There have been close to one-hundred of the worlds best women's soccer players who have torn their ACLs in the past few years. The careers of many professional women's soccer players have been paused by the plague scaring the sports world. My research goal involves understanding the relationship between characteristics in female professional soccer players that may explain the abnormally high ACL tear rate. 

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Currently, there is a lack of knowledge of the physiological and health demands of female players. Many well known women's soccer players are all asking the same questions: "Why is this happening?" and "Why is no one trying to figure it out?" A research study known as "Project ACL" has just begun, focusing on the Women's Super League (WSL), a competitive English "football" league for women's players. No actions have been in order for women's players in the United States. 

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I will be conducting my research by measuring a wide variety of variables that may be impacting the high ACL tear rate among professional women's soccer players who play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a league in the United States. My variables include: Weather (field conditions), date (time period to analyze the impact of fatigue levels, possible overload or linkage to long time off and short pre-season right into intense play), Brand of soccer cleat, Type of cleat stud (AG=Artificial grass, FG=Firm ground), Type of soccer field (surface=grass/turf and note if it is rubber or sand if turf), Home VS Away game, Age, Exposure setting (practice/game), minutes played up to injury (if applicable), Position, Time (if in game) it occurred, previous (recent) injuries and mechanism of injury (contact or non contact), team (in the NWSL that the player is on), number of games played (in that season before the injury occurred). My methodology involves comparing each variable to every player who has torn their ACL in the NWSL, using numerous tools including: FIFPRO's Player Workload Monitoring Tool, the FB REF cite, ESPN+ and social media, more specifically instagram. After data collection, I will use pie charts and line graphs in order to analyze data trends among the characteristics and determine the best path the NWSL should take for the future. ​

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