“Canadians need to extend the excellent support we have shown for the Canadian National Teams, and the Canadian MLS teams, to the other high levels of Canadian soccer.” The Way Things Were Back in 2019, following our Canadian Men’s National Team’s knockout round exit from the Gold Cup at the hands of Haiti, I wrote…
There are coaches in many different sports who believe that athletes should specialize in their sport very early – training only in their sport, almost every day, from a very young age – sometimes as young as 9 or 10 years old. Other coaches prefer late specialization, where an athlete trains in multiple sports throughout elementary and even high school, and specializes only in…
Over the past 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly everyone in the world, from children to the elderly, public sector employees to private business owners, and of course, front-line health care workers and medical staff. Sports have endured large-scale shut-downs, cancellations, postponements of athletic training and competition, at both the amateur and professional levels, and everything in between. Of course, over the Summer and…
Injuries are on the rise in youth sports. A 2009 study published in the American College of Sports Medicine has shown that in the United States, between 15-28% of youth baseball, basketball, soccer and football players are injured each year. The same study found that, in New York State alone, the number of anterior cruciate…
For more on this topic check out our FREE webinar – Prescribe & Monitor Training Load Without Expensive, Time Consuming & Hard to Use Technology Periodization is fast becoming a popular buzz word among soccer coaches and fitness coaches. Last summer, the city of Toronto became captivated by the Toronto Raptors’ first-ever NBA Championship, spearheaded by the incredible…
Why You Need To Maintain Aerobic Fitness and How to Do It?! Is training for technical skills really the best use of soccer players’ time during a period of sustained inactivity? … the answer is no. Youth soccer players: if you haven’t already, you need to add aerobic high-intensity interval training into your weekly at-home…
While studying for my PhD comprehensive exams, I recently came across an article written by Louise M. Burke and John A. Hawley, and published in the journal Science #362, on November 16th, 2018, titled “Swifter, Higher, Stronger: What’s on the Menu?”. In it, the authors discussed evidence-based nutritional approaches for optimal performance, including the use…
Legal, Evidence-Based Supplements for Soccer Players (Part 1) While studying for my PhD comprehensive exams, I recently came across an article written by Louise M. Burke and John A. Hawley, and published in the journal Science #362, on November 16th, 2018, titled “Swifter, Higher, Stronger: What’s on the Menu?”. In it, the authors discussed evidence-based…
There is a deep irony in Canadian soccer criticism, where the real problem is with the critics themselves Last year, our Canadian Men’s and Women’s National Soccer Teams suffered disappointing defeats in major international tournaments. The Men’s team exited the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Quarter Final stage after losing 3-2 to Haiti, and the…