SEASON REFLECTION ON ACADEMY FOOTBALL AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Alex Stefanakis MCSP, Physiotherapist, Academy Head of Sports Science and Medicine in Millwall FC
During this challenging year every football club was required to be very flexible and innovative to adapt the heavy schedule. This article discusses
a reflection of the academy medical management of an under 18 (u18s) squad during this season. Due to the global pandemic the players had long break off their usual activities which lasted about 4 months, and they started the season not fully prepared. There was nothing similar in the past when all players of all teams had that much break from football and sports activities. As every club during this break, we tried to keep our players engaged with a lot of running and homework sessions, however especially for young academy players this was not enough considering the importance of their physical development in this age. The season started in August 2020 when we had our first training session and the team met up together for first time since March 2020 to begin its pre-season.