Injuries happen, even to the most prepared athletes. For coaches and performance staff, the challenge goes beyond getting players back on the field. They must be sure the athletes return stronger, more resilient, and less likely to relapse. That’s where criterion-based groin rehab comes in.
This approach was the focus of a recent FYTT-hosted webinar featuring Connor Schoepp, Return to Play Specialist and Owner/Operator of Rebuild Performance & Rehab. With over a decade of experience at the private, collegiate, and professional levels, Connor has specialized in return-to-play, speed development, and applied sport science. His perspective blends clinical precision with performance-driven methods, making his insights valuable for strength and conditioning coaches seeking practical frameworks.
Instead of relying on outdated timelines or general rehab models, Connor’s framework emphasizes early optimal loading, progressive criteria-driven benchmarks, and collaborative planning between medical, performance, and sport staff. The result: athletes don’t just recover, they come back with a heightened level of preparedness.
This post distills Connor’s approach into practical lessons coaches can apply in their own settings, including principles, progressions, and exit criteria for adductor strains and other groin injuries.
Traditional rehab often leans on rest, passive treatments, and arbitrary timelines. That model can leave athletes detrained and unprepared when they re-enter competition. By contrast, criterion-based groin rehab uses objective tests and progressive loading to guide decisions. Coaches know exactly when an athlete is ready for the next step.
Recent evidence backs this up. A prospective cohort study found that athletes following a criteria-based adductor injury rehab program returned to play in as little as 2-3 weeks for lower-grade strains, with low reinjury rates compared to timeline-only approaches (study link). This underscores the advantage of using clear exit criteria instead of guessing.
Key differentiators of the criterion-based model:
Understanding pathology and management helps frame expectations. According to StatPearls’ review on adductor strains, most injuries respond well to conservative rehab emphasizing early mobility and strengthening, though the clinician must monitor for chronic groin pain or complications like sports hernia.
Flexibility and mobility should complement these phases. A systematic review notes that while stretching alone shows limited impact on groin pain, integrating targeted mobility with strength progressions improves outcomes (critical review). For coaches, this means mobility drills should supplement -never replace- criteria-based strengthening.
“Every rep in return-to-run should be tracked for pain and perceived effort.”
“Long-term rehab is a rare opportunity to refine skills and set athletes up for the rest of their careers.”
For further applied sport science reading, see FYTT resources on the athletic performance curve, individualized training, and ACL rehab lessons.
Connor Schoepp: That’s a tough one. I’d say any progressive loading for the groin area that accounts for the sport’s demands. For most athletes, isometrics are key. Copenhagen planks and lying med ball groin squeezes are two of my go-tos. But dosage matters. Some athletes need 3-4 sets a week, while those in congested schedules don’t need more stress added.
Connor Schoepp: I’ve worked with baseball players in that situation. The biggest issue isn’t strength, it’s range of motion. The approach is similar - just slow-cook the return-to-throw process. The criteria don’t change much; you just tailor them to the asymmetry.
Groin injuries can be frustrating and complex. But with criterion-based groin rehab, coaches and practitioners have a roadmap that’s scalable, objective, and collaborative. Instead of hoping athletes are ready, you’ll know they are.
Watch Schoepp’s full presentation on YouTube.
Learn how FYTT can help consolidate performance monitoring to streamline return-to-play protocols.
