Using ideas from the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching (2009) class as well as the Popwarner.com Risk Management Manual (2004), I’ve made a list of ways that I plan on limiting injury risk to the athletes whom I will coach and how injuries will be handled.

1) All activities will be planned out.  This way the chance for surprises will be less.  Proper planning will give me the opportunity to schedule needed breaks; I live in AZ and it gets very hot, so frequent water breaks are a must.  By having scheduled warm up and cool down times, there should be less muscle related injuries.  The activities used will be appropriate to the physical ability of my athletes yet still challenging.  Also, proper form and techniques for the sport I am coaching will be pushed; bad form for some movements can increase injury risk.

2) Supervision will be constant.  Young people have a propensity to goof off.  Under proper supervision, the chance for my athletes to do something foolish that could get them injured will be lessened.

3) All equipment and facilities will be inspected regularly.  A simple spreadsheet, checklist can be used to keep track of inspections of the equipment and facilities my athletes will be using.  Equipment will be matched for a proper fit for my athletes, and damaged equipment will not be used.  Also, when at an unfamiliar location or visiting another team’s facilities, a quick inspection of the playing area will be conducted; why should I trust that the other coaches are doing their jobs properly?  Any possible problems will be reported to the officials and the other coaches, and hopefully some type of resolution can be reached.

4) All injuries will be properly evaluated and documented.  Even before practice or a game, I will ask my players about their physical condition (whether injured already or not).  All injuries will be given proper time to heal, and recommendations from the medical staff will be used (whether that’s a trainer, school nurse, or an athlete’s doctor).  When a possible injury occurs during a game, the student will have to sit out long enough to evaluate their condition.  Winning a game will never be more important than the safety of my athletes; injured players won’t play.  The RICE method is a good one for general injuries (rest, ice, compression, elevation).  When injuries do occur, parents/guardians will be informed.

5) Athletes will be matched properly.  Age alone is not enough of a determining factor on who should be matched against who.  Factors such as size (weight, height, and strength) and ability will be the most important.

6) The inherent risks involved in a sport will be discussed before tryouts.  Players and their parents/guardians will be required to sign a contract to play for my teams that will include them stating that they understand the risks involved in playing competitive sports.  The general nature of risk, the specific risks of the particular sport, and improper techniques that can lead to injury will all be covered.  There will be a required medical exam prior to the season.  In the spirit of keeping my athletes as healthy as possible, proper nutrition and hydration will be discussed as well.  This pre-season meeting will be a good time to inform athletes that open communication about injuries is a must.  I will expect my players to be open and honest about how they feel, and this point will continue to be driven throughout the season.

7) An emergency care plan is used and parents/guardians are informed of this plan pre-season.  A medical kit should be accessible for all games and practices.  Coaches will be trained and ready to administer basic first aid.  Here is a list of items that should be included in an emergency care plan from the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching (2009) class, Unit 2:

“-in case of life threatening injuries, administer first aid to the injured athlete

-personally call or have someone call emergency medical personnel

-notify parents/guardians promptly when emergency care is needed.  Have emergency telephone numbers for the parents/guardians of each of your students immediately accessible.  The NFHS recommends that emergency telephone (ICE: In case of emergency) numbers for parents/guardians be kept in each team’s dedicated medical kit.

-if the injury does not require that a student be transported by emergency medical care personnel, he/she should only be released to a parent/guardian or designated representative.  Develop or be aware of school policies for transportation of injured students.

-Promptly complete a student accident report form.  At a minimum, copies should be given to your athletic director and school principal.”

References:

Popwarner.com (2004). Risk Management Handbook. Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.popwarner.com/admin/pdf/RiskManagementManual.pdf

NFHS Learning Center (2009). Fundamentals of Coaching. NFHS.

Currently (as of Feb. 1), this is still an incomplete risk management plan because I have a question about insurance.  Should all athletes participating be required to have health insurance?  What if you coach in a very poor area where not all/many students have health insurance?  When I coached for a private elementary school all of our athletes had to have health insurance to participate.  Is there some kind of insurance public schools provide for members of the school teams?  What are your thoughts?

*Update* (Mar. 13th) Having read through other risk managment plans in this class, I have decided that I will require my students to have some kind of health insurace to play.  Hopefully I will be able to coach in a stituation where if the parent's don't have it, then they can sign their children up with insurance the school provides.