2.4. Neck strengthening exercises

Subjects and their teams' coaches will be instructed on a manual-resistance-based neck strengthening exercise program, to be performed twice a week on non-consecutive days. This instruction will include the proper form for each exercises, the proper resistance methods, and the proper frequency and set/rep scheme. The exercise program is a modified version of that previously described by Eckner et al. [23] that will be performed in peer-peer or peer-coach pairs. In addition to initial in-person instruction, demonstration videos will also be provided online at pconsstudy.com. The coaches will lead the exercises as part of the teams' warm up, or regular strength training sessions, during the competitive season. Other arrangements may be made given extenuating circumstances such as a small subject population on the team. During the off-season, subjects will perform the exercises at the same time of day, on the same days of the week as they did during the competitive season. Weekly questionnaires will be sent via emails to assess subject compliance. Included will be questions about frequency of exercises, when they were done, rep and set scheme, whether they were led by a coach, how many other subjects did them at the same time, if they were done as part of a larger strengthening program or part of a warm up, etc.