Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin
On-field ACL Prevention Warm-up

The prevention program listed below consists of a warm-up, dynamic stretching, plyometrics, and agility drills. These drills are sport-specific designed to train the neuromuscular system, develop strength and proprioception and flexibility of the lower extremities. This program must be performed BEFORE every practice and at least 3 times per week at a minimum. This program should not take more than 10 minutes to complete and will prepare your players for practice and games, develop the correct biomechanics, flexibility and strength to protect the ACL. You must set up the field prior to starting the warm-ups to make this drill run smoothly. See the set-up diagram below.

Warm-up: (30 seconds each)

• Jog Sideline to Sideline:
  Start at midfield on the sideline and jog as a team from one sideline to the opposite sideline, touch the line while maintaining the knee aligned over the ankle. Jog back to the start.
• Shuffle Sideline to Sideline:
  Start with left foot on the sidelines and in an athletic stance. Lead with the right foot and step with the right foot, pushing off with the left leg and keeping good alignment of the knee over the ankle on the left leg. Maintain the athletic position while you continue shuffling to the right. At midfield, switch the direction you are facing and continue shuffling to the opposite sideline.
• Backward Run/Jog:
  Start by facing away from the field. Run backwards from the sideline to midfield. Make sure the athletes land on their toes, stay low and keep the knees bent at all times, shoulders are over the feet. At midfield, turn and jog to the opposite sideline.

Dynamic Warm-up: (30 seconds each, cones 20 yards apart) - Move to the cones in a line

• Twist Lunges:
  Step forward with the right leg and then lower the left knee straight to the ground. If the athlete can't see the toes of their forward leg in front of their forward knee, then the knee is advancing too far and this can lead to strain on the patella. The forward knee must be lined up over the ankle and straight up and down, not turned in. As the left knee touches the ground, turn the body to the right bringing the left elbow to the right knee. Step forward with the left leg and repeat twisting the body to the left.
• Frankenstein:
  Hold hands straight out in front of your shoulders and kick your right leg up to your left hand and then alternate with the other leg to the next cone. Try to keep your kick leg straight. Kick your right foot up to you left hand.
• High Knees:
  Hold hands out in front of your chest and do quick high knees trying to touch your knees to your hands. This should be done quickly with quick steps and high knees.
• Butt Kickers:
  With a slightly forward lean in your body, jog slowly forward trying to kick your heels and touch your butt.
• High Skips:
  Perform a skip toward the next cone but focus on trying to use your knee/thigh to explode up as high as possible.
• Lawn Mowers (15 seconds):
  On the sideline, place your hands down on the ground so your body is in a pike position (an inverted V) and do quick and fast running in place.

Plyometrics: (20 reps each, each player gets their own cone)

• Jump in Place
• Side Lunges
• Forward/Backward Jumps
• Side-to-side Jumps
• Single Leg Hops
• Vertical Jumps
• Scissor Jumps

Agility: (30 seconds each drill, staggered cones)

• Shuttle Runs
• Diagonal Cutting
• Double Leg Leaps
• Liners