‘Overplay’ is a term used to describe the cause of injuries found in players and athletes due to excessive overuse of specific parts of their body.
Young players are particularly vulnerable to ‘overuse’ injuries caused by overplay.
The FA has produced a leaflet, which can be accessed below, to alert those people who have direct contact with our best young players to the risks of overplay.
This includes parents, coaches, school teachers and league officials. It is the responsibility of all who are involved in the development of young players to look after their medical interests.
What is an overuse injury?
It is an injury involving certain bones or muscles/tendons of the body, which develops over a period of time due to too much repetitive activity.
The injury becomes worse with continued activity at the same level. It will continue unless correct medical advice and treatment is followed.
The increasing intensity of sport has led to the wider recognition of overuse injuries to children and adolescents.
Young players now indulge in football with ever-increasing intensity of training and competition at ever-decreasing ages.
It is a fact that, some players are asked to train more and play more matches than others.
If the player tries to please everybody, the sum total of the player’s efforts could lead to serious injury through overplay.
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