In this comprehensive session, Dr. Thomas Dos’Santos, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founder of Science of Multidirectional Speed, presents an evidence-based approach to modifying the sidestep cutting technique to reduce injury risk without sacrificing performance.
Drawing from his research and applied work, Dos’Santos explores the mechanical and neuromuscular demands of sidestep cutting, its role in ACL injury mechanisms, and the key technical errors that elevate risk, such as wide foot plants, lateral trunk lean, and poor deceleration strategies. He introduces a detailed three-phase coaching framework (technique acquisition, retention, and movement solutions) and shares practical tools, such as the CMAS (Cutting Movement Assessment Score), to screen and refine athlete technique.
The talk combines biomechanics, motor learning, and performance trade-offs, offering coaching cues, video feedback strategies, and structured progressions that can be integrated into warm-ups, return-to-play protocols, and on-field training. Through case studies and peer-reviewed findings, Dos Santos demonstrates how targeted technique modification can improve movement quality and enhance change-of-direction speed in high-risk athletes.
Learning objectives
- Recognise how modifying side-step cutting technique can reduce knee valgus loading and ACL injury risk.
- Understand the importance of body alignment (foot placement and torso positioning) in optimizing movement technique for injury mitigation.
- Implement these biomechanically supported adjustments into practice—designing training drills or interventions that enhance cutting safety.
About the presenter
Dr Thomas Dos’Santos is a Senior Lecturer in Strength & Conditioning and Sports Biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University and a recognized expert in change-of-direction mechanics and injury risk mitigation. He has extensively researched technique modification to improve athletic performance and reduce ACL injury risk, publishing numerous peer-reviewed studies and developing tools like the Cutting Movement Assessment Score (CMAS) to support practitioners.
CEU information
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Contact hours
- Reading time = 10 minutes
- Video length = 52 minutes
- Quiz = 10 minutes
- Total contact hours (rounded down to nearest 0.25 hr) = 1.00
How to receive you certificate
- Watch the full video below. When you are within 10 seconds of the end, a download box will appear in the blue box below. When you click that button your certificate will be automatically downloaded
- Complete the competency assessment
- Complete the course evaluation
Failure to complete the competency assessment and course evaluation will void your certificate.
Competency assessment
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Course evaluation
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