Injury Prevention in Youth Football: Warm-Ups, Growth and Rest

Why injury prevention in youth football matters

Children recover quickly from knocks, but some injuries and overuse problems can keep them out of the game for weeks. The most common issues at grassroots level are sprains and strains, falls onto hands and wrists, bumps from collisions and aches linked to growth. Many are hard to prevent completely. Several can be reduced with habits that cost nothing.

• Warm up properly with a structured routine rather than a few laps and static stretches.
• Manage load: how much a child trains and plays across all their teams and sports.
• Allow rest: at least one or two days a week without organised sport, and breaks during the year.
• Teach good movement: landing, stopping, turning and falling safely.
• Take symptoms seriously: pain that changes how a child runs is a reason to stop.

The FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up

FIFA 11+ Kids is a warm-up programme designed for children aged about 7 to 13, based on the original FIFA 11+ for players aged 14 and over. It replaces the usual warm-up at the start of training. It needs only a small area and one ball per player, and in a multinational trial it took on average around 18 minutes.

In that trial, teams using 11+ Kids had 48% fewer injuries than teams using their usual warm-up, and 74% fewer severe injuries. The researchers recommend using it at least once and ideally twice a week, with more benefit when it is used more often.

The programme combines running games with exercises for balance, strength, jumping and landing, and falling technique. Each exercise has several levels, and children move up a level once they can perform the current one well.

Coaching points for the warm-up

• Quality over speed: knees over toes when landing, soft knees, controlled movements.
• Keep it playful for younger groups: tag games and races still count as part of the warm-up.
• Do it every session, not only on cold days or before matches.
• On match days, a shorter version of the same routine works well before kick-off.

Growth and common aches (without diagnosing)

During growth spurts, bones can grow faster than muscles and tendons adapt. Many active children, especially between about 9 and 15, go through periods of aching knees or heels. Two well-known examples are pain just below the kneecap, often linked to Osgood-Schlatter disease, and heel pain, often linked to Sever's disease. These are not something a coach should diagnose, but coaches and parents should know they exist.

• Signs to notice: a child limping after training, rubbing a knee or heel, or avoiding jumping and sprinting.
• What the coach can do: reduce sprinting and jumping for that child, adjust their role in the session and tell the parents.
• What parents can do: speak to the GP or a physiotherapist, who can assess the child and advise on activity.
• What to avoid: telling a child to 'run it off' when pain is changing how they move.

Growth spurts also affect coordination. A child who suddenly looks clumsy is often just adjusting to longer legs. Patience and simpler tasks for a few weeks are better than criticism.

Training load and rest

Overuse injuries often appear when a child plays for a club, a school and a district team in the same week, sometimes in more than one sport. No single coach sees the total. Ask parents at the start of the season how many sessions and matches the child does each week.

The FA's rules for youth competitions set maximum minutes per match and per day for each age group, including tournaments. Organisers and coaches should check them and plan rotations so that no child goes over the limit. Playing many different sports is also good for young athletes: it develops movement skills and spreads the load across different parts of the body.

Concussion and head injuries

In 2023 the UK government and the Sport and Recreation Alliance published the first UK-wide concussion guidelines for grassroots sport. The key message is 'If in doubt, sit them out.'

1. Remove anyone with a suspected concussion from play immediately. Do not let them return to the match or the session.
2. Contact NHS 111 within 24 hours, or call 999 if there are red flags such as worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion or loss of consciousness.
3. Rest and sleep as needed in the first 24 to 48 hours, with reduced screen time.
4. Return to school and activity gradually. After a confirmed concussion, avoid matches with a risk of contact for at least 21 days.
5. If symptoms last longer than four weeks, see a healthcare professional.

Every club should have this information in the first-aid kit and in the coaches' handbook. Coaches are not expected to diagnose concussion, only to recognise that something is wrong and remove the player.

When to stop and seek professional help

Coaches should stop a child from continuing and inform the parents when there is:

• Pain that makes them limp or change how they run.
• Swelling, visible deformity or inability to put weight on a limb.
• Any suspected head injury or concussion symptoms.
• Pain that returns every session or gets worse over time.
• Dizziness, chest pain, unusual breathlessness or fainting.

In an emergency, call 999. For everything else, parents should speak to a GP, physiotherapist or NHS 111. Coaches should complete a first-aid course appropriate to their role, such as The FA's introductory first aid course, and keep emergency contacts and medical information for every player.

This article gives general guidance for coaches and parents. It is not medical advice for any individual child. When in doubt, ask a health professional.

Frequently asked questions