Benchwarmers: Mitigating soft tissue injuries for local players

Staff Writer

Australian sportswear company Benchwarmers are targeting the issue of soft tissue injuries through their innovative product.

The company estimates that hamstring strain injuries account for 12-16% of all injuries in English, Australian and New Zealand professional Football. A key component of this can come from a players’ time on the bench.

Traditionally played as a winter sport, amateur soccer players are at risk of injury in cold conditions.

Speaking to product creator Andrew Lauder, the body length sportswear came about from noticing an increase in hamstring injuries at local level.

“We noticed kids and adults going out with hamstrings,” Lauder told Soccerscne.

“They’re sitting on these cold benches that are on parks everywhere, and they don’t really warm up. They just go out on the field and then they’ve pulled up with a hamstring.

“Two and two doesn’t take rocket science to figure out – sitting and cooling those muscles down and then using them straight away is fraught with danger.”

A custom designed Benchwarmer.

Designed for local and amateur players, Lauder wants to mitigate the risk associated at those levels. While elite athletes have access to the best medical staff, he doesn’t want to see younger players at risk.

“At amateur and junior level, we don’t have proper medical staff or people that understand body mechanisms, and they just send the kids or amateurs out,” Lauder continued.

“That’s when it pulls them all out. Benchwarmers is more just to say, ‘hey keep them warm’. A lot of them throw a hoodie on, but the legs and everything are still exposed.

“The main things that they are using all the time are the calves, quads and the hamstrings. We found it to be a very important thing.

“In junior and amateur level, when some of these guys and girls get hurt, they go into shock. They put them on the bench and have one of the medical staff looking at them who’s not really experienced, they might be a parent who’s done a course.”

Being custom-made, Benchwarmers offer a ultra-lightweight solution that includes insulated inside pockets, a hood, resistance to water and wind, and fully fleeced lining for extra warmth.

Previous ArticleNext Article

FCA to Host Exclusive Two-Part Goalscoring Workshop Series with Dr Ron Smith

Avatar
Image Credit: box2box

One of Australian football’s most respected coaching minds shares decades of research ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Football Coaches Australia (FCA) has announced an exclusive two-part coach education series featuring renowned coach educator and football analyst Dr Ron Smith, offering coaches a rare opportunity to explore the evolving science of goalscoring through the lens of one of Australia’s most influential football thinkers.

The online workshops, scheduled for June 1 and June 8, will examine the historical development, modern trends and future direction of goalscoring in football, drawing on extensive research that formed the foundation of Dr Smith’s doctoral studies.

For FCA, the sessions represent the culmination of more than a year of planning and provide a timely opportunity for coaches to deepen their understanding of attacking play ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

“Ron’s work on goalscoring has been years in the making and continues to evolve,” FCA President Ian Greener said.

“We felt there was no better time to bring this knowledge to the coaching community than in the lead-up to the World Cup, when coaches around the world will be analysing the game’s best teams and players.”

Across the two sessions, Dr Smith will present findings from his extensive research into goalscoring patterns and trends, examining how the game has changed over time and what coaches can learn from football’s biggest tournaments.

Topics covered throughout the series will include:

  • Historical analysis of goalscoring trends
  • How goalscoring has evolved in the modern game
  • Key patterns identified through Dr Smith’s research
  • Scoring trends across the last six FIFA Men’s World Cups
  • Comparisons between men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments
  • The role of pressing, transition moments and direct play in creating goals
  • Practical coaching implications for improving attacking performance

The two-part structure has been intentionally designed to build upon itself. Session One will focus on the evidence, data and research underpinning Dr Smith’s findings, while Session Two will explore the practical applications and coaching interventions that can emerge from that analysis.

Football Australia has accredited both workshops with one Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hour each, allowing coaches to earn two CPD hours by attending both sessions.

Dr Smith’s coaching and coach education credentials span decades. He has worked extensively with Football Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Socceroos, while also holding coaching roles internationally in Iceland and Malaysia, as well as within the A-League.

His contributions to coach development have helped shape generations of Australian coaches, making this series a valuable opportunity for coaches across all levels of the game.

Event Details

History and Future of Goalscoring – Session One
Date: Monday, June 1, 2026
Time: 7:30pm AEST
Format: Online
CPD: 1 Football Australia-accredited CPD hour

Following the completion of the FIFA Men’s World Cup, FCA is also planning a special panel discussion featuring leading Australian and international coaching voices to analyse the key tactical developments, trends and lessons emerging from the tournament.

Further details regarding that event are expected to be released later this year.

FCA members can attend the workshops free of charge, while guest registrations are available through Eventbrite.

Football NSW calls on clubs to Make It Red for Heart Health Round

Avatar
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW is calling on clubs and associations across the state to register for the 2026 Make It Red campaign, joining a national awareness movement aimed at reducing heart-related deaths on sporting grounds ahead of Heart Health Round on the weekend of June 5 to 7.

The campaign, developed by the Heartbeat of Football Foundation, asks sporting clubs to wear red, raise funds and build awareness around heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest, which is the leading single cause of disease burden and death in Australia for both men and women, and one that health authorities say is largely preventable through modifiable risk factors.

The call to action comes as the Foundation continues its work to map and register Automated External Defibrillators across NSW sporting facilities, a project that has already engaged twelve football associations and fed data into both the NSW Ambulance GoodSAM registry and NSW Health’s public AED map. The availability of a functioning, registered AED on site is among the most significant determinants of survival following sudden cardiac arrest, with survival rates declining sharply for every minute without defibrillation.

Football NSW is encouraging clubs to engage with the campaign across three areas. Clubs can register for the Make It Red campaign to help fund research, education and prevention programs. Participants, particularly those aged over 35, are encouraged to seek a free heart health screening test from their local GP or enquire about hosting a Heartbeat of Football testing day. Clubs are also urged to ensure their grounds have active, accessible AEDs in place, with guidance available through Football NSW’s Rescue Ready Guide.

The Make It Red campaign runs from June 5 to July 12, with Heart Health Round taking place across the opening weekend. Clubs can register and access participation resources at makeitred.org.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend