Latest Insights & Analysis

Stay updated with the latest public health research, commentary, and field notes from our editorial team.

Featured Story

Train as You Play

August 28, 2025 · 5 min read

If you’ve ever watched a youth soccer session, you’ve probably seen it: players lined up, waiting their turn to pass a ball through cones while the coach shouts corrections. Then—after 20 minutes of drills—they finally get to play a small-sided game. The idea is that repetition builds skill, and then games let players “apply” what […]

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Strategy

Sprinting and Soccer Success

What separates a winning soccer team from the rest? While tactics, talent, and teamwork are critical, new research highlights another game-changer: how players move on the field. Beyond goals and passes, the speed, distance, and accelerations players achieve can significantly influence their team’s success. If you’re a coach looking to refine your training methods, a […]

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Health

Getting Off the Couch.

Applications Imagine a group of middle-aged soccer fans, united not on the field but in their journey to better health. These fans, once united by their love for the game, found themselves tackling an entirely different challenge—improving their lifestyle. Through a groundbreaking program called EuroFIT, they learned to transform small steps into major victories, using […]

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Strategy

Mastering Penalty Kicks: Insights to Boost Your Game

Penalty kicks can define a match—just ask any player who’s had to face the pressure of that 12-yard shot. With nearly 78% of penalty kicks finding the net in professional leagues, they might seem like a guaranteed goal, but the science says otherwise. Recent research (will download a .pdf) examining over 7,000 penalty kicks across […]

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Development

How Small-Sided Games Can Transform Your Team’s Tactics

Soccer is often called “the beautiful game” for its elegance, fluidity, and moments of sheer brilliance. But what if the secret to unlocking these magical moments lies not in flashy footwork but in small-sided games? New research shows how these scaled-down games—commonly used in youth soccer—can foster creativity that disrupts defenses and opens opportunities for […]

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Culture

The Equal Pay Goal: Lessons from Women’s Soccer Battles

For decades, women’s soccer has inspired fans with electrifying matches and fearless athletes. Yet behind the scenes, many players have fought a different kind of battle—one for fair pay. In this fight for equality, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Australia’s Matildas have stood as symbols of resilience. Each team used its unique […]

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Strategy

How Walking and Jogging Can Win Soccer Games

What if the secret to scoring that all-important goal wasn’t raw speed or flashy footwork, but something far more understated? Picture this: five minutes before the most pivotal moment of the game, your team is working tirelessly, covering ground—but not in the high-speed sprints you’d expect. Instead, they’re jogging, walking, and moving strategically. This isn’t […]

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Development

Understanding Maltreatment in Soccer

Maltreatment in sports is an uncomfortable but necessary topic of conversation. For soccer players, coaches, and club managers alike, understanding maltreatment and its implications isn’t just theoretical—it’s about changing lives and improving the game itself. A recent study, Towards an Understanding of Maltreatment in Football (will download a .pdf) uncovers the hidden realities within professional […]

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Development

How Data Revolutionizes Soccer Coaching

Imagine you’re a soccer coach preparing for a crucial match. You’ve analyzed your team’s strengths, but predicting the opponent’s tactics feels like guesswork. What if technology could provide precise predictions to refine your game plan? Machine learning is transforming soccer by analyzing complex datasets, offering insights that were once the domain of intuition. A recent […]

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Analytics

The Power of Expected Goals (xG) in Soccer

Soccer fans, coaches, and players are constantly looking for ways to improve performance, whether it’s through better tactics, smarter training, or more precise statistics. One of the most powerful tools available today is expected goals (xG), a data-driven metric that has become increasingly popular in soccer analysis. But what exactly does xG tell us, and […]

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