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Risk Management Tips For Coaches
Even if your club or organization offers insurance against lawsuits by injured players, no coach wants to spend needless uncompensated hours in litigation - or deal with the personal anguish if a player is seriously hurt. Here are some basic risk-management tips which will help you to avoid such problems.
- Properly plan the activity, and teach skills in a 'reasonable' progression. Avoid teaching advanced skills too quickly, or pushing players to do things that they are not reasonably capable of doing without risk to themselves or others.
- develop a season plan
- observe players to determine physical capacity and skill level
- develop written practice plans
- adapt your plans to individual needs
- don't deviate from your plans without good cause
- keep records of your plans
- Provide proper instruction so players learn to execute skills correctly. Be sure to warn of the risks to self and others if the skill is not done properly.
- keep abreast of current instructional standards for your sport and use them
- teach skills with customary methods of your sport and the development level of your athletes
- make your instructions clear, complete, and consistent
- Proper conditioning and training will also help prevent injury. Stretching is a good habit to begin at the younger age groups, and should be mandatory.
- Provide a safe physical environment--you have a duty to notice hazards and to do what you can to reduce their risk (i.e., place a bright colored cloth over a protruding rock on a practice field).
- note and remedy hazardous conditions through regular inspections
- change any dangerous conditions that you can
- give clear practice rules to avoid injury
- ensure players wear shin guards for all practices and games
- make players remove all jewelry
- monitor the weather carefully and take steps to insure player safety including wearing appropriate clothing
- do not stay outdoors when lightning is nearby, and have contingency plans for weather problems
- do not allow children to climb on goals or hang from goals
- make certain that portable goals are anchored
- consider obtaining a cellular phone to make emergency calls
- Provide adequate and proper equipment
- make sure that equipment used on the field is safe
- use flat or collapsible cones for field markings when possible
- if making own equipment, double-check that design and materials are safe
- avoid using white (interior grade) PVC pipe for equipment, as it tends to shatter
- encourage the use of mouth guards and athletic supporters (with a hard cup)
- teach your athletes to check all equipment carefully before using
- Match your athletes with others of their own height/weight/ability where physical contact is likely to take place
- match players in size, maturity, skill and experience as well as age
- enforce eligibility rules
- modify the practice structure when mismatches cannot easily be corrected
- be especially alert to mismatches with persons of the opposite gender, as well as with athletes recovering from injury or athletes with some disability.
- Supervise the activity closely
- always provide supervision as long as any player is left on the fields
- stay at the fields until all players are picked up by their parents
- do not permit child to leave with unknown person or with parent who does not have custody, unless permission from parent has been given
- provide special supervision when teaching new skills and when the risk of injury increases
- know your sport and your players sufficiently that you can anticipate potentially dangerous situations and step in to prevent them from occurring
- use posters, notices and signs to support your rules
- do not condone reckless or overly aggressive behavior that threatens the safety of any athlete
- Warn of inherent risks, as you are responsible to provide instructions regarding the safety of the sport. Courts have held soccer coaches liable for failure to warn of the risks of contact or collisions. Even though it may seem obvious to you, issue the warning of all risks that are apparent.
- use written notices, releases, videos, and repeated warnings to make sure your athletes understand the risks
- make sure that parents and players understand that soccer is a contact sport, and that sprains, strains and broken bones are common and probably unavoidable.
- whenever you see a player doing something which is unsafe, stop and warn the entire team
- exercise care that players don't fall onto corner flags or pointy cones
- if you see that a player is seriously mismatched with an opponent, make quick adjustments
- if an opponent is unduly rough, and officials fail to protect your players, remember that player safety is your ultimate responsibility, so you MUST take appropriate action to protect your kids
- Provide appropriate emergency assistance
- do not move an injured athlete until certain that it is safe to do so
- protect the injured athlete from further harm
- provide the proper first aid
- attempt to maintain or restore life using CPR when required
- comfort and reassure the athlete
- if in doubt, call 911 and get EMT evaluation
Updated 11 March 1999
Overview | Principles | Resources | Guidelines | Practices | Game Day | Very Young | More Reading