What is the Knee Program?
Most injuries in netball occur to knees and ankles when landing.  Netball Australia’s Knee Program is designed to prevent these injuries occurring.

Injury to one of the major stabilisers of the knee, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), is a common problem, annually representing approximately 25% of serious injuries (Netball Australia National Insurance Data).

Who is the Knee Program for?
Whether you are a coach to your child’s netball team, high performance coach, support staff or parent, this program is designed to keep your players on the court for longer and moving more efficiently when there.

As an athlete this program aims to keep you playing the sport you love without being sidelined by injury.

There are four underpinning principles behind the KNEE Program. Players must be familiar with and proficient in these key principles before introducing the warm up. Use the links below to watch some demonstrative videos.

The program targets safe take off and landing technique with specific attention to the overhead arm position. It also conditions the athlete for efficient deceleration and change of direction, equipping players with the skills needed to cope with the specific multi-directional demands of netball.

The success of the program is dependent on buy in from both coach and athlete. As a coach this resource will help you to identify and amend risky movement patterns. As a player it provides a visual reminder of ideal movement. It allows athletes who are participating in multiple teams to be consistently performing the one program.

The KNEE Program includes a Warm Up, Strength, Balance/Landing, and Agility section.

We recommend the program is completed before each court work or match play session. The ordering can be changed. For example, the Strength section can be completed before the Warm Up section if that flows better.

The KNEE Program needs to be completed at least twice a week for maximum effectiveness and must be continued for the effects to be maintained.

Not only must the program be continued, it must be done with correct technique to ensure risky movements are eliminated rather than reinforced.

The downloads below provide more detail on how best to introduce the program to your team.

 

If you have any questions, take a look in our FAQs below. If you’d like any more information or to provide any feedback, please get in touch at support@netball.com.au

Frequently Asked Questions

Information for Players and Parents