Abstract
Professional soccer clubs invest significantly into the development of their academy prospects with the hopes of producing elite players. Talented youngsters in elite development systems are exposed to high amounts of sports-specific practise with the aims of developing the foundational skills underpinning the capabilities needed to excel in the game. Yet large disparities in maturation status, growth-related issues, and highly-specialised sport practise predisposes these elite youth soccer players to an increased injury risk. However, practitioners may scaffold a performance monitoring and injury surveillance framework over an academy to facilitate data-informed training decisions that may not only mitigate this inherent injury risk, but also enhance athletic performance. Constant communication between members of the multi-disciplinary team enables context to build around an individual’s training status and risk profile, and ensures that a progressive, varied, and bespoke training programme is provided at all stages of development to maximise athletic potential.
Highlights
Professional soccer clubs invest significant amounts of time and money into the development of academy prospects with the hopes of producing elite players [1,2]
Popularity, competition, and new codes of conduct have contributed to a new scientific approach to the development of the academy soccer player, delivered by multi-disciplinary teams focussed on optimising training strategy
In the United Kingdom (UK), the adoption of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) by elite soccer organisations is an example of such a model [10]
Summary
Professional soccer clubs invest significant amounts of time and money into the development of academy prospects with the hopes of producing elite players (e.g., individuals formally registered to a professional soccer club) [1,2]. Researchers have provided evidence for the positive effects a high exposure to technical and tactical skill development from an early age has on fitness and motor control [13], which may provide a physical and technical foundation for the sports-specific capabilities needed in the game [14,15] These types of talent development structures may expose the youth soccer player to an increased risk of injury [9,16,17,18]. It is acknowledged that barriers may exist in the application of best practice; through an understanding of growth, maturation, and how these elements interact with the youth soccer player’s relative injury risk, performance capabilities, and welfare, these obstacles can be overcome Those working in academy soccer clubs should be able to implement foundational, age-appropriate, and progressive training methods to optimise athletic performance, reduce injury risk, and ensure the attainment of future potential
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