Table of Contents

» Introduction
» 01. Hydration for Health & Performance
» 02. Water Bottle Safety
» 03. Head Protection
» 04. Grass Field Hazards
» 05. Turf Field Hazards
» 06. Shin Pads and Boot Selection
» 07. Hot Weather Conditions
» 08. Cold Weather Conditions
» 09. Soccer Goal Safety
» 10. Stretching: When, Why, How
» 11. Soccer Injuries
» 12. Miscellaneous Soccer Safety Tips

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Introduction

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

As a physiotherapist, soccer player, father and coach, and as the Director of Goal-Tek Innovations, I have a long standing interest in soccer safety. Many injuries and illnesses in the game can be prevented. I have done my best to make this book useful yet it is still a work in progress. Only when we have received feedback and contributions from members of the soccer community will we achieve the goal of creating the world’s best work on soccer safety.

This book is available to all, for the benefit of players, parents, coaches and trainers throughout the soccer world. As updates and new information become available, the Ultimate Guide to Soccer Safety will grow and change as well.

A little about my background - I trained in physiotherapy at the University of British Columbia. I am a member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Therapists. I am certified with the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a strength and conditioning specialist and also with the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain using the treatment method called Intramuscular Stimulation.

Physiotherapy allowed me to serve as Chief Therapist for a number of national and international games. I also worked as the physiotherapist for Saadi Ghadaffi and the Al-Ittihad Team of the Libyan professional soccer league. The coaches for Al-Ittihad included Giuseppe Dossena, former World Cup winner, and Gaetano Colucci, trainer for Italian giants AC Milan and Roma. Saadi was and is a true soccer fan and also part owner of the Italian clubs Lazio and Juventus. This wonderful soccer experience included opportunities to train and work in some of the top clubs in the world. From a medical point of view the greatest learning experiences came from Germany while working with the well known Dr. Muller-Wohlfahrt of Bayern Munich and the German National Football Team.

In this book you will learn some of the obvious and, the not so obvious, risks associated with the game of soccer.  I hope, by the end of this book, that you find it both enjoyable and informative. Again, I invite the input, comments and ideas from players, parents, coaches, trainers, physicians and soccer administrators so that the next edition might be even better than the current one.

So please, read, learn, contribute, enjoy. Let’s improve soccer safety together.

Yours in Sport,

JR Justesen