With the advent of the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) in 2013, some unique challenges have arisen for coaches working in the league, as well as in the top tier soccer programs in Ontario (Regional, Provincial, and National teams). Because the OPDL has been set up as a standards-based, "high performance" league in Ontario, and [...]
Below is a link to an excellent article written by Simon Kuper, a soccer journalist, blogger for ESPN.com and co-author of the famous book 'soccernomics.' In this article he explains that the greatest reason why exceptional players like Messi and Rooney are able to play the game better than others has nothing to do with [...]
For me, going back to school has had both positive and negative effects on my life. Among the positive ones has been that it has forced me to do a lot of research and to write articles/papers about various different topics related to sports science. I recently was asked to write a report on exercise-induced [...]
In my present Advanced Exercise Physiology class, we were asked to write a small article discussing head injuries in our sport of choice. For me, of course, there was no choice of which sport to write about! Below is my report. Of note in this report is that the commonly recommended "secondary prevention" method of [...]
These days, most coaches and players seem to have recognized the importance and need for a "cool-down" - some form of light or low intensity cardiovascular exercise - at the end of a training session or game. Many of the coaches and even some of the younger athletes I work with are able to explain [...]
The website www.brosscience.com recently posted a very interesting series of pictures of 45 elite level athletes from a variety of sports (including soccer), wearing nothing but their underwear! The different types of sports bodies on display, ranging from thin with extremely low body fat and muscle mass (marathon) to heavy set with huge muscle mass [...]
I recently made the decision to go back to school, and as part of my coursework I enrolled in an Advanced Exercise Physiology class. One of our assignments for the class asked us to identify 2 prominent scientists in our preferred area of study, and to discuss their contributions to this area of study as [...]
The anterior cruciate ligament, or "ACL" is a commonly injured area of the knee in soccer, as well as in many other sports. We were recently contacted by Elara Systems Inc., a full-service design studio based out of California that works with medical and performance specialists. They have sent us a recently created a new animation [...]
Below is a link to an excellent article recently posted on www.cantpasscantplay.com, a soccer blog. It contains an interview with Tony Strudwick, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Manchester United Football Club. Among the points Mr. Strudwick makes are that young players need "multi-sport athleticism", which can only be obtained by participating in other sports [...]
Below is a link to a very interesting article written by Nick Tumminello, posted on www.t-nation.com yesterday. The article discusses and challenges the notion that traditional barbell leg exercises (squats, dead lifts) provide enough of a stimulus to the "core muscles" that other core and abdominal exercises are not necessary. The idea that squats and [...]