February is when a number of southern travel soccer teams get their seasons underway while many Recreational programs get practices going. February is also the peak flu infection month historically. While it is still to early to tell if this will be a ‘bad’ year for the flu, early signs point to things ramping up quickly. Another warning sign is that while the flu shot generally does a good job of preventing infections (70-90% of the time in a good year), recent surveys indicate that it is only effective against 40% of the flu strains this year.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some teams are facing February matches short on subs due to illness. I know on my travel team I have one player out with it and two more that may have it. Could make for some interesting early season matches with few subs. What are you all seeing? Knock on wood, the flu hasn’t hit our house yet this year, though the general ‘ick’ has. What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?