Injury Prevention & Recovery
Evidence-based injury prevention and recovery programming for soccer, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, and athletes of every sport — built on functional exercise methodology, clinical collaboration, and more than 25 years of applied experience.
The Foundation
Most sports injuries are not random. They are the predictable result of movement compensations, load mismanagement, inadequate warmup, and the cumulative injury cycle that builds silently over months and seasons. The right programming identifies and addresses these risks before an athlete ever gets hurt.
Everyday Athlete's injury prevention programming is built on functional exercise methodology — the same scientific foundation that produced FIFA 11+, the most rigorously validated injury prevention protocol in sport. That methodology draws on neuromuscular training, corrective exercise, movement screening, and progressive loading protocols to build athletes who are resilient across their sport, their season, and their career.
This is not generic stretching or cookie-cutter warm-ups. It is a structured, individualized approach to understanding how each athlete moves, where their risk lies, and how to build the strength, stability, and movement intelligence to protect them — and to recover faster when injury does occur.
Overall injury risk reduction with FIFA 11+ — the gold standard evidence-based warmup protocol for soccer athletes (Thorborg et al. 2017)
Reduction in hamstring injuries with proper neuromuscular warmup and eccentric loading protocols
Years of experience integrating injury prevention into performance training for athletes of all ages and sports
The Methodology
Every prevention program begins with a thorough functional movement assessment — identifying asymmetries, compensation patterns, muscle imbalances, and neuromuscular deficits that create injury risk. You cannot fix what you haven't measured. NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist methodology applied throughout.
The nervous system controls movement. Neuromuscular training develops the brain-body communication that allows athletes to decelerate safely, land correctly, change direction under fatigue, and protect their joints automatically — without having to think about it. This is where most programs fall short.
Overuse injuries are almost entirely a function of load — too much volume, too fast, without adequate recovery. Proper load management across the training week, month, and season is one of the highest-value injury prevention interventions available. We build it into every program from day one.
Sport-specific eccentric and isometric loading methodologies build the tensile strength and neuromuscular stability that protect tendons, ligaments, and muscles during high-demand athletic movements — cutting, landing, sprinting, and deceleration. Critical for ACL, hamstring, and Achilles prevention.
A properly designed warmup is one of the most effective injury prevention tools available — and one of the most consistently underdone. We design, teach, and implement dynamic warmup protocols that prepare the neuromuscular system for competition and train athletes and coaches to use them independently.
Corrective exercise addresses the root causes of movement dysfunction — not just the symptoms. By identifying and correcting the underlying compensations that lead to injury, corrective programming reduces re-injury risk and builds a more durable, athletic body over time.
Evidence-Based Protocol
Developed by FIFA's Medical and Research Centre and validated in multiple large-scale randomized controlled trials, FIFA 11+ is the most rigorously evidence-based injury prevention warmup protocol in soccer — and a cornerstone of Everyday Athlete's approach to at-risk athlete populations. It exemplifies the functional exercise principles that underpin all our injury prevention programming.
FIFA 11+ reduces overall injury risk by 39% — with documented reductions across the four most common soccer injuries:
The neuromuscular principles underlying FIFA 11+ — eccentric hamstring loading, single-leg stability, dynamic hip control, and deceleration mechanics — are not soccer-specific. They are fundamental athletic qualities that protect athletes in any sport involving cutting, jumping, landing, and high-speed directional change. Everyday Athlete adapts these protocols for the specific demands of each sport and each athlete.
The Broader Toolkit
FIFA 11+ is one validated piece of a larger evidence-based toolkit. Everyday Athlete draws from multiple frameworks to build programs tailored to the specific injury risks, movement patterns, and demands of each sport and athlete.
A systematic approach to identifying overactive and underactive muscle groups that create movement compensations and injury risk. The foundation for individualized corrective programming integrated into every Everyday Athlete training program.
Applied across: All sports, post-rehab, youth development
Sport-specific eccentric and isometric loading methodologies for tendon and muscle health — particularly for hamstring, adductor, and Achilles protection. Progressively loaded and integrated into training, not treated as an afterthought.
Applied across: Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, track
Non-contact ACL injuries — disproportionately affecting female athletes — are largely preventable with the right neuromuscular training. Landing mechanics, knee-over-toe control, single-leg stability, and hip activation protocols reduce risk significantly when implemented consistently.
Applied across: Soccer, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, gymnastics
Ankle sprains are among the most common sports injuries — and the leading predictor of re-injury. Progressive proprioceptive training restores and builds the neuromuscular response that prevents ankle, knee, and hip injuries from recurring.
Applied across: All field and court sports
Sport-specific shoulder stability, rotator cuff activation, scapular control, and thoracic mobility programming for athletes in overhead sports. Addresses the cumulative load patterns that lead to labral tears, impingement, and UCL injuries.
Applied across: Baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, swimming
Tracking and managing athlete workload across the week, month, and season to keep athletes in the optimal training zone — enough stimulus to develop, not so much that injury risk spikes. Coordination with coaches on session design and volume management.
Applied across: All sports, team and individual programs
Recovery Is Training.
Treat It That Way.
The Everyday Athlete Framework
When injury does occur, Everyday Athlete bridges the gap between the end of formal medical rehabilitation and the return to full sport performance. The Six Phase Recovery Model provides a structured, progressive framework for that journey — in close collaboration with your physicians and physical therapists.
Immediate response, medical coordination, and establishing the baseline for recovery. Working with your MD and PT from day one.
Restoring range of motion, reducing inflammation, and beginning neuromuscular re-education in coordination with physical therapy.
Rebuilding the functional strength and muscular capacity lost during the injury and rehabilitation period. Foundation for everything that follows.
Reintegrating the recovered area into full movement patterns — multi-planar, multi-directional, and under increasing load and speed.
Rebuilding sport-specific performance qualities — power, speed, agility, and endurance — at the level needed to return to full competition safely.
Full return to sport with ongoing monitoring, reassessment, and the prevention programming that reduces the risk of re-injury going forward.
Upcoming Free Workshop
Old-school rest and ice often delays recovery. Treating symptoms instead of causes leads to recurring injuries and longer returns to sport. On March 25, Tomas and Dr. Tanuj Palvia — Regenerative Sports MD — are hosting a free 15-minute introductory workshop on what modern recovery science actually looks like.
Topics include advanced recovery tools (PRP, shockwave, PEMF), movement diagnostics, and the sport-specific loading methodologies that reduce return-to-play time and prevent re-injury.
From Minor Injuries to Long-Term Health
Collaborative Care
Physical therapy gets you out of pain and restores basic function. Performance training gets you back to full sport. The gap between those two endpoints is where most re-injuries happen. Everyday Athlete fills that gap — working directly with your PT and physician to build a seamless bridge from discharge to full return to play.
For athletes working with regenerative sports medicine specialists, Tomas coordinates programming to complement and optimize clinical interventions — ensuring that training loads support rather than undermine the healing process.
For team programs, Tomas works alongside athletic trainers, team physicians, and sports medicine staff to ensure that prevention programs are properly integrated with the broader sports medicine infrastructure of the organization.
For eligible youth athletes and post-rehabilitation clients, Tomas provides full clinical documentation to support insurance reimbursement under applicable Medicaid HCBS, EPSDT, and waiver programs.
Recovery Tool
Heat Exposure &
Sauna Therapy
Used consistently for 30+ years as part of a complete recovery protocol — improving circulation, reducing soreness, and accelerating tissue repair.
Whether you're a coach looking to protect your team, an athlete coming back from injury, or a parent wanting the right foundation for a young player — let's talk.