - FLEXIBILITY

Making sure your body is warm and flexible is one of the best ways to avoid muscle strains, ankle and knee sprains, and even broken bones. Stretching and speed training go a long way towards building your flexibility, agility, and balance.

In order to understand how flexibility can influence injuries you have to think of your body as bones and muscles attached to one another with rubber bands. Tighten up any of those rubber bands and some muscle group is going to get strained due to fighting against your own body mechanics. Show me someone with lower back problems and, almost always, I'll show someone who has tight hamstrings. This is how you end up with muscle and tendon injuries. When you have a muscle or a ligament that's too tight, when you strain it, it's going to yank somewhere else.

Great flexibility and agility are also important on the field. A player with the ability to make quick moves to the right or left is hard to get a good clean hit on. If they can't put a good hit on you because of your ability to move, then your body is not absorbing as much force, which reduces the chance of injury. If you are a ball carrier, good balance will also help you recover from hits or break tackles, which will get additional yards.

#4 - DIET

A player's diet is very closely related to their conditioning because it has to do with their energy levels. Nutrition is probably one of the most overlooked parts of pre-season training by players at all levels.

Football is a demanding sport on your body and the food a player eats has a significant role on their performance. You have to remember, our body's primary objective is too keep us alive. When the body is strained and out of energy it's going to use whatever resources it has to keep your vital organs going and that usually means taking whatever energy it can away from the muscular system. Without the proper energy levels an athlete will move slower, react slower, have less strength, and not think as clearly as they should.

Hydration is also critical. Most people don't drink enough water each day. This is not good for athlete's because they will lose a significant amount of water during practice or a game. This can cause them to become dehydrated and become susceptible to heat stroke.

Here are six foods that all football players should avoid:

1. Sugary Foods - such as cakes, pastries, pudding, ice creams, sweets and biscuits.
2. Caffeine - Caffeine and energy drinks cause dehydration.
3. Fried Food - Since fried food is loaded with oil it takes a long time to digest the fats contained within it.
4. Fatty Food - These contain fats and should be avoided: red meat, bacon, ribs, and sausage.
5. Fizzy Drinks - These are sugary and can lead to stomach problems.
6. Processed Foods - These are high in sodium and fat.

Foods/Drinks to partake of:

1. Water
2. Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains
3. Protein
4. Healthy Fats

#5 - REST

An athlete can exercise and eat right but if he isn't getting enough rest when training, it will all be for nothing. The body needs rest in order to recover from intense exercise. Football is a physically demanding sport. After each game and each practice your body needs time to recover and begin repairing muscles.

Coach JJ has coached youth sports for over 10 years. He is the Owner and Player/Skill Development Specialist for GRID IRON Youth Sports Training and trains players ages 6-15 in football, basketball and baseball. Coach JJ, is also passionate about youth fitness and runs GRID IRON "KIDFit Camp" as a result of that passion. He has coached youth football and basketball at the Conroe and Woodlands YMCA's. Coach JJ is the Coach Coordinator and a Board Member for Conroe Little League Baseball and has coached their for several years as well. Coach JJ is a certified member of USA Football, the national governing body for youth football in America. He is also a certified member of USA Basketball, the national governing body for youth basketball in America. Coach JJ is trained and certified through the Positive Coaching Alliance and is currently pursuing his certification as a Youth Fitness Specialist and Speed and Agility Trainer both through the International Youth Conditioning Association. He is a contracted instructor in football and basketball for the City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department. Coach JJ is also in the process completing his training with the American Sports Education Program.