It is great to be writing this week’s blog after a victory. The 2-1 result v Perth is an obvious step in the right direction and it is vital that we now build on this and get a result v Adelaide.
It is great to be writing this week-s blog after a victory. The 2-1 result v Perth is an obvious step in the right direction and it is vital that we now build on this and get a result v Adelaide.
This victory was a great response by the players after the previous week-s performance and demonstrated passion and courage, which are two of our club’s core values.
This week we have a full training week and it is important to balance work and recovery. At this stage of the season accumulated fatigue is an issue but this is why we put an emphasis on player monitoring. Our job is to ensure that fatigue doesn-t get to a level that will cause a decrease in performance or injury.
Not all injuries can be prevented but it is imperative that there is a focus on prevention and an understanding of the mechanism of any injury that occurs.
Injuries are a major part of any sport and particularly grass roots sports. The introduction of over 35-s and 45-s football has been a great revenue stream for some of the medical fraternity as the injury statistics are substantial. However, just implementing some basic structure to training could decrease these injuries.
Too often the training at an amateur level is not specific to our game. Running lap after lap around an oval, running up sand hills or boxing training is not going to get your body ready to compete in football.
The best method to get ready for football is play football. This may involve playing small sided games 5 v 5/7 v 7/9 v 9 etc as by doing this the body will be getting use to the movements that you will be doing in the actual game.
Furthermore, your fitness will be superior to if you were just running lap after lap and it’s also more enjoyable.
I don-t want to be critical of grass roots coaching but I will say that the more you can do that involves the ball the better.
If you do get injured it is also very important to get very good advice. Injuries do happen but we need to get these injuries rehabilitated so they do not happen again. Many injuries, particularly muscle strains can be prevented just by having a sound training structure and warming up appropriately.
If you ever need advice please contact me, as I am always happy to help. Let-s hope our team performs to its potential and we get a great result v Adelaide.
Dr Craig Duncan
(twitter) @drcraigduncan
(email) craigd@sydneyfc.com
(web) www.drcraigduncan.com
