Prevent

• Prevent dehydration – water is the best drink!
• Encourage players to drink water before, during and after practices and games.
  
• Nutrition hygiene – complex carbohydrates are best for providing energy both before and after games (examples: cereal, English muffin, pasta, toast); avoid or limit sugar intake (example: avoid donuts, sugar-sweetened sodas).
  
• Equipment – shoes and shin guards, covered by socks, are required for both practices and games!  Soft-cleated soccer shoes or tennis shoes recommended, and shoes should fit snugly to prevent blisters and injury.
  
• Please remember to apply sunscreen to exposed areas.
  
• Jewelry of any kind, including earrings and bracelets, is not allowed.
  
• No dogs, leashed or unleashed, are allowed on the playing field.

Soccer Field and Goals

• Remove any foreign objects, such as rocks, broken glass, trash and metal objects, from the field of play; holes and divots should be filled and flattened.
  
• Soccer goals can tip over and cause injuries. Please securely anchor the back of goal posts to the ground using anchoring stakes; never allow anyone to climb or hang on goal posts.

Respond

• All coaches carry a first aid kit in his or her coaching bag. Additional helpful items that parents can carry include ice, extra band-aids, zip lock bags and sunscreen. Crushed ice in a zip lock bag can be applied to injured areas (for example, strains and sprains) to decrease pain and reduce swelling.
  
• For any significant injuries, coaches may ask your help in completing an AYSO Incident Report Form. Significant injuries are those that require practice or game to be missed and/or a visit to a doctor.
  
• Please complete and sign a participation release form if your player has to seek treatment in an Emergency Room or doctor’s office.

Useful Forms

Available on Region 109 website:

• AYSO Incident Report Form

• Participation Release Form