In the old days if you got an injury you just shrugged, put it down to bad luck and waited for it to heal up.

Some people still do that.

But the clever guys (that's you, because you are reading this) know some things can be headed off at the pass.

You can stop an injury before it happens.

We know this because researchers have looked into the influence of posture on rate of injury. They found that certain postural triggers - the way you hold yourself when moving and still - lead to more injuries.

If you can correct these flaws, injury rates go down. Your chances of staying on the park go up.

But you are not a physical therapist or strength coach. You don't have the eye or the testing procedures (or probably the time) to correct issues in yourself of the squad you coach once a week.

So you take a blanket approach.

It's not perfect, but by focusing on what you know to be common postural areas you can tick off your injury prevention role right in the warm up.

So a good warm up, done before training and matches, will cover the common bases off:

Mobility/Flexibility

• Hip Mobility
• Thoracic Spine Mobility
• Pec Minor Length
• Latissimus Dorsi Length
• Shoulder Internal/External Rotation
• Ankle Mobility/Calf Length
• Rotator Cuff Length

Core Strength

• Glute Strength/Hip Stability
• Lumbar Spine Stability
• Serratus Anterior Strength
• Lower Trapezius Strength
• Poas Strength
• Subscapularis Strength
• Neck Flexor Strength

I know what you are thinking; "slow down brainac, what's with all the latin? I just want to coach cricket!"

If you are not an expert on anatomy, you may well be be scratching your head at some of these muscle names and terms.

I'm not listing these things to scare you off.

While I suggest all coaches should know the importance of these muscles in injury prevention, it's not something you need to know.

You just need to be aware that a good warm up covers these bases for you. This list tells you why that's important.

The warm up is now about far more than just a token jog round the field to get warm. As you have limited time. You don't have to be an expert, but if you know the possible proble areas you can cut them off.

You won't save every injury but you will reduce the risk.