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Heavy Strength Training Reduces Injuries For Elite Youth Soccer

Heavy Strength Training Reduces Injuries For Elite Youth Soccer

Youth soccer is full of sprints, cuts, and jumps.

Those actions drive performance and also load hamstrings, adductors, and hips, where many non-contact injuries occur.

Strength training is often recommended for both performance and injury reduction, but there is limited data on how a structured, high-load program changes injury incidence, injury burden, and fitness in real teams.

This study asked a simple coaching question:

In elite youth soccer players, do two weekly high-load strength sessions reduce injuries and improve performance?