Sports Drinks | A $6.8 Billion Industry that Doesn’t Refuel Your Kids

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness The amount of sugary drinks and the post-game snacking that I’ve seen in my several years working in youth soccer is disturbing. At the very moments when our players need nutritious food we are handing them the equivalent of soda, and some sports drinks like Gatorade […]

Commonly Overlooked Muscles for Soccer Quickness and Durability

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness Soccer players talk a lot about their hamstrings and hip flexibility. In reality, the muscles in the ankles and calves are working the hardest during the motions of soccer. In other words, the ankles and feet are completely taken for granted in our sport. During a […]

One Simple Exercise to Prevent Ankle & Knee Injuries

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness How to use this exercise: Each repetition should be guided by the bullet points in the video. Control of motion is a very important goal for knee strength gains. This should be accounted for with slow and thoughtful repetitions. For injury prevention and no pain present- […]

How & When to Use Active Stretches

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness What are active stretches? Active stretching is an advanced form of flexibility training. This form is different from static passive and dynamic stretching. Placing an outstretched leg on a chair and using body weight to bring about a stretch is an example of static passive stretching. […]

The Key to Summer Training is Specificity

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness As many of the Academy players have heard me say, 98% of the game (individually) is spent without the ball. There are multiple phases within the game and training activities that each player must understand if they are going to be successful in the ASA Academy […]

After School Fuel: Snacks for Your Child’s Backpack

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness Making sure your kids eat well as they go from school to after school sports and activities can be tough. It’s important to plan ahead and have healthy snacks ready in your child’s backpack so they can fuel their bodies properly in between activities. Having tasty […]

A Good Soccer Diet Starts with Optimal Carbs

by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness Healthy ASA Academy Soccer players are smart and vigilant about their nutritional intake. They will learn that the hours spent at training can be optimized by adapting to a healthy soccer diet. Carbohydrates are a key macro-nutrient for the growing soccer player. Most of us have […]

Pre-session Routines | Good for Injury Prevention & Much More

Co-authored by Jennifer Schwartz, Fitness and Injury Prevention and Robyn Kenney of Mindfulnessathletics.com A Pre-session Routine is a specific process that prepares athletes to have the most productive and focused session possible. We are recommending a recipe of specific tasks that a player can adopt before beginning each training session. If done routinely players will […]

The New Way to Treat and Recover From Concussions

Co-authored by Jenn Schwartz and Noelle Ekonomou DPT of One2One Physical Therapy There is an abundant amount of press and information about concussions and how often they are diagnosed. There is NOT an abundant amount of treatment option information outside of, “rest until your head stops hurting.” This is outdated information and certainly not sound […]