Safety

As your coach, you can be assured that I place the highest priority on the safety of our players. Soccer is considered to be one of the safest youth sports, but it is important that we all work together to maintain a perfect record of safety. We don't want a single serious injury of our players or of our opponents' players. There are many things that we can do at practice and in games as well as off the field to prevent injuries and illness. The following are some of our specific safety measures:

-Warmup properly before every game and practice.
-Cool down properly at the end of every practice and game.
-Always wear proper equipment such as good cleats and shinguards.
-Do not wear jewelry, pants with pockets or belt loops, etc.
-Check to assure that are fields are safe to play on.
-If you must wear glasses, please wear safety glasses. Contacts may be a better alternative, but inform the coach if you are wearing them.
-Drink plenty of water. Have plenty of water available at practices and games.
-Inform the coach of any injury, illness, or medical condition.
-If a player requires or may require medication during practices or games, the parent or guardian must be present at all times. Coaches will not administer medicine.
-Play clean, fair soccer at all times.
-Ask for clean, fair soccer from our opponents and referees through constant, demonstrated good sportsmanship.
-Educate ourselves of the signs of problems and know what to do if an injury occurs. Parents, I encourage you to take first aid courses, CPR, etc. I was once an EMT and my wife is an RN, so we have some knowledge of what to do when medical issues arise. However, parent involvement in our safety is needed.
-If you're a doctor, nurse, or have some other medical expertise that you can lend to the team, please let us know. Volunteer to be the "Team Trainer".
-Prior to attending tournaments or away games, we will determine whether or not medical help is near by in the event that it is needed. If we are not satisfied with the availability of medical facilities at games we will not participate.
-Always have access to a phone during practices and games.
-Have emergency contact cards available for every player at practices and games.
-Have a medical kit available at all practices and games.
-Do not leave players alone on the field after practices or games.
-Players are not permitted to walk home alone from any our practices or games.
-If possible, at least one parent or an assistant coach should be present during practices in the event of an emergency. This can be accomplished through a parent network.
- Perhaps the most significant danger to our players, are the trips to and from practices and games. Please Drive Safely. Players, please let your chauffeur concentrate on the road! We'll probably travel in caravans at times. It's safest to know where you're going rather than to blindly follow the caravan.

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DEVELOPING GREAT SOCCER PLAYERS ONE STEP AT A TIME