Replace the jog-and-stretch routine
Most youth sports teams still start practice the same way they did decades ago: a lap or two, some static stretching, maybe a few jumping jacks. It fills time, but it does almost nothing to reduce injury risk. Research consistently shows that structured, evidence-based warm-up programs — most notably the FIFA 11+ and similar neuromuscular training protocols — meaningfully reduce non-contact lower-extremity injuries in adolescent athletes, particularly girls, when used consistently.
This article gives you a complete, ready-to-run 12-minute warm-up you can start using at your very next practice. No new equipment. No extra staff. Just a change in how you use the 12 minutes you already spend warming up.
For the underlying science of why this works, see our companion article on neuromuscular training. For the biomechanics behind the specific cues used below, read landing mechanics explained.
Note
This warm-up is designed to fully replace your existing warm-up, not add on top of it. Most teams find it takes the same or less time than their current routine once athletes learn the sequence.
The 5-phase structure
| Phase | Time | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Raise | 2 min | Elevate heart rate and tissue temperature |
| 2. Activate | 3 min | Wake up glutes, hips, and core stabilizers |
| 3. Strengthen | 3 min | Build hamstring and single-leg strength |
| 4. Land & absorb | 2-3 min | Train safe landing and deceleration mechanics |
| 5. Sport-ready agility | 2 min | Bridge into practice-speed movement |
Phase 1: Raise (2 minutes)
Jog the width of the field or court while cycling through:
- Jogging forward (20m)
- High knees (20m)
- Butt kicks (20m)
- Lateral shuffle, both directions (20m each)
- Backward jog (20m)
Keep the pace conversational — this phase is about raising temperature, not building fitness.
Phase 2: Activate (3 minutes)
Two rounds of:
- Glute bridges — 10 reps, 2-second hold at top
- Monster walks with band (or without, if no bands available) — 10 steps each direction
- World's greatest stretch — 4 reps each side
Practice tip
If your team has resistance bands, keep a set in the equipment bag specifically for this warm-up. If not, the bodyweight versions of these drills still deliver most of the activation benefit — don't skip the warm-up just because equipment is missing.
Phase 3: Strengthen (3 minutes)
- Nordic hamstring curls or slider hamstring curls — 6-8 reps (use a partner holding ankles if no equipment)
- Single-leg Romanian deadlifts (bodyweight) — 8 reps each leg
- Front plank with alternating shoulder taps — 30-45 seconds
These three exercises target the posterior chain and core — the muscle groups most consistently linked to injury risk reduction in the neuromuscular training literature.
Phase 4: Land & absorb (2-3 minutes)
This is the phase most warm-ups skip entirely, and it's arguably the most important for ACL injury prevention specifically.
- Squat jump with stick landing — 5 reps; hold the landing position for 2 full seconds
- Lateral hop to stick — 5 reps each direction
- Box or step-off landing — 5 reps, focusing on quiet, controlled landings
Coach these cues out loud during every rep:
- "Soft knees"
- "Knees over toes, not caving in"
- "Land quiet"
- "Chest up"
What the evidence says
The landing and deceleration components of programs like FIFA 11+ and PEP are considered a key mechanism behind their injury-reduction effects, because they directly train the movement patterns most associated with non-contact ACL injury — particularly dynamic knee valgus during landing and cutting.
Phase 5: Sport-ready agility (2 minutes)
Finish with cutting and change-of-direction drills relevant to your sport — cone cuts, defensive slides, or approach-and-jump sequences for volleyball. The goal is to carry the landing cues from Phase 4 into faster, sport-realistic movement before live practice begins.
A printable weekly version
Not every practice needs the full 12-minute version. A reasonable weekly structure:
- Monday/Wednesday/Friday (or your 3 main practice days): Full 12-minute warm-up
- Game days: Abbreviated 6-8 minute version (Phases 1, 2, and 4 only)
- Recovery or light days: Phase 2 and 3 only, as a "maintenance dose"
Caution
Skipping the warm-up on the days your team is most fatigued or rushed is exactly backwards — those are the practices and games where deceleration mechanics tend to break down most, and where the warm-up matters most.
Getting buy-in from athletes
Teenagers are quick to tune out a warm-up that feels like busywork. A few things that help adoption:
- Explain the "why" once, briefly. Athletes who understand this is about protecting their own knees — not an arbitrary coach requirement — tend to take it more seriously.
- Let captains lead it. Peer-led warm-ups get better effort than coach-led ones in many programs.
- Track it. A simple checklist on a clipboard showing which days the full warm-up was completed keeps coaching staff accountable too.
- Keep the sequence consistent. Predictability lets athletes move through it efficiently once learned, rather than needing new instructions every practice.
Bringing this to your whole program
If this warm-up works for one team, it's worth standardizing across your entire athletic department — junior varsity, varsity, and club levels alike. G-MIP's programs page includes a printable coach card version of this exact warm-up, along with video demonstrations for each exercise, and our resources library has season-long tracking templates.
For the strength work that complements this warm-up on non-practice days, see strength training for adolescent female athletes. If you'd like help adapting this warm-up to your sport, field size, or team size, reach out to our team — we work with coaches across multiple sports on exactly this kind of implementation.
Twelve minutes, three times a week. It is a small ask relative to the protection it offers your athletes.
References
- FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC). "FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program."
- Mandelbaum, B.R., et al. "PEP (Prevent injury and Enhance Performance) Program."
- Hewett, T.E., et al. Research on neuromuscular training and ACL injury prevention.
- Myer, G.D., et al. Research on landing mechanics and biomechanical risk factors in adolescent athletes.
- IOC Consensus Statement on youth athletic development.