One of the most important responsibilities a coach has to his or her student athletes is to create a safe environment to practice and participate in. It is estimated that over 2 million high school sports related injuries occur a year in the United states. No matter how good the coach’s intentions may be, he or she will not be able to successfully minimize injury to athletes unless there is a risk management plan in place. The following are steps that can be taken in order to minimize risk of injury to a student athlete.

Facility- Is literally the environment that the student athlete will be practicing and participating in. Before the season starts, you should take the time to inspect the facility you will be using. Take the time to identify potential hazards that student athletes, officials, or spectators could be exposed to. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to walk the facility with the maintenance personnel of the school as well.

Equipment- Again before the season starts, take an inventory of the equipment that the student athletes will be using. Make sure that there is enough equipment for all student athletes that will be involved. Also check over the equipment to ensure that it is in good condition. It is your responsibility as a coach to instruct the student athletes the correct way the equipment is to be used and what it is intended for.

Physical Waiver Form- Can be used to identify potential risk of injury to student athlete. It is recommended that when beginning a new activity, that a person (student athlete) should have a physical to ensure that it is safe and appropriate for that individual to participate in that activity.

Dangers and Risk Meeting- It is important that both student athletes and parents be aware of the risk associated with that specific sport. During a meeting with the student athlete and his or her parents, it is a good time to present a parent or legal guardian permission form along with an assumption of risk form and athletic insurance-medical form. This time also allows an opportunity for parents to voice any safety questions or concerns they may have prior to the beginning of the season.

Conditioning- Many accidents or injuries can be prevented if student athlete didn’t have poor conditioning. Student athletes can push themselves beyond their limits because he or she is not properly conditioned. It is your responsibility to create a pre-season conditioning program for your student athletes and to make sure they are following that program. The conditioning program should be facilitated in a safe way for the student athlete to successfully progress to more challenging practices as well as competition.

Matching Athletes- A common error that coaches make that can cause not only injury to the student athlete, but also a lawsuit is the mismatching of players. You need to be able to recognize which student athlete should be matched against the opposing team’s athletes. Not only is height and weight important when making these choices, but also the ability of the student athlete.

Rules and Regulations- Both are very important and tend to go hand and hand in sports. You need to take the time at the beginning of the season as well as throughout the season to teach your student athletes the rules of the sport. Many accidents occur that could have been avoided if not for rule violations. Student athletes should learn through your teaching to play by the rules and not to resent the rules. You need to teach the student athlete the correct techniques to use and that can lower the possibility of an accident occurring.

Injury Reports- If an accident or injury does occur, it is your responsibility to report it. The report should be placed in the student athletes file. The report should be as detailed as possible. Examples would be how the injury occurred, where the injury occurred, and what the injury was. This is a great way to track accidents or injures that can be examined for possible patterns that emerge so that you can make appropriate changes.

First Aid and CPR Certification- Most sports programs require that you are first aid and CPR certified. Even if your program does not require the certification, it a good idea to have it. Chances are you will be the one person to make the first decision on how to handle the accident or injury that occurs and you want to make sure you are making the best decision possible.

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