SAFC agrees deal with Tees valley fitness firm SUNDERLAND Football Club has signed a deal with a firm of Tees Valley fitness specialists to help its players avoid the injuries that plagued the first team last season. The Premier League outfit has invited leading private physiotherapy clinic, Body 2 Fit, based at Wynyard Park near Billingham, to deliver weekly pilates and yoga classes to the playing staff. The deal will see everyone from youth team players to star names such as John O'Shea and Wes Brown take part in 30 minute body conditioning sessions at the clubs Academy of Light training complex. Sunderland's medical staff are determined to explore every possible avenue to prevent a repeat of the spate of injuries that derailed the clubs bid for European qualification last season. Manager Steve Bruce grew frustrated as Fraizer Campbell, Titus Bramble, Lee Cattermole and Danny Welbeck were among the key players sidelined with knee and muscular problems. The deal with Body 2 Fit aims to help the squad to understand how their bodies work and adopt new ways of strengthening muscles that may not respond to traditional training methods. Former England captain David Beckham reckoned his regular yoga sessions would ensure that he plays top class football into his forties. However, Body 2 Fit co-founder and director Robert White, said that some of the Sunderland players had initially been wary of the changes to their routine. "Probably the hardest thing is to get men to accept that yoga or pilates is for them," said Mr White, who praised Dr Glen Rae, head of the club's medical department and physio Dave Galley for their support. "Sunderland asked us to work with some of the first team last year and were so happy they invited us to roll it out to the whole club. "At the start there was no doubt that some of the players were a bit reluctant to get involved. Most footballers are used to a particular routine, which typically involves running around, match practice and weights. But the more they stick at it I think they will start to see that it is beneficial for them and their careers. "It has been proven, for example, that working the smaller muscle groups around the centre of the spine can help to reduce the likelihood of things such as hamstring injuries. Getting that into the minds of the younger players is ideal as it becomes part of their regular work." Body 2 Fit has recently invested thousands of pounds in new equipment from the US. It is being used at the studio by a wide range of clients from rowers and dancers to golfers who are looking to improve their swing. Earlier this month, Joy Feary, co-founder of the business, became the region's only certified practitioner with a qualification from the Pilates Foundation to teach studio and equipment based pilates. She is part of a team which includes specialist physiotherapists, sports injury experts, podiatrists and personal trainers.
I'm glad to see Sunderland doing this. Traditional training - weights, etc. - build up strength. But it also trains muscles to stiffen in order to hold a terrific weight off the ground. In football, you need to twist and change direction suddenly, and I'm not so sure those muscles are trained for that job. One twist, one stretch, and whoops, they're out for three weeks. Football requires a more supple type of muscle. Putting the two types of training together will do a bit of good, I think. I hope the players get their heads round it.
my cousin, who just missed out on getting into professional level football, used to swear by ballet as a compliment to his football training -sounds weird I know but he said it improved balance, coordination and reduced injuries... (apart from those injuries sustained when getting punched by his mates for being a fairy.. )
Dan, Albert Quixall of Sheffield Wednesday, Man. U., and England in the late 1950s took ballet lessons for the same reasons.
I have a mate who played rugby to quite a good level. Two members of his team did ballroom dancing to improve their balance and footwork. Never heard anybody call them fairies either
I was joking.. he suffered some friendly mickey taking cos of it but nothing serious... I can actually see it working quite well. I know I did non-contact karate when i was younger and it helped me, so why not ballet?
They should look into doing some powerlifting too. Sounds crazy but lifting heavy weights especially the core powerlifting excercises has been proved to improve bone density and ligament strength vastly. I was part of a study 10 years ago in which proved the case. They should talk to Norman Anderson who is based at Gateshead Stadium about it, he trained both Steve Cram and Jonathan Edwards and used core power lifting exercises to help develop their fitness and strength. He says it was the reason both were so successful and had such long careers. I was lucky enough to be trained by Norman on a few occasions when I was younger and the guy really knows what he is talking about.
