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Tips for Conducting Safe Training Sessions Though the risks can be few, coaches have a responsibility to ensure that athletes know, understand and appreciate the risks of football. The safety and well-being of athletes are the coaches' primary concerns. Football is not a dangerous sport, but accidents do occur when coaches forget to take safety precautions. It is the head coach's responsibility to minimize the occurrence of injuries by providing safe conditions. Establish clear rules for behavior at your first practice and enforce them Keep your hands to yourself. Listen to the coach. When you hear the whistle, "stop, look, and listen." Ask the coach before you leave the field of play. When the weather is poor, have a plan to immediately remove athletes from inclement weather. Make sure athletes bring water to every practice, especially in hotter climates. Check your first-aid kit; restock supplies as necessary. Train all athletes and coaches on emergency procedures. Choose a safe field area. Do not practice in areas with rocks or holes that could cause injury. Simply telling players to avoid obstacles is not enough. Walk the field and boundary and remove unsafe objects. Be particularly vigilant when you are playing in cluttered indoor gyms. Remove anything that a player might run in to. Check the balls for loose panels that could cause eye injury. Check the goals for poorly secured posts and cross-bars. Instruct players never to swing on goals. Pay particular attention to portable goals that could tip over in a high wind or if players swing on the cross-bar. Make sure these goals are securely staked into the ground. Review your first-aid and emergency procedures. Have someone who is trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation on or very near to the field during practice and games. Establish clear rules for behavior at your first practice. Warm up and stretch properly at the beginning of each practice to prevent muscle injuries. Train to improve the general fitness level of your players. Physically fit players are less likely to get injured. Make your practices active. Make sure that players are physically matched in games where players go against each other, head-to-head, (e.g., one-on-one drills). Require all your players to wear shin pads at practices and games. The use of athletic cups and fitted mouth guards is recommended, particularly for players with slower reactions. Do not put a player with a very slow reaction time in goal. Make sure that a goalkeeper is able to understand how to play the position safely.

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