Feature18 Dr Jodi Richardson

FOR an elite junior player, being drafted into an AFL club is the chance of a lifetime. These players put in years of

dedicated hard work to give themselves the greatest chance of selection.

Some, like Richmond’s Dustin Martin, who played 21 games in his rookie year 2010, appear to have an awesome AFL future.

For others, an AFL playing career may be short-lived, given the latest injury statistics.

In football circles it has long been believed that rookie players are more likely to become injured than more experienced players.

Much of this has been put down to the change in workload for these players on moving from junior to senior football.

In order to gain a better understanding of just how much more prone to injury the rookie players are – and why – the AFL funded some groundbreaking research.

The premise of the research project was straightforward: compare the amount of training and match play for first-year players over the 2009 season with any injuries they

sustain.This training, match and injury information

was to be compared with that collected for a group of more experienced players. This group had a minimum of 50 AFL games under their belt and at least three years experience in the AFL.

Nine AFL clubs participated in the collaborative research, conducted by Collingwood’s sports science director Dr David Buttifant, and Dr Jason Berry, a skill acquisition specialist at Collingwood.

Buttifant and Berry worked in conjunction with a team of AFL Sports Science Advisory Group staff from each of the participating clubs to collect a huge amount of data on training, match play and injuries for 122 participating players.

Analyses of the data and report writing was undertaken by a team of independent researchers from the University of Ballarat, headed by Professor Caroline Finch, an internationally recognised sports injury expert.

The results of the research are astonishing. Over the 22 rounds of the study, the first-

year players missed 2.6 times the number of training sessions, and 4.3 times as many matches, as the more experienced players.

The most alarming of all of the stats is that first-year players were 14.3 times more likely to miss a match due to injury than the experienced players when the numbers of players available at any round was taken into account.

Unfortunately for some of these players, their injury can make them much more likely to experience that injury again, further into their playing career.

This is particularly true of hamstring and groin injuries.

AFL-funded injury research conducted by Dr Belinda Gabbe found that players who reported a previous hip or groin injury prior to being drafted experienced a re-injury rate in the AFL that was six times higher than a player without a previous injury.

The research report showed that thigh injuries were the most common for the first-year players, resulting in 39 missed matches and 15 missed training sessions per 1000 hours.

InsIde Football Wednesday, March 16, 2011

TENDER TIGER: Dustin Martin gets some treat-ment last yaer.

WARY EYES: David Buttifant and Mick Malthouse.

BURNOUT!... and other traps for young players

New research driven by the Magpies has some staggering implications for junior footballers coming into the AFL.

By comparison, thigh injuries in the experienced group resulted in only 11 missed matches and five missed training sessions.

Injuries to the lower leg, ankle, knee, shoulder, pelvis, and foot and toes were also found to be more common for first-year players.

So the question now is, given that the first-year players are much more likely to injure themselves than experienced players, how do their training and match loads compare?

The answer may surprise you. The total amount of weekly activity (training

and matches) for rookies averaged 6.4 hours, only slightly less than that of the experienced players at a weekly average of 6.6 hours.

Though both groups more or less did the same volume of activity each week, differences were found in the types of activity undertaken by the two groups.

The experienced players undertook more skills-based training and the first-year players undertook a greater amount of other forms of training, which included flexibility, running, strength, non-weight bearing exercise and recovery.

In addition to less weight-bearing activity for the rookies, they participated in fewer AFL matches and more state league matches.

Although the workload for the rookies was less than for more experienced players, the injury stats send the message loud and clear that this reduction simply is not enough and more change is necessary – but I’ll get to that.

There is a little more to this picture and it means looking backwards before we look forwards.

There was anecdotal evidence of over-training and burnout in elite juniors even before they were drafted.

In order to get some facts on this, Professor Finch and Kristofer Di Martino from the University of Ballarat aligned a second study with the larger study discussed above.

They surveyed all but two first-year players from 12 AFL clubs in 2009, asking questions about all football commitments as well as participation in activity of any other kind.

Not surprisingly, these rookies are very busy boys before entering senior footy.

The study found that most train for and play in more than one elite competition prior to their draft.

These elite competitions have high training loads and a high number of elite level games.

Many also had school and local football commitments, and a considerable number of rookies also participated in other sports such as basketball and surfing.

AIS-AFL Academy strength and conditioning coach Dr James Veale said that many young athletes played multiple games a week – over 30 a year in some instances – because they simply loved the game.

“Competitiveness is a very common and driving trait within our athletes and it is hard to hold back their passion at times, but that is our challenge; continuing to improve their learning of the importance of building a foundation of strength and understanding the risks inherent in young athletes for over-training and burnout,” Veale said.

He added that there was no shortage of opportunities for these driven athletes to play the game they love.

“Within the more talented population, it is natural for teams, clubs and schools to want their ‘piece’ of the athlete to benefit their team’s performance, but at the end of the day, and given the choice, I think it is quite common across all codes and sports to find that young athletes would prefer to play/compete rather than train.”

Veale’s advice to elite junior players to best prepare for the AFL is invaluable.

“In your final two years prior to drafting, I believe first and foremost you must be able to get the football and use it smartly and effectively,” he said.

“Nail this area of your game. “Secondly, build a strong and resilient body. “Spend time in the gym in an AFL specific and

designed strength program. “Focus specifically on developing your core

strength and balance and work on your running technique which will improve your movement efficiency, increase your speed, assist your aerobic development and decrease your risk of injury.

“As much as young athletes love to play, what you do leading into the game and what you do post the game (recovery/nutrition) is just as important in my eyes; if you are injured you can’t play, so don’t cut corners on this area of your game.”

Sadly, lots of talented juniors are slipping through the net come draft time, overlooked due to serious injury and haven’t been able to play a lot of football in that crucial final year of junior footy.

They are simply trying to do too much. David Buttifant emphasises that more is not

better when it comes to these junior athletes and adds that the TAC players can’t be expected to train like elite athletes as they are physically immature.

“The message we really want to highlight is about working on quality with these younger athletes and allowing their sequential development,” Buttifant said.

He also raised the question of increasing the draft age.

Of concern within senior football ranks is that the players may just be too physically young to cope with the rigours of senior football, in addition to the final year of junior footy being extremely busy.

“When you look at the TAC Cup, it’s a great

competition but there is so much happening in that year – Year 12 where they are working towards getting a TER score, they get to drive, they get to drink and have school footy commitments too,” Buttifant said.

“I’m just wondering whether or not having the following year, the old under-19 year, to focus on the development of their football, not working on getting their education as well is something that could be flagged as a potential way of protecting these kids and ensuring they get the right kind of development.”

In light of the report findings, changes have already been made at AFL level with more to come.

“I think that we are going to start seeing that a lot of these younger players won’t be playing the 22 games throughout the season, probably being de-loaded throughout the season to manage them appropriately,” Buttifant said.

A second round of the research study commencing Round 1 in 2011 will shed some light on whether changes at the senior level are

reducing injury rates in rookies. This extension to the main study will see the

rookie players from the 2009 study tracked as third-year AFL players in 2011.

Their training, match and injury data will be compared against the 2011 rookies from 10 clubs. This is very clever and powerful research.

As with any research of this kind, it is crucial that the information is disseminated through all football ranks right down from TAC Cup level to the grassroots junior clubs in order for the appropriate changes to be made.

Club staff, athletes and parents all need to be better educated to give the elite juniors the best preparation for the draft.

The AIS-AFL Academy recommend 24 games a year including finals and Veale explains that much work has already been done to develop the communication pathways between athletes, coaches, clubs and states to monitor their athletes closely.

This includes the implementation of individual athlete training diaries, increasing research conducted across this population and strengthening relationships with senior AFL high performance departments.

Buttifant describes a mentoring program through AFL Victoria where TAC Cup strength and conditioning coaches are connecting with and being mentored by staff in AFL clubs. This helps to ensure they are using similar techniques that will help to tailor the progression of these players.

Buttifant’s advice for elite junior players mirrors that of Veale in many ways.

He encourages them to seek professional advice so they can learn how to train well, particularly with respect to weight training and conditioning.

“If an elite junior player is not seeking advice from well qualified coaches, they will become vulnerable to overload and injury which will compromise their development,” he said.

19Inside the AFL

InsIde Football Wednesday, March 16, 2011

‘It is natural for teams, clubs and schools to want their ‘piece’ of the athlete to benefit their team’s performance.’ – DR JAMES VEALE

WINGED DOCKER: Rhys Palmer clutches an injured shoulder.

OUCH! Groin strains are commonplace.