Injury mitigation in youth football players

There are several scenarios in elite youth football that may result in injury or compromised athletic health. Practitioners working with this group of players have a duty of care to reduce the risks of injury and mitigate the circumstances surrounding these risks. This chapter provides an overview of typical injuries sustained by young players and current methods employed to manage the instances of injury onset. Section 19.1 provides an introduction and overview of current levels of injuries across the phases of player development, while Section 19.2 focuses on types of injury, including impact or collision-based injury. Naturally, as players mature, their physical status alters. In Section 19.3, we highlight how the maturation of young players can impact the likelihood of growth-related injury. As part of our duty of care, those invested in players’ development should employ methods to reduce overall risks. In Section 19.4, we focus on the management of injury and training methods being adopted to mitigate the risks of physical injury. Finally, in Section 19.5, we discuss how physical load increase can be assessed and managed effectively.