Hans Martin Bjørkevoll
I help parents of young soccer players go from being confused and insecure about what advice to follow and how to navigate the youth soccer world, to feeling confident and secure so that they can best support their kids’ soccer journey going forward. Licensed sports physiotherapist, coach and dad. Subscribe to the newsletter to learn more about how you better can use the 165 hours a week your kid is not at team practice.
A Gardener's approach to helping your kid scan the football pitch better
Hi, You know that kid who is smaller than everyone else, but somehow doesn't get tackled, dispossessed or even look stressed in the heat of a match? I had a teammate like that growing up, and it was great to play with him. And equally, it was extremely frustrating playing against him in practice. As an adult, I've realized that his super-power wasn't his technical or tactical abilities (although to be fair, he could probably have played professionally had he wanted to). He simply knew when,...
A football physio's field notes: simple, not easy
Hi, The first time I had to take charge of my son's training session was a dread. Sure, I was also excited, but what I was feeling most was nervous and insecure. No one really prepares you for that moment, whether it is something you've signed up for (more or less) voluntarily, or if it's just as a one-off substitute coach filling in for the day. If you're ever in the same situation, please read on, as I really think it might help you too. No one tells you that depending on the age of the...
A football physio's field notes: is your child's warm-up really preparing them to perform?
Hi, A good warm-up is really simple, but very, very rarely meets the standard it should: Take the players from where they are when they turn up to training, and prepare them for what they are about to do during it. That means preparing them physically, mentally, socially, and everything put together in the context the coach wants for that session. Now, look at these 3 example warm-ups and pretend that the session will have a main part of a full-pitch game. Judge them by how well they prepare...
A football physio's field notes: difference between change-of-direction and agility
Hi, You might have seen the training videos of a player's run around cones that shows off impressive ability to change direction quickly. And you might think "that looks like a player who can move quickly in games". Perhaps you are right and that player can translate that change-of-direction ability into performance on the pitch. But in my experience, agile players on the pitch are often not the fastest around the cones in practice sessions. Why is that? Well, the ability to change direction...
A football physio's field notes: how I think of instructions
Hi, Ever wondered why the heck your instructions never seem to have the effect you intended to? If you're like me, you might have tried telling your kid what and how to do something in football. For instance, I've told my kids to receive the ball on the foot furthest from where the ball comes from countless times. And yet, there is no change in what they've been doing on the pitch. That's not surprising when looking at the research behind instructions. Explicit instructions (particularly how...
A football physio's field notes: quick tip for appreciating the art of defending
Hi, If you've been stood on a sideline, observed the level of defending that your child is doing, and thought: "how can they defend better than this?" you're probably not alone. I know I've had that thought more than once. A quick tip you can try right now to get your child to appreciate the skill (and art) of defending more is to design and set up an environment where defending is as valuable and as hyped as attacking. Normally defending doesn't get the creds it deserves; a great...
A football physio's field notes: what a $10,000 headset taught me about your backyard
Hi, Three weeks ago I wrote to you about technology in youth football, and I said I'd come back to VR specifically. This is that email. I thought it would take me a weekend. It took three weeks, because there is a lot more published on this than I expected (and yes, I probably went further down the rabbit hole than I needed to). One part of it also turned out to be more convincing than I thought it would be, which I wasn't expecting at all. I'll go deeper below. But if you don't want every...
A football physio's field notes: play is a performance hack
Hi, The World Cup is over (congrats to Spain for being deserved winners), and the kids' summer holiday is moving along. This means that I've had time to peruse a few podcast episodes, and after listening to an episode of Rich Roll's podcast with Kelly Starrett as the guest, titled "Play is The Miracle Drug", I knew I had to relay some of the information shared there. Ultimately, the premise is that play is the number one factor in performance and health, now and in the future. Most parents...
A football physio's field notes: helping kids stay injury free with minimal effort
Hi, Have you noticed the time spent on injury prevention, or perhaps more accurately, reducing the risk of injury, for your child? If your child's team is anything like any of the teams I have observed and consulted with, they are lucky if they have a 2 minute "strength circuit" as part of their warm-up. That time-investment is minuscule for most youth players despite the fact that research quite consistently has shown that specific, structured warm-up programs lasting 10-15 minutes before...
A football physio's field notes: nerding out on football shoes (how best to equip your child)
Hi, I had a conversation last week that perhaps sounds familiar to you. Another parent asked me whether the type of studs their child uses actually makes any difference to the risk of injury or for their performance. It struck us both that there are a lot of claims regarding this, what shoe to buy, for what kind of surface, for various shapes of feet, that are really quite unsubstantiated (at least that is my experience, but I am probably biased here). When I got back home I had to go through...
A football physio's field notes: the similarities between weight loss and youth football
Hi, This week I was reminded of how much of an impact the environment around us, our surroundings, have on our behaviour. I listened to a podcast episode that talked about what society's influence on weight loss was (pre-Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs). Something lit up way back in my mind, as I have known, but not articulated this connection before. The similarities between the environment's impact on weight loss, how supportive or non-supportive it is, how easily available unhealthy...
I help parents of young soccer players go from being confused and insecure about what advice to follow and how to navigate the youth soccer world, to feeling confident and secure so that they can best support their kids’ soccer journey going forward. Licensed sports physiotherapist, coach and dad. Subscribe to the newsletter to learn more about how you better can use the 165 hours a week your kid is not at team practice.