A few weeks ago I observed some very interesting U-17 match play. The kids hit respectable peak speeds, but every time possession flipped they bled yards because they couldn’t shut down cleanly and reverse. That inability to brake isn’t just a tactical problem for ball possession, it’s a tissue-integrity nightmare. Why it matters Soccer players log hundreds of decelerations every game. Multiple studies have put the number of deceleration efforts in the 300-500 zone, and hard deceleration efforts in the 75-100+ range. Hard stops, cuts, and pull-backs load the body very differently than take-offs. Coming out of a 20–30 m sprint, ground-reaction forces can spike past five times body-weight and they land in a fraction of a second. When the athlete can’t buffer that load, it drives valgus at the knee, overpowers the ankles and hips, and hammers still-maturing adductors. Look at any high-school or college injury report: non-contact ACLs,