CAPS FC

In an effort to combat injuries and develop better all-around athletes, we are very excited to announce that CAPS FC will be implementing performance training into the club soccer curriculum.

With joint injuries occurring at an alarming rate in young athletes, and particularly in teenage girls, the main goal of this performance addition is to strengthen muscles and joints, address muscular imbalances, and improve form related to movements (jumping and landing, accelerating and decelerating, cutting and turning), that often trigger ACL and lower-body injuries. By addressing the full spectrum of physical and athletic needs from an early age, we will develop well-rounded athletes who are more in tune with their bodies and are less likely to get injured. This will also help foster important values such competitiveness and work rate into the club culture, and give our teams a competitive advantage in physical and athletic ability.

Each age group will have specific areas of focus catered to the needs of their developmental stage. At the base will be an instillment of fundamental physical values- our youngest athletes will learn proper mechanics and develop motor skills in fun and competitive settings. As our players progress, they will be exposed to more advanced training that will help prepare their bodies for the demands of higher-level competitions.

Additionally, every player will undergo an initial assessment with our performance staff where they will be evaluated in various areas of athletic and physical ability. This will help gauge the general performance level of each team, identify those who might be at higher risk for injury, and allow our trainers to personalize workouts and advise players on a more individual level. We are lucky to be able to partner with one of the most elite performance and movement training programs in the area, Raw Talent Sports and their highly-regarded head trainer Mark Harris, who trains several professional athletes and some of the top talent in Northeast Ohio. 

This decision will be effective starting this 2022-23 Winter 1 session, and will be put in place for all teams. Instead of 60-minute sessions on Wednesdays, Winter 1 and Winter 2 practices will now be 90 minutes long with performance training incorporated either before or after the practice, depending on the particular team. This will also allow our coaches to spend more time on the actual soccer component of practices as some of the warmup, cooldown, injury prevention, and fitness components will be addressed in the performance part of the practice. Please note that this change does not affect Monday footskills sessions throughout the winter- those will remain 60-minutes long. The club is currently working on a plan to incorporate performance training into the curriculum year-round, with more details to come soon.