Short-Form Documentary Series Tackles ACL Injury Epidemic in Women’s Soccer

As U.S. Women’s Soccer players lick their wounds after being eliminated from the Women’s World Cup recently, “REBOUND,” now streaming on CORE, Roku and Apple TV, focuses on the epidemic of knee injuries women athletes suffer, profiling three female international soccer stars at various stages of their careers, each coping with serious, preventable ACL tears.

At least 36 world-class Women’s World Cup soccer players were sidelined due to ACL injuries this year. REBOUND, a six-part docuseries produced by AIM Sports Group, has emerged to shed light on the epidemic of preventable knee injuries affecting women athletes.

Now streaming on CORE, Roku and Apple TV, REBOUND’s six short-form episodes share the stories of three world class female soccer players: Janelly Farías (Pachuca in Mexican League; Mexico Women’s National Football Team; commentator/analyst for Telemundo), Katie Johnson (Angel City FC; Mexico Women’s National Football Team; former USC star) and Natalie Higgins (Helsingin Palloseura in Finnish League; former Oregon State star), along with leading physical therapist and athletic trainer, Drew Morcos (Lakers; USC; PT for various NFL, NBA, MLB and Olympic stars, etc.).

Each episode of REBOUND focuses on the recovery journey of the players and how Morcos helped (or is helping) them return to professional competition. The physically and emotionally taxing journey is different for each, but the common denominator is the ACL injury itself – all too common at all levels of women’s sports today. REBOUND brings viewers an inside look behind the scenes and into transformative moments of pain, injury and physical toughness which frame the lives, careers and futures of women whose livelihoods have been challenged by devastating knee injuries.

“We’re dedicated to producing compelling narratives that matter so we can stimulate positive change,” said AIM Sports Group founder and REBOUND executive producer John Gallegos. “This series is designed to raise awareness of a growing problem, while offering solutions and a spotlight on prevention through effective storytelling. We’re very proud of the result. This is just the beginning too. We are currently at work developing a wide variety of compelling content, including future seasons of REBOUND featuring other powerful and previously untold stories of how athletes from various walks of life have fought to bounce back from adversity.”

“With millions of girls and young women playing soccer around the world, the story that has too often been overlooked is the prevalance of preventable ACL tears,” said REBOUND director Florencia Kochik. “With REBOUND, we hope to bring attention to the critical need for increased resources and investment in women’s athletics while exploring the spirit and determination required to fully recover...and rebound.”

“We were excited to team with AIM Sports Group to help produce and launch REBOUND globally,” said Daniel Marin, president of Oak Leaf Productions. “This is exactly the type of project that we are looking for at Oak Leaf as we take a natural step from advertising and branded content to message-driven documentaries.”

REBOUND is produced by AIM Sports Group in collaboration with Oak Leaf Productions and distributed via CORE. Learn more or link to all six episodes of the series at aimsportsgroup.com.