One of our major focuses during the pre-season and in-season is being more consistent with lower leg health/mobility. The importance of mobility throughout the entire lower leg can not be overstated, especially when dealing with athletes that accumulate a lot of wear and tear through jumping/landing. The ankle/big toe/foot complex is the first thing to come in contact with the ground and any mobility issues in the lower leg complex can lead to other potential injuries up the chain.
Our typically lower leg;
- Soft Tissue Work to improve tissue quality
- Ankle CARs to improve active ankle range of motion. We typically perform 5 full circles both clockwise and counterclockwise
- Toe Sit & Rocks to improve big toe mobility, programmed for 5 diaphragmatic breaths
- Heel Sit & Knee Lifts to help lengthen the anterior compartment of the lower leg, again programmed for 5 diaphragmatic breaths
- Half Kneeling Ankle Mobility Rocks to improve ankle mobility. 10 reps per leg.
In addition to these drills, you can try to perform as much of our warm up as we can without shoes on to spend more time without shoes/braces on – though we don’t do it often.
If you are looking for more volleyball related info and how we work everything in to the program, check out my Ultimate Off-Season Training Program for Volleyball.
You can grab your own copy HERE.