NEW YORK – At Peak Sports has gained another national spokesperson in its quest for reducing injury in youth sports through better conditioning in announcing a partnership with U.S. National Team member and professional soccer player Crystal Dunn.
Dunn, who was selected by the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League with the first overall pick in 2014, will work with At Peak Sports to provide fun and engaging content for the At Peak Sports athletic performance and training app. Dunn’s partnership with At Peak Sports comes weeks after the company announced a similar partnership with pro lacrosse player Kyle Harrison to promote better conditioning and fitness among youth lacrosse athletes through the app.
The At Peak Sports app platform delivers age-, gender-, and sport-specific strength and conditioning exercises, and video-guided workouts that are designed by medical professionals to improve conditioning for youth athletes to prevent injuries. The app comes with exercise videos demonstrating proper exercise form and technique for youth sports, including soccer, lacrosse, football, basketball and baseball. The platform includes social networking features that allow athletes to communicate with teammates, upload photos, view sports-related video content and challenge each other in sports trivia contests. Dunn will help deliver fun and engaging content for the soccer app.
"We are thrilled to have Crystal as a spokesperson for At Peak Sports,” said At Peak Sports cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Will Metzger. “Her love for the sport of soccer, her outgoing personality, and her incredible work ethic make her the perfect role model for millions of youth soccer players. As a member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and professional soccer player with the Washington Spirit, Crystal truly is an At Peak athlete. She plays ‘the beautiful game’ at the highest level and relates her experiences to young soccer players in a genuine and compelling way that motivates them to train to be At Peak athletes, too."
Dunn was a member of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team, as well as a member of the team that won Japan 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup. She was the 2012 recipient of the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the U.S. top male and female college soccer players, and represented the United States as member of the under-17, under-18, and under-20 national teams. Dunn’s perspective regarding fighting back from injury will be invaluable in her ability to encourage youth soccer players to adhere to the training principles of the At Peak Sports app. She suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain to her right knee last fall prior to the CONCACAF Women's Championship, and, thus understands the role of strength and conditioning in reducing serious injury.
"I love what the At Peak app is doing for kids playing soccer,” Dunn said. “Physical and mental conditioning are so important to playing better and avoiding injuries at all ages, at all levels. I really wish At Peak was around when I was a kid. I encourage parents and coaches to urge their young soccer players to sign up for the At Peak app and do the workouts. They’ll get a weekly message from me if they do."
Research shows that a 20-minute workout twice per week can help reduce the chance of sports injuries by up to 50 percent. Using the At Peak app, players as young as 8 can build a base of strength and conditioning to reduce injury. Beyond individual training, the app allows coaches to communicate with their teams and monitor team training progress. Parents also are able to participate with their child or just monitor their progress.
Overall, the At Peak Sports platform addresses the growing need for better-conditioned youth athletes to prevent injury. Each year, $33 billion is spent on treating youth sports injuries and more than 20 million days of school are lost, research shows. Lower-extremity injuries, including ankle sprains, knee injuries and concussions are all common injuries in soccer, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than half of those injuries are preventable.
In addition to the Dunn and Harrison partnership, At Peak Sports earlier this year announced a major partnership with the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association to provide the At Peak athletic performance and training app to all of ENYYSA's more than 120,000 members.
About At Peak Sports: At Peak Sports’ mission is to bring the best of sports medicine and athletic training to every athletic field and every home in the country through our innovative digital platform. Based in New York and led by a team with deep experience in sports, medicine and technology, At Peak Sports provides youth athletes, coaches and parents with sports-related instructional content and medically-backed, age-, gender-, and sport-specific strength and conditioning exercises that are proven to reduce youth sports injuries. Through a social and game-driven approach, At Peak engages with youth sports teams, their players and their coaches through its innovative sports and fitness platform. For more information about At Peak Sports, visit us at http://atpeaksports.com/. Youth sports leagues, clubs and schools interested in receiving more information about the company’s products should send a note by visiting: https://app.atpeaksports.com/requestInfo.