Summary:
An eight-week FIFA 11+ Kids training program improved balance and lower extremity strength in young female soccer players, suggesting early, sex-specific training may help reduce injury risk.

Key Takeaways:

  • Young female soccer players showed improved dynamic balance and glute-to-quadriceps strength ratios after completing the FIFA 11+ Kids program.
  • Researchers found that injury prevention programs designed for male athletes may not adequately address the unique risk factors faced by girls.
  • The findings support introducing neuromuscular training early, though larger studies are needed to confirm long-term reductions in injury rates.

Young female soccer players face a higher risk of lower extremity injuries, including ACL tears, yet injury prevention strategies have historically been focused on male athletes. A new study from Houston Methodist reveals targeted training may better address the distinct risks facing girls.  

Published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the study evaluated the FIFA 11+ Kids program in female soccer players ages 8 to 11, a group that has been largely underrepresented in prior research despite known differences between females and males in strength, stability and movement mechanics.

While lower extremity injuries are common in youth soccer, particularly in sports that require rapid changes in direction and speed, female players face an elevated risk compared to their male counterparts. According to the study, female athletes are more susceptible due to factors such as reduced hip strength, decreased trunk stability, and biomechanical differences during cutting, pivoting, and deceleration. These risks often emerge during key growth periods, underscoring the need for identifying sex-specific risks, targeted prevention strategies and early intervention.

Safer Soccer: Strength Training for Heading the Ball

The researchers, led by Dr. Shari Liberman, found that girls who completed the eight-week FIFA 11+ Kids program showed improvements in dynamic balance and lower extremity strength ratios, both of which are associated with lower injury risk. Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain postural stability and control while the body is in motion or actively changing positions, such as walking on uneven surfaces, stepping over objects, reaching, running, or transitioning from sitting to standing.

“Youth female soccer players experience unique risk factors that are not always addressed in traditional training models,” said Houston Methodist orthopedic surgeon and study author Dr. Shari Liberman. “Programs that emphasize neuromuscular control, stability, and proper movement patterns at an earlier age may ultimately help reduce knee and ankle injuries in female soccer players.”

The study followed 26 female athletes from competitive soccer clubs involved in FIFA 11+ Kids, a short, structured training routine designed to improve coordination, balance and safe movement patterns. Participants in the intervention group participated in the program twice weekly for eight weeks alongside their regular training, while a control group continued standard practice routines. Other key findings included:

  • The training group demonstrated improved glute-to-quadriceps strength ratios, an indicator tied to lower extremity stability and associated with fewer injuries.
  • Measures of dynamic balance improved in movements associated with reduced injury risk.
  • By focusing on neuromuscular training earlier in development, training programs may help target risk factors before injuries occur.
  • Overall, injury prevention programs designed around male athletes may not fully address the needs of female players.
  • Dynamic balance may not naturally improve with age, indicating that specific training is needed to build these protective skills.

Researchers note that larger, longer-term studies are needed to determine whether these improvements translate to reduced injury rates over time.

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