"?Manchester United have been using circus performers and parkour runners to train their young players in the art of proper running, falling and avoiding injury.
Youth academy head coach Nicky Butt is worried about the mobility of players today, and believes that they get injured more often because their mechanics are all wrong, as opposed to the legends of 20 years ago.
Speaking to The Times (H/T "?The Telegraph): "I see players in our academy and they can't move. Our lads don't know how to fall, roll, and you should see the amount of injuries we get from popped shoulders or their arms.
"I probably fell out of a tree 15 times and never hurt myself. Body mechanics lose so much when you're not climbing trees, not playing basketball, cricket, rugby. I played rugby, cricket, football, basketball.
"This might sound bizarre but we've had a guy come in from the circus, telling the kids how to do spinning plates, jumping through hoops, circus tricks to get their bio-mechanics working. We had a free runner, the 'parkour' lads who jump over buildings, set up a course.
"You look at Giggs, top players, they just flow with their movement, doing it with ease. Look at the athleticism."
Butt also blames today's technology for the decline in footballers' street smarts and playground toughening.
"All kids have iPads and PlayStations," he added. "Social media's a massive problem. We had a player who put his address on Facebook and gets a knock at the door from people asking why he's chatting up this girlfriend. We reiterate to them every six weeks about what to do and not do on social media.
"They're not streetwise. We're looking for leaders on the pitch, so when you're down, they fight back, somebody like Scholes who was playing football on the streets at 12 and knocking around the park at 15. They get a lot of street knowledge through that.
"If you're a 19-year-old going into United's first team, and you're not able to stand up to the bigger pros, be a man, respect them but tell them what you think is right, you have no chance of surviving."