This resource is proudly brought to you by a PCA Trusted Resource - Player's Health, an interactive mobile platform designed to allow coaches to quickly and easily document any injury that occurs during practice or games. This promotes real-time communication between coaches and parents to best care for the health and wellbeing of youth athletes.

The best defense is a great offense – for parents, that offense is being proactive in setting up your child for safety success by following these procedures:

1) Let's get [a] physical

Obtain a physical exam for your child before he/she begins a season or league. This is the most effective way to screen for any preexisting conditions and identify any potential injury risks

2) Kick it into full gear

Understand the proper equipment needed for your child’s respective sport and make sure to acquire the right size with the appropriate fit. Continuously check/monitor the condition of the gear on a weekly basis throughout the course of the season and verify the equipment is worn correctly at all times.

3) Tread Lightly With Training

Monitor your child’s training to ensure sure slow and steady increases in intensity. Your child’s injury risk will rise if he/she puts too much strain on the body too quickly – a gradual progression will allow the muscles and cardiovascular system to increase their level of condition as training ramps up. A good rule of thumb is to abide by the “10 percent rule”: Do not increase training activity, weight, mileage, or pace by more than 10 percent per week. This will give your child’s body ample time to recover.

To read all ten tips and share with other coaches, parents, leaders, or athletes, click below to download the PDF.