The research already exists. We make sure it reaches the field.
The Girls Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Initiative turns female-specific sports medicine research into free, practical tools for the athletes, coaches, and parents who need it.
What G-MIP is
G-MIP is a youth-led initiative with one job: take what sports medicine researchers already know about protecting female athletes and put it into the hands of the people who run practices, drive carpools, and step onto the field.
We don't conduct original research. We translate it — into warm-up protocols, plain-language articles, sideline checklists, and the Female Athlete Safety Playbook, all published free in our Knowledge Library.
Why it's needed
For decades, youth sports programming was built on research centered on male athletes. Girls and women were treated as a smaller version of the same body — even though the science says otherwise about ligament injury risk, concussion, bone health, and energy availability.
"The playbook was already written. It just wasn't reaching the field."
What we actually do
Translate the research
Peer-reviewed work on ACL mechanics, concussion, bone health, energy availability, and biomechanics — rewritten in language a coach or parent can actually use.
Build practice-ready tools
Warm-up protocols, sideline cards, checklists, and the Female Athlete Safety Playbook — designed to fit inside a real practice plan, not replace it.
Keep it free and open
The Knowledge Library is public. No gate, no login, no cost — because the athletes who need it most are rarely the ones with a sports medicine team.
Cover what gets skipped
The Female Athlete Triad and RED-S, nutrition, menstrual-cycle considerations, and return-to-play — topics routinely left out of youth sports education.
Founder
ALEXIS
Student-athlete · Former ECNL soccer player · Fierce advocate for women in sport
I started G-MIP because I lived the problem it addresses. Before I turned fifteen I had been through concussions, fractures, a dislocation, and an ACL tear — and a lot of physical therapy, orthopedic appointments, and time in operating rooms. That experience made me curious about more than treatment: I wanted to know why these injuries keep happening to girls, and how many of them are preventable. The more I read about ACL prevention, concussion, bone health, nutrition, the Female Athlete Triad and RED-S, the clearer it became that the research existed but wasn't reaching youth sports. G-MIP is my attempt to close that gap.
A note on expertise. G-MIP is founded and led by a student-athlete, not a medical professional or researcher. Everything we publish as guidance is drawn from peer-reviewed sports medicine research and reviewed with people who work in the field. Our materials are educational and are not a substitute for individual medical advice — read our medical disclaimer.
Where our guidance comes from
G-MIP doesn't conduct original research — we translate it. Every recommendation traces back to peer-reviewed work, and citations travel with our materials so coaches, parents, and clinicians can check the evidence themselves.
Consensus statements
International expert panels that synthesize the evidence base — such as the IOC consensus statements on youth athletic development, load management, and injury prevention in elite youth athletes.
Peer-reviewed journals
Original research and meta-analyses from leading sports medicine and orthopedic journals — covering ACL biomechanics, neuromuscular training, concussion, bone health, and energy availability.
Clinical practice guidelines
Evidence-based return-to-play, concussion management, and rehabilitation frameworks published by professional sports medicine and physical therapy organizations.
Female-specific research
Studies centered on female athletes — the Female Athlete Triad and RED-S, menstrual-cycle considerations, and sex-specific injury risk — the work youth sports programming has historically skipped.
Proven prevention programs
Peer-reviewed trials of structured warm-ups and neuromuscular programs (such as the FIFA 11+) that demonstrate measurable reductions in injury rates when implemented consistently.
Field review
Materials are reviewed with people who work in sports medicine and athletics before publication. Citations link to abstracts or full text wherever available in our Knowledge Library.
Full citations appear in every Knowledge Library resource, article, and sport-specific guide — start with the Knowledge Library to see them in context.
From the training room to a knowledge platform
I experienced the problem, got curious about why it happens, found the gap between research and real-world sports — and built G-MIP to close it.
Before 15
OriginA long stretch of injuries
Two concussions, three elbow fractures, a broken wrist, a dislocation, two thigh strains, and an ACL tear — and years of physical therapy, orthopedic visits, and return-to-play.Next
CuriosityThe question changed
The question stopped being 'how do I get back?' and became 'why do these injuries keep happening, and how many of them didn't have to?'Then
ResearchFinding the gap
The research on female-athlete injury risk already existed — detailed and rigorous. Almost none of it was reaching coaches, parents, or athletes on the field.Now
BuildG-MIP takes shape
A public Knowledge Library, plain-language articles, and the Female Athlete Safety Playbook — evidence turned into things people can use on a Monday.Ahead
NextInto more programs
Deeper collaboration with researchers and clinicians, more reviewed materials, and partnerships with schools and clubs that want prevention built into the season.
How prevention actually reaches the field.
Tap any node to see how each role connects — and where G-MIP fits in the ecosystem.
Selected
Athletes
Connected to
What we stand on
Evidence First
Every recommendation is anchored in peer-reviewed sports medicine research — and citations travel with it.
Community-Led
We build with coaches, athletes, and families — not just for them. Design partners on day one.
Systems Change
One-off talks don't stick. Standardized practice, embedded in seasons, does.
Female-Specific
We name the gap that youth sports has ignored for too long — and close it with practical tools.
Practical over Perfect
20-minute drop-ins beat 90-minute clinics coaches never repeat. Ship what fits on a Monday.
Athlete Voice
Athletes and student leaders sit at the table where materials get built.