Injury prevention for the Soccer Player:
The Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research
Foundation
The PEP Program: Prevent injury and Enhance Performance
This prevention program consists of a warm-up, stretching, strengthening, plyometrics, and
sport specific agilities to address potential deficits in the strength and coordination of the
stabilizing muscles around the knee joint. It is important to use proper technique during all
of the exercises. The coaches and trainers need to emphasize correct posture, straight up and
down jumps without excessive side-to-side movement, and reinforce soft landings. This
program should be completed 3 times a week.
The field should be set up 10 minutes prior to the warm-up. This will allow for a smooth
transition between the activities. A sample field set-up has been included in your packet.
This program should take approximately 15 – 20 minutes to complete. Along side each
exercise you will notice a box with the approximate amount of time that should be spent on
each activity. This will serve as a guideline to you in order to conduct your warm-up in a
time efficient manner.
1. Warm-up: Warming up and cooling down are a crucial part of a training program.
The purpose of the warm- up section is to allow the athlete to prepare for activity. By
warming up your muscles first, you greatly reduce the risk of injury.
A. Jog line to line (cone to cone): Elapsed Time: 0 - .5 minute
Purpose: Allows the athletes to slowly prepare themselves for the training session
while minimizing the risk for injury. Educate athletes on good running technique;
keep the hip/knee/ankle in straight alignment without the knee caving in or the feet
whipping out to the side.
Instruction: Complete a slow jog from near to far sideline
B. Shuttle Run (side to side) Elapsed Time: .5 to 1 minute
Purpose: engage hip muscles (inner and outer thigh). This exercise will promote
increased speed. Discourage inward caving of the knee joint.
Instruction: Start is an athletic stance with a slight bend at the knee. Leading with
the right foot, sidestep pushing off with the left foot (back leg). When you drive
off with the back leg, be sure the hip/knee/ankle are in a straight line. Switch sides
at half field.
C. Backward Running Elapsed Time: 1 – 1.5 minutes
Purpose: continued warm- up; engage hip extensors/hamstrings. Make sure the
athlete lands on her toes. Be sure to watch for locking of the knee joint. As the
athlete brings her foot back, make sure she maintains a slight bend to the knee.
Instruction: Run backwards from sideline to sideline. Land on your toes without
snapping the knee back. Stay on your toes and keep the knees slightly bent at all
times.
