Roughriders explore new stretches to keep ACL injuries off the field

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking at new ways to keep their players healthy and ACL injuries off the field.

This season, the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dan Farthing is implementing a new stretching routine. The NFL piloted these exercises, which aim to prevent ACL injuries, over the last several seasons.

Since the start of training camp last week, players have been stretching three times per practice.

“We have to prepare them for all the movements that they’re going to go through throughout the course of the practice,” Farthing explained.

“We’re going to record the data throughout the course of the year and keep our fingers crossed that nobody suffers an ACL injury.”

Farthing said the Roughriders are not the only team in the CFL doing this stretching routine at training camp.

He added after the NFL gave the green light to the stretching program earlier in the year, they invited CFL teams to participate.

“We’ve had several meetings with how we’re going to strategically implement all of this stuff, and I’ve had communication with several other strength and conditioning coaches around the league about how we’re going to fit this in,” he explained. “We’re all putting our heads together, and hopefully it results in something positive for player health and safety.”

Farthing said the goal is to ensure proper alignment to keep players safe.

“A lot of time we just focus on reactive rehabilitation and instead, we’re not focused on the simple little things that we could do on a daily basis to train the body not only from a muscular, strength and endurance perspective – but also from a motor patterning perspective – so that they (the muscles) are just activating the right way,” he explained.

Micah Johnson is a fan of the new regime. He said he’s never done this much stretching in football practice.

“Especially not like that type of stretching with that much movement – that’s usually something you get in the off-season,” he said.

“Usually warmups during football practice are kind of a lackadaisical chill thing … but I think (this) forces guys to be ready, and it gets everyone’s heart rate up. I love it.”

Johnson has previously suffered ACL injuries and thinks this will benefit the team.

“Just thinking about my own situation personally, the different movements and patterns is putting your body in different positions to get you prepared to be in awkward and different positions on the field,” he said.

Geronimo Allison spent several seasons playing in the NFL, including from 2016 to 2019 as a receiver for the Green Bay Packers.

Even with one of the most prolific football franchises in the world, he said this is the first time he’s ever been asked to stretch three times per practice.

“That’s new. I think it’s beneficial. It’s all injury prevention and backed on science and to help the guys,” Allison said. “We take advantage of it as players to make sure that we’re doing what we need to so we can be on the field. The best ability is availability, so that’s why they have our interest and make sure we’re healthy.”

Head coach Corey Mace approves of the method.

“Dan was very forward-thinking on it and brought it up to me. I didn’t know anything about it, and I went and talked to a couple of my buddies with the (New England) Patriots, and they hadn’t even implemented it yet. Dan was way on top of it. I thought it was a great idea.