Nationwide Children's Hospital releases new nearly quarter-century long study from 1990 through 2014 showing an increase in youth soccer-related injuries.
23ABC's Mike Boyce spoke with local experts in Kern County at CSUB to find out what they're doing to prevent their players from being affected by these kinds of injuries.
Coach Grant of CSUB attributes the increase in youth injuries to over-working players, "You see it a little bit more because of the high amount of games, the number of times the kids have to play. Like they might play multiple games on the weekend. It wouldn't be uncommon for a kid to have 4 to 6 games. So I'm not surprised that the numbers go up with those kinds of statistics with how much they're playing."
CSUB is fortunate that they have many resources available to help combat player injury.
CSUB's Sr. Athletic Trainer Michael Wilkins says "it's a lot easier for me to keep guys on the field if i can keep them getting hurt in the first place" and works with physical training coaches to have players prepare for the season well ahead of time in order to avoid injury.
The uptick in soccer related injuries can also be attributed to the dramatic rise in the popularity of soccer in the United States within the past few decades.
