Are you a V8 running on Mini wheels?
Recently I have seen a couple of instances of strong youth players who I know are weight training rolling their ankles in non-contact situations.
Now, this could be going on for a number of reasons which I am not going to in-depth on.
However it got me thinking, that maybe this situation is like when you put a V8 motor in a Mini - it might have a lot of power but eventually, the axles or wheels are gonna blow under the forces being produced
Younger athletes are growing and their body is constantly changing, adding resistance training to this can lead to strength imbalances if all the muscle groups aren't
consistently worked.
So while your body gets strong doing squats and deadlifts - your ankle joint while under load isn't having to operate how it would in a more dynamic activity such as running and changing direction.
Including some basic strengthening exercises for the muscles that support the Ankle in my books is key and supporting this with low-level hopping exercises is an excellent way of helping to bulletproof your ankles.
Some options are
Single leg calf raises off a step
Rope skipping
and Rudiments to name three.
I regularly use Rudiment hops (taken from the Altis team) to address this area and will include them as part of the warm-up in field-based training or even in the gym before a workout.
These just aren’t for youth players either, all athletes can use these to their advantage.
Try adding these to your routine
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