Preparing for the Upcoming Season as a Parent

Well the September long weekend is over, kids are back at school and the fall/winter activities are starting up.  As a parent you are getting the year schedule and are soon finding your calendar is full.  Before you reach for the bottle of wine, take a deep breath, you will get through this.  The following will help you get through this season hopefully injury free, but if an injury does occur with your young athlete, you will be prepared for it. 

Write down the schedule, not just this months, but the whole year.  Put it in a master calendar with everything on it.  Important school dates, holidays, practices, games, tournaments and competitions.  Again before you scream there is a reason for this.  Do you notice any trends?  Are there days off?  If you your child is in multiple activities are there any conflicts?  Is there conflicts between each child's schedule?  By noticing any conflicts now, you have the time to manage them now, instead of last minute.  The stress that you express when something happens is felt by your children and can distract them their task at hand.  Back to days off.  Rest is important, very important.  Both physical and mental fatigue lead to injuries or burnout.  For more on fatigue in athletes go here.  

Proper meal planning is also very important.  Being prepared with lots of meals in the freezer that can be easily thrown into the oven or slow cooker will save you time and the dread of heading through the drive thru.  A supply of healthy snacks in the car can get you through those school to sport moments.  

Being prepared for injuries is like having insurance, you hope you don't need to use it but are glad you have it if something does happen.  Knowing basic injury management principles will help you not only with your child's injuries but are also a good life skill to have.  It is also important to have a health care professional that you trust in case your child does suffer an injury, that way your not searching after the fact.  If the sport your child is involved in is prone to concussions, have baseline evaluations done by a qualified health care professional.  

Asking your child's coach, teacher or instructor as to their qualifications and preparedness for injury situations.  Do they have first aid and CPR?  Have taken an injury management seminar or course?  Do they have an EAP and a risk management plan?  What is their policy on return to activity after injury?  These are all questions you need to ask them.  Most of the time they will be the one responding to your child's injury, not you.  You want to make sure they are prepared for the situation and that there will be no confusion after the fact as to return to activity. 

The final thing that you must remember to do for the season is to have fun. 

For more information on our injury management seminars and other services offered check out our website at www.eliteinjury.com.  Please follow us on Twitter @EliteInjuryMgmt

Preparing for the Upcoming Season as a Coach

Many sports are beginning to start preparations for the upcoming fall and winter seasons.  Depending on your role in sports be it coach, athletes, or parent how you prepare for the season will differ.  In a three part series we will discuss some of the keys to preparing for the season so that everyone can find success. 

For many coaches there is no off season or down time. Once the season ends they are going over how to improve for next year.  By half way through they are ordering supplies, uniforms and planning their practice and game schedule.  All of this may seem very easy and very routine after a couple of years of coaching, but complacency can be one of the greatest threats to safety. 

When ordering supplies it is important to take into account any changes in equipment policy and regulation.  Equipment manufacturers are great for making something new and improved, however does that new and improved model meet your league and governing body regulations?  Are the new improvements actually for the better or will they cause more harm to your athletes?  Did they remove padding to make the item lighter, leaving your athletes more prone to injury?  These are some of the questions that need to be asked to either your equipment manager or equipment representative.

Another aspect of ordering supplies is restocking your first aid and medical kit.  Replacing all used and expired items.  Keeping your first aid kit up to date with appropriate supplies to your sport and personal qualifications, is a major step in your risk management program.  

Scheduling practices and games is very time consuming and at times very frustrating.  Keeping a good practice to game ratio is very important to avoid physical and mental development and to promote proper skill acquisition.  A minimum ratio of 2:1 would be nice.  For those coaching/teaching sports that do not involve games, keeping the number of hours of practice down is equally as important.  Look at the schedule from a monthly and yearly perspective as this will give you a better indication of what is actually going on, not just a week to week basis.  

As a coach/instructor preparing your athletes for all aspects of life, not just the given sport is the greatest task you will be given.  Mike Babcock has said it is a "great opportunity to make a difference", he is truly right.  You may not realize that not matter the age, you will be an influence on your athletes.  Being prepared to instil life skills and educate them on basics other than sports skills and tactics, will help you create better all round athletes, both on the playing surface and in life.  

I have met many coaches who feel they need to be an expert at everything and be able to do it all.  As the coach you are the captain of the ship.  You need to ensure you have everything taken care of to guide your ship straight.  Being prepared before the season starts will set you on the right course, but no matter what you will face some turbulent seas and need to adjust course.  Having a group of experts to help you right the course will set you apart from the rest. 

Follow us on Twitter @EliteInjuryMgmt and check out our services at EliteInjury.com 

Balancing the Scales: Sport, School and Life

Being a student athlete is hard work.  The amount of time and dedication it takes to compete at any level can at times leave little room for anything else.  Finding time to schedule in school work, friends and family soon leaves many athletes overwhelmed and unsure of how to deal with all that is on their plate.  The majority of young athletes that excel in their sporting venue also excel in school because of their internal drive to succeed.  It is also what makes them say yes to student council, yearbook and many other school activities.   Creating an environment for the athletes to succeed is job held by many and each of them have specific roles.

As the parent you are the master conductor and scheduler.  You shuttle the kids from school to practices and games and back home again, watching them do homework in the back seat or in the stands while waiting for their siblings to be done.  You see them texting their friends or talking to them after school.  Part of your job as master scheduler is to put time in each day for your children to complete their school work.  Try to give them uninterrupted time and space to complete their homework for the day.  When planning for weekends away, have the children speak to their teachers in advance to get their assignments and reading for that period.  Schedule time each week for them to have friend time, family time and down time. It is very easy for everyone to get caught up in the rat race of classes and sport, even young athletes need time to spend with their friends.  It may be they end up playing street hockey, a pick up game of basketball or doing cartwheels in the basement but it needs to unstructured socialization time with their friends.  Family is important, as you will be who they fall back on when things get tough in life.  Spend at least one night a week together as a family to reconnect, turn off the phones and find out how everyone's week has been.  Each person needs some me time, so let them have it.  This time will be useful as your athletes will discover how they are feeling both physically and mentally when the world slows down around them.

Coaches need to remember that sport is not their athletes full time occupation, school is.  Schedule enough time for your athletes to rest, do school work and have fun.  Athletes who are both mentally and physically fatigued will not be able to focus on the skills expected of them.  You should encourage your athletes to excel at school, as the problem solving and critical thinking skills they gain there will help improve their on field performance.

As an athlete you may feel the pressure to say yes to every request you get.  Learn to say NO and to find a way to schedule time for yourself.  Using a day timer or calendar to organize and write down when assignments, tests and games are will allow you to manage your time wisely.  You don't want to have to worry about doing the ten page essay after family supper on Sunday night.  Talk to your friends, find time to hang out with them away from school or gym.  Your friends and family will help you out when you start feeling like everything is too much, keep them close so they are their for you when it happens.

Usually as a teacher you are probably doubling as teacher during the day and coach at night.  Be understanding of your student athletes when they let you know they will be away, let them know what work they will miss so they don't fall behind. Students who exercise typically do better in class, help them excel at both school and sport.

Everyone involved in student athletes lives needs to pay attention to how much pressure they are putting them under to complete everything asked up them.  We all need to be realistic in our expectations of them and to pay attention to the signs of burn out.  If they are getting burnt out, be there for them and help them adjust as need to so they can live that balanced lifestyle where they gain the full benefits of school, sport, family and friends.

Symptoms of Burn Out
low motivation, decreased energy, concentration problems, loss of desire to play, lack of caring, sleep disturbances, physical and mental exhaustion, lowered self-esteem, negative affect, mood changes, substance abuse, change in values and beliefs, increased anxiety, highs and lows.