The ACL Epidemic

Episode 66: Vincent Minjares (Aspen Institute- ACL Pledge) 🎙 In this episode: I sit down with Vincent Minjares of the Aspen Institute to dig into a topic that’s personal for me: ACL injuries. I’ve lived through one myself, and I’ve coached far too many athletes—especially female soccer players—through this brutal setback. The phrase “It’s not if, but when” has become way too common. But after this conversation, I’m more convinced than ever that we don’t have to accept that reality. 🔹 Why This Hits Home My own ACL journey and the players I’ve coached who’ve gone through it. 🔹 The Fear Factor Why athletes (and parents) feel ACL injuries are inevitable, especially in girls’ sports. 🔹 The Game-Changer How 15–20 minutes of neuromuscular training, a few times a week, makes a measurable difference. 🔹 The Price Tag: $0 These prevention strategies are free. Literally. There’s no excuse not to use them. 🔹 A Coach’s Regret Why I wish I had made ACL prevention a priority earlier in my career. 🔹 Parents’ Big Questions Is it the turf? The menstrual cycle? Genetics? Sleep? Where the science actually points. 🔹 Culture Check Why youth sports spends endlessly on gear and travel but skips basic prevention. 🔹 Hope > Helplessness We’ll never erase the risk entirely, but we are not powerless. 🔹 A Call to Action Coaches, parents, athletes—no more excuses. We must do better. National ACL Injury Coalition (as.pn/aclcoalition)    Sign the ACL Pledge (as.pn/aclpledge) How you can take action to address the ACL injury crisis (after signing the pledge)  List of neuromuscular training programs (for finding the exercise program that's right for you)  Field Guide for Reducing Serious Knee Injuries (for club, school and program leaders looking to introduce NMT with teams)   

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.