The Complete Guide to Soccer Fitness & Injury Prevention: A Handbook for Players, Parents, and Coaches

What are the best fuel foods for soccer players? What training regimen will best prepare young soccer players and improve their resistance to injuries? This comprehensive guide to health and fitness for soccer players offers expert advice for soccer teams at all levels.

With decades of combined experience treating and training elite soccer players, exercise physiologist Donald Kirkendall and orthopedic specialist William E. Garrett Jr. present complex issues in an easy-to-understand format. The book addresses the physical and mental demands of the game, including the differences between boys' and girls' games and the differences in the levels of play in youth, college, and professional leagues; nutrition fundamentals, including food, drink, and vitamin supplements; physiology and training methods, with an emphasis on the basic elements of flexibility, speed, strength, and conditioning; and injury treatment and prevention.

For players looking to step up their game, for parents who want to keep their kids healthy, and for coaches seeking the advice of the pros, this guide is an indispensable reference to keep handy on the sidelines.

Donald T. Kirkendall is a lifelong soccer player, experienced coach, and member of both the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre and the U.S. Soccer Sports Medicine Committee. William E. Garrett Jr., M.D., professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center, is chair of the U.S. Soccer Sports Medicine Committee and has served as team doctor for U.S. Soccer and the Duke University and University of North Carolina soccer teams. Kirkendall and Garrett have collaborated on six previous books, including Exercise and Sport Science and the ##U.S. Soccer Sports Medicine Book#.