KIPP for coaches
Did you know girls are up to 6 times more likely than boys to suffer a serious knee injury playing sports like soccer and basketball? Each year in the United States over 20,000 high school girls suffer serious sports-related knee ligament injuries. These injuries frequently require surgery, months of rehabilitation, and prolonged time away from sports.
The Institute for Sports Medicine at Children’s Memorial Hospital is pleased offer KIPP for Coaches, a tool to help coaches reduce the risk of knee injuries in their female athletes. KIPP for Coaches is a 15-minute warm-up routine of total body strengthening exercises, plyometrics, balance training, agility drills, and active stretching. This specific combination of exercises has been shown to reduce the risk of knee ligament injuries and improve athletic performance.
With funding from Children’s Memorial Research Center and Office of Child Advocacy, KIPP for Coaches has been implemented in more than 50 Chicago public high schools. Results from this research show that the KIPP exercises reduced ACL injuries by 80%, lower extremity injuries by 50%, and ankle sprains by 30%.
In a separate study, KIPP exercises reduced sports-related knee pain by 50% and improved self-reported athletic performance. To date, the program has benefited over 2000 soccer and basketball athletes and has received great reviews from participating coaches…
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“This was one of the most productive workshops that I have ever attended.”
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“This dynamic warm-up is excellent and the framework provided is great.”
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“As the season progressed, the team got stronger as witnessed through their kicks and running.”
The Institute for Sports Medicine offers an interactive, two-hour training session for coaches that can be conducted at your school. At this training session, coaches receive a laminated card with the list of KIPP exercises for use on-court or on-field and an instructional DVD of all the KIPP exercises. At the session, coaches learn how to:
- Recognize risk factors associated with serious knee injuries
- Incorporate KIPP exercises into their team’s typical warm-up routine
- Instruct athletes how to recognize unsafe knee positions and improve muscle control
Your school may also be able to provide continuing education credits to coaches who participate. Continuing education units will be available for Athletic Trainers. Athletic Trainers call for more information. If you would like more information on KIPP or would like to arrange for a coach training session at your school, please contact the Institute for Sports Medicine at 773.327.1201.