Injury Prevention Practices by Amateur Football Coaches

in Gauteng South Africa

Siphesihle Mtshali

, Hellen Myezwa

, Nonceba Mbambo-Kekana

and Kerith Aginsky

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

School of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa

Keywords: Observation, Injury Prevention, Coaches.

Abstract: Football coaches play a vital role in teaching safe playing skills and prevention strategies. However with

perceived incongruence between existing scientific evidence, research and implementation in practice and

delivery, there is no evidence for translation of research into practice. This study aimed to identify coaching

practices on injury prevention in amateur football players. Ten institutions and their coaches registered in

the University Sport of South Africa Gauteng Football League during the 2012 season agreed to participate

in the study. A structured observation checklist was developed from the ten point action plan of the

SportSmart injury prevention programme to observe practices of coaches. The coaches’ education was

found to be limited to an introductory level and experience. Keeping attendance registers, type of stretches

during warm up, availability of hydration and injury management during training sessions were aspects not

practised by the coaches. This paper presents aspects the coaches were focusing on, which may influence

injury prevention. Sixty percent of the items in the observation checklist were not taken into account by the

majority of coaches. Some of the omissions such as type of stretches have the potential to increase the risk

of injury among the players.

1 INTRODUCTION

For an effective injury prevention programme, it is

important to determine the pre-existing knowledge

and practice of coaches. In order to determine pre-

existing knowledge and practices most studies use

questionnaires and interviews. In social sciences

direct observation methods are used to determine

practices or behaviour of participants. There are

various observational methods which include

explorative, detailed, and inquisitive and

comparison. However in coaching, systemic

observation has been used to identify the behaviour

of coaches and teachers in sport and education

(Cushion et al., 2012a). The observation of coaches

has resulted in a wealth of information about coach

behaviour, observation instruments used in the

process and areas of improvement in coaching

(Cushion et al., 2012a). The focus of observations is

on general coach behaviour in order to implement

interventions that aim on improving interactions in

specific areas of coaching practice. Various

observation tools have been developed to capture

complex coaching behaviour and practice (Cushion

et al., 2012b, Ford et al., 2009). These tools are

specific to behaviour in terms of pre delivery

planning, safety, personal qualities and a general

coaching approach, organization of the session,

instruction, communication, observation and

feedback. Some of these observation tools also

provide self-awareness feedback to coaches in

aligning the actual and stated behaviour (Cushion et

al., 2012b, Ford et al., 2010a). Although there is a

safety component in the observation checklist, the

details do not encompass injury prevention

strategies.

Coaching observation has been used to examine

coaches’ practices and instructional (Ford et al.,

2010b) behaviour for football players using video

analysis and checklist in terms of skill acquisition,

motor learning and expert performance. The

observation method has also been used in coaches’

evaluation of practices, but not in the application of

injury prevention practices. There are few studies

that have evaluated coaches’ behavioural changes

and adherence following an intervention, that also

used the observation approach to establish the teams

adherence to the intervention (Steffen et al., 2013a).

Mtshali S., Myezwa H., Mbambo-Kekana N. and Aginsky K..

Injury Prevention Practices by Amateur Football Coaches in Gauteng South Africa.

DOI: 10.5220/0005160700570063

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress on Sports Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS-2014), pages 57-63

ISBN: 978-989-758-057-4

 2014 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

In the above study coaches were not aware that

observation was taking place during practice and

there are no further details on the nature of the

observation. However, coaches ‘behavioural

changes and implementation of injury prevention

programmes has been mainly determined through

self-reported questionnaires with no practical

observation(Gianotti et al., 2010). As most self-

reported questionnaires rely on participants’

responses and therefore may not reflect the true

practical implementation of injury prevention

programmes.

There is a perceived incongruence or mismatch

between existing scientific evidence, research and

implementation in practice and delivery in sport

research (Ford et al., 2010a, Donaldson and Finch,

2013, Finch et al., 2013). In football there is still no

evidence as to whether coaches practically

implement the existing scientific evidence in injury

prevention. Some of the reasons for the lack of

implementation could be the lack of consensus on

injury prevention strategies and programmes by

researchers which affects the dissemination. The aim

of this study was to identify the practices of coaches

of amateur football players to assist in the

development of a coach education injury prevention

programme.

2 METHODS

Observation of injury prevention practices was used

to determine baseline information on coaches in

order to develop a coach education programme on

injury prevention in amateur football players.

Permission to conduct the study was obtained from

the University of the Witwatersrand Human

Research Ethics Committee (M110654) and

University Sport of South Africa Football. The study

was conducted in the Gauteng Province of South

Africa in university institutions that participated in

the University Sport South Africa Gauteng Football

League (UGFL) during the 2012 season. All twelve

UGFL participating institutions were invited to

participate in the study

Training days were identified with each

institution and appointments were made with the

head coaches through the team managers. A total of

two structured observations of training sessions were

done with each team. Consent for the study was

sought from the head coach. Full training sessions

were observed using the structured observation

checklist and notes were made for better

understanding where necessary. The observation of

practices was conducted over a period of six weeks

during the first half of the league season.

Clarification on specific training aspects included

the type of skills or fitness training for an example

ball handling skills, kicking skills, game set plays,

changing direction, endurance and resistance

training.

The structured observation checklist was

developed using the 10- point action plan of injury

prevention by Gianotti and Hume (2007). The 10-

point action plan includes 1) screening, 2) warm up

– cool down and stretching, 3) physical

conditioning, 4) technique, 5) fair play, 6) protective

equipment, 7) hydration and nutrition, 8) injury

reporting, 9) environment and 10) injury

management which was developed as part of the

SportSmart programme (Gianotti and Hume, 2007)

The checklist was piloted for feasibility and content

validity using teams from four provinces of South

Africa (Mpumalanga, Western Cape, Free State and

Northwest Provinces) during the University Sport of

South Africa football national championships in

2011. This was done over a five day football

tournament and adjustments were made. The injury

prevention structured observation checklist has the

following items: injury reporting, training (warm up,

cool down, stretching, skills, fitness), equipment

(use of shin guards, soccer boots), nutrition and

hydration, environmental factors (weather, playing

surfaces), injury management (availability of first

aid, availability of medical personnel, injury

protocol). A focus group of four coaches, two

players, medical doctor and a physiotherapist expert

on questionnaire development were given the list to

use during the first two days of the tournament. It

was adjusted and edited as per suggestions and

consensus was reached within the group (r = 0.98).

Fair play on the item list was removed as it required

more details and engagement with coaches and

referees to reach conclusions which were beyond the

objective of the study. Basic demographics of the

coaches were determined which included level of

coaches training. Descriptive analysis using

frequencies, percentages, means and standard

deviations were used in this study.

3 RESULTS

Ten of the twelve institutions agreed to participate in

the study and coaches were observed during their

training and match sessions. Twelve coaches

completed the demographic questionnaire. As the

icSPORTS2014-InternationalCongressonSportSciencesResearchandTechnologySupport

sample of the coaches was small, age ranges were

used instead of the actual age. Fifty eight percent of

the coaches were in the range of 30 – 39 age and

seventy five percent of the sample were males. In

South Africa official coaching education has four

levels: introductory level, level one, two and three.

Seventeen percent of the coaches did not have any

coaching education compared to 50% that had

introductory level. Two thirds of the sample were

head coaches and had been in the position between

two to five years. Majority (75%) gained their

football experience as players and the rest of the

coaches gained their experience as referees (17%),

managers of the teams (8%) and team trainers (8%).

Football coaching experience was gained from

coaching a junior team (42%), amateur club (42%),

school level (8%) and 8% had no coaching

experience.

3.1 Training Sessions

A standard question to all the coaches at the

beginning of the training session was asked, “Are all

your players here today?” Three coaches of the 10

teams knew the number of players attending the

training sessions and explanation for the absent

players was given. Seven coaches were not sure of

the whereabouts of their players and one of them did

not even recognise some of the players during the

training session. The number of players attending

the training session was compared to the number of

official registered players per team.

3.2 Duration of Training Sessions

Although the focus of the training session varied

between fitness and skills training with each team,

all the teams included both types of training on the

days of observation. Teams were observed for the

length of training. Total duration was determined by

calculating the length of time taken for the warm up,

skills and fitness during training session. The

average duration of skills training amongst all the

teams was 38±6.12 minutes whereas time spent on

fitness training was on average 20±7.32 minutes.

The average total duration of training per session

was 75±15.58 minutes. The average duration for

warm up was 19±9.72 minutes with the least amount

of time being 10 minutes.

3.3 Considered Factors during

Training

Injury management (80%), hydration (70%) and

cool down (80%) were not highly considered factors

by the coaches during their training sessions. Even

though 60% of the coaches considered stretching as

part of the training session; 40% of the stretching

teams focused more on static stretching. There was

100% use of appropriate football shoes/boots by

players in all the teams, though not all the players in

the teams wore shin guards. Coaches did not take

any action for who did not have shin guards. At the

time of observation none of the players in the teams

were using visible taping or bracing during training.

During the training session, nine teams (60%)

completed a warm up routine. Two teams included

paced running around the field once or twice for the

cool down. Hydration in the form of water bottles or

nearby water taps was not fully available during

training but available during matches where all

teams had hydration for players on the side line.

3.4 Environment Factors

3.4.1 Playing Surface

All observed training sessions were done outdoors in

the afternoon to early evening sessions (16h00 –

19h00) and all participating teams played on natural

turf. The majority of the teams (80%) trained on

patchy surfaces. Patchy surfaces or fields were

defined as the surfaces where the grass was not

evenly green and did not consistently cover the

whole field.

3.4.2 Weather Conditions

The average temperature when the training sessions

occurred was 18.2  1.41 degrees Celsius for all the

teams observed. There was no time adjustment for

cool weather conditions during training sessions.

3.5 Injury Management

Only one team had an injury management protocol

which included what happens when a player gets

injured on the field, during rehabilitation and

appropriate recording or reporting of injuries.

Players in the team with injury management protocol

who were undergoing rehabilitation and were ready

to return to play participated in individualised

training sessions. Two of the teams had students

who were studying health or exercise science

degrees assisting the team with medical care that

included providing first aid care.

InjuryPreventionPracticesbyAmateurFootballCoachesinGautengSouthAfrica

4 DISCUSSION

4.1 Attendance of Training and Match

Sessions

Seventy percent of the coaches were not able to

account for non-attendance or extra players in the

team thus indicating that coaches did not maintain

an attendance register for the training sessions.

Attendance of players and keeping of registers has

been reported in studies evaluating adherence or

compliance to the intervention programme in the

injury prevention studies (Sugimoto et al., 2012).

Here players with low compliance rate were 4.9

times more at risk of ACL injury compared to those

players with high compliance to assess the effect

compliance to neuromusculoskeletal training for the

anterior cruciate ligament. Attending and completing

training sessions was used to determine the

compliance of players to the ACL intervention

programme. Players with high compliance to an

intervention programme have a lower risk of injury

(Soligard et al. (2010), Steffen et al. (2013b) and

(Steffen et al., 2008). To be able to report on

compliance to the intervention programmes in these

studies, coaches had to report on players present

during training sessions. Coaches’ compliance and

attitude toward the intervention programmes was a

predictor of injury risk (Soligard et al., 2010).

Failure to attend training sessions and poor record

keeping could increase the risk of injury among

these amateur players as they are missing football

skills development and conditioning.

4.2 Warm up

Except for one team, teams performed an active

warm up routine during training sessions and pre

match warm up routine. Warm up before training or

performance in physical activity is physiologically

and psychologically important to prepare players for

improved performance, reduce risk of injuries

(Bishop, 2003). With increased core body

temperature there is reduced viscosity to muscles

and joints and increased oxygen release and

delivery. Warm up increases blood circulation to the

working muscles and thus increases temperature.

Baseline oxygen consumption (VO

) is elevated

decreasing the initial oxygen deficit which preserves

more anaerobic capacity for the task (Bishop, 2003,

Towlson et al., 2013). The inclusion of warm up by

the majority of the teams is a positive finding from

this study. However, the actual impact of the warm

up programmes on injury prevention needs further

investigating. The appropriate duration for warm

also need further investigation as there is no

consensus from football research. There are mixed

findings on the effect of a longer duration of warm

up, particularly for pre matches, on performance

and risk of being injured (Zois et al., 2011, Towlson

et al., 2013).

The average pre-match warm up duration in this

study was 28±5.72 minutes which is about ten

minutes longer than the recommended minutes

(Soligard et al., 2008). Warm up of more than 25

minutes has been found to have a negative influence

on performance as it may induce fatigue (Zois et al.,

2011) and deplete energy stores (Gregson et al.,

2005). However their finding and the finding in this

study is in contradiction to Zois et al. (2011) who

found that longer duration of pre match warm up had

no influence on performance. About 90% of the

teams went through a warm up routine during

training sessions which lasted for an average of

19±9.72 minutes. The pre-training warm up routine

for this study is within the ranges of the FIFA 11+

comprehensive warm up programme which is 15 –

20 minutes. Though the teams engaged in pre-

training warm up, four of the nine teams did not

have a structured warm up that covers the basic

components required for football training. The basic

components of pre-training warm up include but not

limited to ball handling, kicking skills, sprinting,

football drills and endurance training (Lees and

Nolan, 1998). This is despite evidence that

structured warm up routines reduce the risk of injury

(Soligard et al., 2010, Steffen et al., 2013a).

4.3 Stretches (Pre Participation)

Sixty percent of the teams included stretching during

the warm up routine and 40% did pre-participation

static stretching. Pre participation regular stretching

reduces the risk of muscle tendinous injuries and

improves performance when combined with

dynamic drills (McHugh and Cosgrave, 2010,

Shrier, 2004). However, static stretching has been

found to reduce acute muscle performance up to an

hour following the stretch and is therefore not

recommended pre-participation. It is recommended

that players engage in dynamic stretching pre-

participation (Fattahi-Bafghi and Amiri-Khorasani

(2013). The stretching regiment being done in this

cohort was found to be inappropriate as static

stretching was done prior to exercise and after warm

up which has been found to reduce performance and

strength (Fowles et al., 2000). Static stretching

routine combined with dynamic activities (Fattahi-

icSPORTS2014-InternationalCongressonSportSciencesResearchandTechnologySupport

Bafghi and Amiri-Khorasani, 2013) prior to training

session should be advocated to reduce the risk of

muscle injuries (Jamtvedt et al., 2010).

4.4 Cool down and Post Participation

Static stretching together with cold water immersion,

compression garments, rehydration and energy

refuelling are considered as the standard basic

activities to facilitate recovery post exercise

(Montgomery et al., 2008). In this study, only two

teams performed static stretching post training.

Although outcomes on post activity stretching are

inconclusive (Jamtvedt et al., 2010, Herbert and

Gabriel, 2002), there is conflicting evidence that it

may reduce muscle soreness and assist in recovery

of muscles (Ne´de´lec et al., 2013).

4.5 Equipment

During matches all the teams used appropriate gear

for football including boots, shin guards and

goalkeeper kit. However, during the training

sessions 40% of the teams were not using shin

guards. Mtshali et al. (2009) found that wearing of

shin guards had a 65% likelihood of reducing leg

injuries. The use of shin guards during training

seems to be problematic in other countries as well.

Owoeye et al. (2013) found that only 40% of players

in Nigeria wore shin guards during training. It is

clear in this study that use of the shin guards during

training is poor and demonstrates a lack of

understanding of appropriate use of equipment in

soccer to prevent injuries. The danger of sustaining

injuries is just as real during training as it is during

matches.

4.6 Hydration

The aim of rehydrating before, during and after

exercise is to maintain fluid balance and avert

compromised performance from fluid loss (Shirreffs

et al., 2006). Hydration enhances performance

before and after exercise especially when combined

with electrolytes and carbohydrates (Shirreffs et al.,

2006, Sawka et al., 2007). Fluid intake in warm

temperatures increases body water reserves and

improves temperature regulation and does not

decrease performance (Rico-Sanz et al., 1996). This

study was done during the cool season (July to

August) where temperatures were below 20°C.

There was minimal fluid intake by the teams (30%)

during training. Less fluid intake during cool

weather conditions observed in this study is similar

to what was established by Maughan et al. (2005a).

They established that sweat loss when training in

cool conditions in a 90 minute training session was

similar to that experienced when exercising in warm

conditions. With sweat loss similar in warm and cool

conditions, conclusions can be drawn that fluid

intake when exercising in cool temperature is just as

important as exercising in warm temperatures to

prevent heat related injuries (Maughan et al.,

2005b).

4.7 Injury Management

There was 20% presence of medical care during

training sessions in this study and there was only one

team coach who had an injury management protocol.

Health and safety protocols for players state that

there should be basic medical care coverage during

sporting events for players as well as spectators

regardless of the level of competition (Murphy and

Waddington, 2007, Almquist et al., 2008). The role

of medical care coverage in teams is to provide

injury prevention and rehabilitation once the injury

has occurred (McLean, 1990). The lack of initial

injury management may in the long run influence

the team’s performance due to injury, player

absenteeism and poor return to play

protocols(Matheson et al., 2011). It may also have

cost implications where lack of proper acute

management of sport injuries results in progression

to chronic conditions like osteoarthritis later in life

which has an impact on the health system and

concerned individuals (Drawer and Fuller, 2001,

Dvorak, 2011).

5 CONCLUSION

This study provides information on coach practices

and oversight regarding injury prevention during

training sessions. Sixty percent of the items in the

observation list were not taken into consideration by

most of the coaches during training. Items such as

warm up, stretches and appropriate use of equipment

were considered by most of the teams. The

observations of coaches practices may assist in the

development, adherence and implementation of

injury prevention programmes specific to the needs

identified.

5.1 Implications for Prevention

(Practical Implications)

Observation method can be used to evaluate

InjuryPreventionPracticesbyAmateurFootballCoachesinGautengSouthAfrica

coaches’ implementation of injury prevention

programmes.

5.2 What This Study Adds

 Observation method in determining the pre-

existing practices of football coaches.

 Experience as a player is the main source of

knowledge for amateur coaches

 Insight on the existing gap on implementation

and adherence to injury prevention evidence

into practice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was funded by the Carnegie Research

Grant and supported by the Consortium for

Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).

CARTA is jointly led by the African Population and

Health Research Center and the University of the

Witwatersrand and funded by the Wellcome Trust

(UK) (Grant No: 087547/Z/08/Z), the Department

for International Development (DfID) under the

Development Partnerships in Higher Education

(DelPHE), the Carnegie Corporation of New York

(Grant No: B 8606), the Ford Foundation (Grant No:

1100-0399), Google.Org (Grant No: 191994), Sida

(Grant No: 54100029) and MacArthur Foundation

Grant No: 10-95915-000-INP”

REFERENCES

Almquist, J., Mcleod, T. C. V., Cavanna, A., Jenkinson,

D., Lincoln, A., Loud, K., Peterson, B. C., Portwood,

C., Reynolds, J. and Woods, T. S. 2008. Summary

Statement: Appropriate Medical Care for the

Secondary School-Aged Athlete. Journal of Athletic

Training, 43, 416 - 427.

Bishop, D. 2003. Warm up I - Potential mechanisms and

the effects of passive warm up on exercise

performance. Sports Medicine, 33, 439-454.

Cushion, C., Ford, P. and Williams, A. M. 2012a. Coach

behaviours and practice structures in youth soccer:

Implications for talent development. Journal of Sports

Sciences, 30, 1631-1641.

Cushion, C., Harvey, S., Muir, B. and Nelson, L. 2012b.

Developing the Coach Analysis and Intervention

System (CAIS): Establishing validity and reliability of

a computerised systematic observation instrument.

Journal of Sports Sciences, 30, 201-216.

Donaldson, A. and Finch, C. F. 2013. Applying

implementation science to sports injury prevention.

British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47, 473-475.

Drawer, S. and Fuller, C. W. 2001. Propensity for

osteoarthritis and lower limb joint pain in retired

professional soccer players. British Journal of Sports

Medicine, 35, 402-408.

Dvorak, J. 2011. Osteoarthritis in football: FIFA/F-MARC

approach. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45, 673-

676.

Fattahi-Bafghi, A. and Amiri-Khorasani, M. 2013.

Sustaining Effect of Different Stretching Methods on

Power and Agility after Warm-Up Exercise in Soccer

Players. World Applied Sciences Journal 21, 520-525.

Finch, C., Diamantopoulou, K., Twomey, D. M., Doyle, T.

L. A., Lloyd, D. G., Young, W. and Elliott, B. C.

2013. The reach and adoption of a coach-led exercise

training programme in community football. British

Journal of Sports Medicine.

Ford, P., Coughlan, E. and Williams, M. 2009. The

Expert-Performance Approach as a Framework for

Understanding and Enhancing Coaching Performance,

Expertise and Learning. International journal of sports

science and coaching, 4, 451-463.

Ford, P., Williams, A. M. and Yates, I. 2010a. Towards

enhanced methods of examining the practice activities

and instructional behaviours of sport coaches. Journal

of Sports Sciences, 28, 1627-1630.

Ford, P., Yates, I. and Williams, M. A. 2010b. An analysis

of practice activities and instructional behaviours used

by youth soccer coaches during practice: Exploring the

link between science and application.

Journal of

Sports Sciences, 28, 483 - 495.

Fowles, J. R., Sale, D. G. and Macdougall, J. D. 2000.

Reduced strength after passive stretch of the human

plantarflexors. Journal of Applied Physiology, 89,

1179-1188.

Gianotti, S. and Hume, P. A. 2007. A cost-outcome

approach to pre and post-implementation of national

sports injury prevention programmes. Journal of

Science and Medicine in Sport, 10, 436-446.

Gianotti, S., Hume, P. A. and Tunstall, H. 2010. Efficacy

of injury prevention related coach education within

netball and soccer. Journal of Science and Medicine in

Sport, 13, 32-35.

Gregson, W. A., Batterham, A., Drust, B. and Cable, N. T.

2005. The influence of pre-warming on the

physiological responses to prolonged intermittent

exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23, 455-464.

Herbert, R. D. and Gabriel, M. 2002. Effects of stretching

before and after exercising on muscle soreness and

risk of injury: systematic review. BMJ: British

Medical Journal, 325, 468.

Jamtvedt, G., Herbert, R. D., Flottorp, S., Odgaard-Jensen,

J., Havelsrud, K., Barratt, A., Mathieu, E., Burls, A.

and Oxman, A. D. 2010. A pragmatic randomised trial

of stretching before and after physical activity to

prevent injury and soreness. British Journal of Sports

Medicine, 44, 1002-9.

Lees, A. and Nolan, L. 1998. The biomechanics of soccer

review. Journal of Sports Sciences 16, 211 - 234.

Matheson, G. O., Shultz, R., Bido, J., Mitten, M. J.,

Meeuwisse, W. H. and Shrier, I. 2011. Return-to-Play

icSPORTS2014-InternationalCongressonSportSciencesResearchandTechnologySupport

Decisions: Are They the Team Physician’s

Responsibility? Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine,

21, 25-30.

Maughan, R. J., Shirreffs, S. M., Merson, S. J. and

Horswill, C. A. 2005a. Fluid and electrolyte balance in

elite male football (soccer) players training in a cool

environment. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23, 73-79.

Maughan, R. J., Shirreffs, S. M., Merson, S. J. and

Horswill, C. A. 2005b. Fluid and electrolyte balance in

elite male football (soccer) players training in a cool

environment. J Sports Sci, 23, 73-9.

Mchugh, M. P. and Cosgrave, C. H. 2010. To stretch or

not to stretch: the role of stretching in injury

prevention and performance. Scand J Med Sci Sports,

20, 169-81.

Mclean, D. 1990. Role of the team physiotherapist in

rugby union football. British Journal of Sport

Medicine, 24.

Montgomery, P. G., Pyne, D. B., Hopkins, W. G.,

Dorman, J. C., Cook, K. and Minahan, C. L. 2008.

The effect of recovery strategies on physical

performance and cumulative fatigue in competitive

basketball. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26, 1135 -

1145.

Mtshali, P. T., Mbambo-Kekana, N. P., Stewart, A. V. and

Musenge, E. 2009. Common lower extremity injuries

in female high school soccer players in Johannesburg

east district. South African Journal of Sport Medicine

21, 163 - 166.

Murphy, P. and Waddington, I. 2007. Are Elite Athletes

Exploited? Sport in Society, 10, 239 - 255.

Ne´De´Lec, M., Mccall, A., Carling, C., Legall, F.,

Berthoin, S. and Dupont, G. 2013. Recovery in

Soccer: Part II—Recovery Strategies. Sports Medicine

43, 9 - 22.

Owoeye, O. B. A., Akinbo, S. R. A., Olawale, O. A.,

Tella, B. A. and Ibeabuchi, N. M. 2013. Injury

prevention in football: Knowledge and behaviour of

players and availability of medical care in a Nigerian

youth football league South African Journal of Sports

Medicine 25, 77 - 80.

Rico-Sanz, J., Frontera, W. R., Rivera, M. A., Rivera-

Brown, A., Mole, P. A. and Meredith, C. N. 1996.

Effects of hyperhydration on total body water,

temperature regulation and performance of elite young

soccer players in a warm climate. Int J Sports Med, 17,

85-91.

Sawka, M. N., Burke, L. M., Eichner, E. R., Maughan, R.

J., Montain, S. J. and Stachenfeld, N. S. 2007.

American College of Sports Medicine position stand.

Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc,

39, 377-90.

Shirreffs, S. M., Sawka, M. N. and Stone, M. 2006. Water

and electrolyte needs for football training and match-

play. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24, 699-707.

Shrier, I. 2004. Does Stretching Improve Performance?: A

Systematic and Critical Review of the Literature.

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14, 267-273.

Soligard, T., Myklebust, G., Steffen, K., Holme, I.,

Silvers, H., Bizzini, M., Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Bahr,

R. and Andersen, T. E. 2008. Comprehensive warm-

up programme to prevent injuries in young female

footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial British

Medical Journal, 337, 1 - 9.

Soligard, T., Nilstad, A., Steffen, K., Myklebust, G.,

Holme, I., Dvorak, J., Bahr, R. and Andersen, T. E.

2010. Compliance with a comprehensive warm-up

programme to prevent injuries in youth football.

British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44, 787-793.

Steffen, K., Emery, C. A., Romiti, M., Kang, J., Bizzini,

M., Dvorak, J., Finch, C. F. and Meeuwisse, W. H.

2013a. High adherence to a neuromuscular injury

prevention programme (FIFA 11+) improves

functional balance and reduces injury risk in Canadian

youth female football players: a cluster randomised

trial. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Steffen, K., Meeuwisse, W. H., Romiti, M., Kang, J.,

Mckay, C., Bizzini, M., Dvorak, J., Finch, C.,

Myklebust, G. and Emery, C. A. 2013b. Evaluation of

how different implementation strategies of an injury

prevention programme (FIFA 11+) impact team

adherence and injury risk in Canadian female youth

football players: a cluster-randomised trial. British

Journal of Sports Medicine, 47, 480-487.

Steffen, K., Myklebust, G., Olsen, O. E., Holme, I. and

Bahr, R. 2008. Preventing injuries in female youth

football – a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in

Sports, 18, 605-614.

Sugimoto, D., Myer, G. D., Bush, H. M., Klugman, M. F.,

Medina Mckeon, J. M. and Hewett, T. E. 2012.

Compliance with neuromuscular training and anterior

cruciate ligament injury risk reduction in female

athletes: a meta-analysis. J Athl Train, 47, 714-23.

Towlson, C., Midgley, A. W. and Lovell, R. 2013. Warm-

up strategies of professional soccer players:

practitioners' perspectives. J Sports Sci, 31, 1393-401.

Zois, J., Bishop, D. J., Ball, K. and Aughey, R. J. 2011.

High-intensity warm-ups elicit superior performance

to a current soccer warm-up routine. J Sci Med Sport,

14, 522-8.

InjuryPreventionPracticesbyAmateurFootballCoachesinGautengSouthAfrica