Leaving injury prevention theoretical? Ask the coach!—A survey of 1012 football coaches in Germany

High injury rates in football (soccer) suggest an urgent need for preventive approaches. Theoretical models illustrating systematic sports injury prevention procedures typically consider descriptions of injury epidemiology and etiology, but do not regard the knowledge and specific needs of important stakeholders within sport practice. This might be one reason why there is still a research-to-practice gap-reducing effectiveness of preventive approaches under real life conditions. Thus, the present study asks football coaches, as the most important decision-makers among coaching and medical staff, for their opinions about injuries and prevention. A random sample of 2000 German football coaches was drawn from the database of the German Football Federation (DFB) and invited to participate in an online survey; of these, 1012 (50.6%) were included for analysis. Participants were subdivided by age categories, coaching licenses, and performance levels of the teams they coached. Overall, lack of fitness/athletics was rated as the most important risk factor for injuries, followed by previous injuries and lack of regeneration. Coordination and core stabilization training as well as regeneration were stated as the most beneficial preventive areas. The results suggest that in general, periodization, load monitoring and reintegration of injured players must be given greater priority in future preventive approaches. Education curricula for lower-level coaching licenses should focus on basic physiology, fundamental medical and physiotherapeutic support, and on low-threshold possibilities of testing and training. To gain a more professional oriented license, coaches should qualify as decision-makers within a team of experts and be taught leadership competence and communication skills.