The effect of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA ) 11+ Kids injury prevention program on reducing injury rates in children’s soccer.

INTERVENTION: The intervention group will be instructed to perform the “11+ Kids” injury prevention program during one season (6 months) at least twice a week. ‘11+ Kids’ consists of seven different exercises and can be performed in about 15–20 min. Three exercises focus on unilateral, dynamic stability of the lower extremities (hopping, jumping and landing), three exercises on whole body and trunk strength/stability, and one exercise on falling technique. The difficulty of each exercise is progressively increased in five levels to account for the varying age‐ and maturity‐related performance levels, as well as for general differences in motor skills of children aged 7–13 years. EXERCISE 1: “ALERTNESS” RUNNING GAME LEVEL 1: LISTEN FOR THE STOP COMMAND LISTEN TO THE COACH 3 SETS WITH 5 STOP COMMANDS PER SET STARTING POSITION: the players stand on the goal line, about 2 metres apart. The coach stands just outside the penalty area (distance depends on the players’ age). ACTION: at the coach’s command, the players run straight ahead towards the coach. If the coach calls “right” or “left”, the players must stand on the right or left leg and maintain their balance for around 3 seconds. They can hop until they find their balance. The knee of the supporting leg should not be fully extended, and the arms can be used for balance. If the player does not stand on one leg at the stop command or the other foot touches the ground within 3 seconds, he/she must jog back to the goal line. The coach then gives the command to run and stop (five times in total per set). All players then jog back to the goal line. LEVEL 2: WATCH FOR THE STOP COMMAND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 1, except that the players watch the coach for the stop command. The coach indicates the leg on which they should stop. WATCH THE COACH 3 SETS WITH 5 STOP COMMANDS PER SET LEVEL 3: BALL IN THE HANDS AND LISTEN FOR THE STOP COMMAND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 1, except that the players hold a ball with both hands. LISTEN TO THE COACH 3 SETS WITH 5 STOP COMMANDS PER SET LEVEL 4: BALL IN THE HANDS AND WATCH FOR THE STOP COMMAND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 2, except that the players hold a ball with both hands. WATCH THE COACH 3 SETS WITH 5 STOP COMMANDS PER SET LEVEL 5: DRIBBLE WITH THE BALL AND LISTEN FOR THE STOP COMMAND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 1, except that the players dribble with the ball. At the stop command, the players stop the ball with the foot and stand on one leg without touching the ball with the free foot. LISTEN TO THE COACH 3 SETS WITH 5 STOP COMMANDS PER SET EXERCISE 2: SKATING JUMPS LEVEL 1: LEARNING HOW TO LAND STARTING POSITION: the players stand on the goal line, about 2 metres apart. The coach tells the players which leg to stand on and makes sure that every player is standing on the correct leg. ACTION: at the coach’s command (“jump!”), the players jump forward on one leg and land on the other leg. The coach indicates the direction in order to avoid collisions. Example: when jumping from the left foot, the player should jump forwards to the right, finding their balance on landing and standing on one leg for 3 seconds. While balancing, the knee of the supporting leg is slightly bent. Balancing with the arms is permitted. The coach then gives the command for the next jump in the other direction. The player should make a clear sideways movement with each jump in order to move forwards in a zigzag. After 5 jumps on each leg, the player returns slowly to the goal line. LISTEN TO THE COACH 2 SETS OF 10 JUMPS (5 PER LEG) LEVEL 2: BALL IN BOTH HANDS STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 1, except that the players hold a ball with both hands. LISTEN TO THE COACH 2 SETS OF 10 JUMPS (5 PER LEG) LEVEL 3: BALANCING WITH THE BALL IN ONE HAND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 1, except that the players balance with the ball on an outstretched hand (one set with the right hand and one with the left). LISTEN TO THE COACH 2 SETS OF 10 JUMPS (5 PER LEG) LEVEL 4: DROPPING THE BALL ONTO THE GROUND STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 2, except that on landing, the players stretch while standing on one leg and, with the ball above their heads, bend over forwards, drop the ball gently onto the ground and then assume the upright position again. This should be done slowly and in a controlled manner. LISTEN TO THE COACH 2 SETS OF 10 JUMPS (5 PER LEG) LEVEL 5: DYNAMIC BALANCING WITH BALL STARTING POSITION AND ACTION: as level 4, except that the players stretch their free leg behind them upwards and both arms forwards and then return to the usual one‐leg position. This is followed by the next jump. The players make as long a stretch as possible, the idea being for the ball, head, torso and raised leg to be in one straight line. LISTEN TO THE COACH 2 SETS OF 10 JUMPS (5 PER LEG) EXERCISE 3: SINGLE‐LEG STANCE LEVEL 1: THROWING THE BALL STARTING POSITION: 2 players stand on o CONDITION: Soccer Injuries PRIMARY OUTCOME: Overall injuries. ; Injury is defined according to a consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in soccer studies; an injury will be recorded if it caused the player to be unable to completely participate in the following match or training session. ; Coaches in both the experimental and control groups will be reporting injuries during training and matches by filling in forms once per week and submitting the information using the Sports Injury Tracker injury reporting form (Sports Medicine Australia). SECONDARY OUTCOME: Lower extremity injuries. The lower extremity refers to the part of the body from the hip to the toes. The lower extremity includes the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and the bones of the thigh, leg, and foot. ; Injury is defined according to a consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in soccer studies; an injury will be recorded if it caused the player to be unable to completely participate in the following match or training session. ; Coaches in both the experimental and control groups will be reporting injuries during training and matches by filling in forms once per week and submitting the information using the Sports Injury Tracker injury reporting form (Sports Medicine Australia). INCLUSION CRITERIA: Male Soccer players Must be between 7 and 13 years of age at the start of the study. Training at least twice per week.