Grunthos
Kennel Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 6, 2018
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(I wrote this several years ago when I was asked to put a manual together for new coaches at the club I was with a season or two before retiring as a coach myself and came across it a couple of days ago. I have partly cleaned it up but please forgive the bad spelling and dodgy grammar and keep in mind this was written several years ago and some references are probably out of date, I'll be releasing it a bit at a time over a couple of days, enjoy)
Friendly advice to Virgin coaches.
OR
A guide for the “volunteered” Junior
Rugby Union/League coach.
OR
“So you really want to herd cats into a wheelbarrow!?”
By Grunthos (Volunteer cat herder)
Preface:
This is not a Rugby Union/League manual as such as new rules come and go all the time, it’s more like some basic practical advice and some ideas and techniques that I have come up with for coaching and running mini, junior and senior
Rugby Union/League teams (though the basics can be applied to coaching and managing any team sport) since I began way back in 2001 with the Collaroy Cougars then the Narrabeen Tigers, Dee Why Lions, Manly Marlins, Pittwater and Freshwater high schools and other rugby and league teams in the northern beaches and Warringa area.
You may or may not agree with them but they been successful for me.
In The Beginning:
“The club needs a keen volunteer to coach the under six minis, congratulations Grunth,
you’re it!”
And so my glittering career as a Rugby Union coach begins!
Will it be one of brilliant triumph? Shall I be revered as a master coach?
Venerated throughout history for my sharp eye for spotting talent, innovative training
techniques, and inspirational motivation and feared for my guile and cunning tactics.
Shall I guide one team after another to victory after victory, until one day,
one glorious, triumphant day; the might of the Wallabies will be mine to weald!
I look down at the bright, shining, expectant face, of the small boy standing before me.
“David pushed me and I fell over on the ground and it hurt and I wanna
do a wee wee now…”
To say the magic vanished as fast as the reality set in would be an understatement.
“All right go to the toilet,” says the “Uber” coach, “David don’t push your teammates, Ok!”
“Can I go too?” a small chorus erupts from nine other under-sixes.
“Yeah, yeah all of you go, but don’t mess around and come straight back all right!”
Ok, that takes care of the next three minutes, what do I do with the rest
of the hour I have them!?
So, about me, forty-three years old at the time of writing (2001) six foot two inches tall
in the old money, I don’t know what that is in metric and what’s more I don’t care.
Overweight, not fat or burly, just big.
(My wife will beg to differ)
Married to the delightful Evelyn, with two children, Michael and Daniel.
One will be a captain of industry, the other a Napoleon of crime.
I’m not too sure which.
As for me, I have yet to decide if I will grow a ponytail and buy a Harley
and try to sew my wild “oat” while I still have an “oat to sew
without chemical assistance…
ZOOOOOOM! Shit! What was that!
That was your youth mate, did you enjoy it!?
…Bugger!
But in truth gentle reader I have no envy for our pony-tailed brethren
and “Donercycles” don’t turn me on either. And as for my “oats”,
they are in the safekeeping of my darling wife and shall be forevermore.
So what am I doing here in the middle of a football field?
Ahhh yes…
There comes a time, in a boy’s life, when he must make a choice!
Shall he begin his long journey to manhood on the gentle field that is Rugby,
struggling against his fellow man, falling, only to rise again, to continue the battle until
he is either glorious in victory, or noble in defeat.
Or play Soccer with the other girls…
Fortunately, my sons genuinely wanted to have a go at the manly game of Rugger
(Thank God!) and I came along for the ride, a VERY long ride as it transpired.
But whatever his (or her) sporting choice is, it must be fully supported by you, "Mr embryonic coach"
as well as their mum and dad and that, dear friend is why I am here!
Now, back to training and what to do with the dear little cherubs for the
rest of the hour?
I know, I’ll lay down some bloody ground rules!
SOME BLOODY GROUND RULES!
When you obtain discipline then you can have cohesion.
When you have cohesion only then you can you achieve victory!
“All right you horrible lot listen up, eyes and ears on me if you please, finger out of
nose young man, snot is not one of the recognised food groups, thank you!”
This is greeted with gales of laughter.
Ok, I’ve got their attention, so far so good.
“You are here because you want to play the glorious, manly and noble game
of Rugby, and I am here to try to teach you. And you will only learn from me,
if you listen and concentrate on what I am telling you!”
A dog barks far in the distance, ten little heads swivel to see where the
sound came from, a hand shoots skyward, “Yes, Mitchell.”
“I have a doggy and his name is Tim, and Tim, he sounds just like that
doggy only different.”
I should have known…
Kids, (and I also refer to anything under twenty-seven years of age for that matter)
don’t really concentrate or listen very well to instructions.
In fact, the average six or seven-year-old has an attention span only slightly
longer than a doggy named Tim, who just happens to sound a lot like
other doggies, only different!
So where to now “wonder coach!!!”
Enter the ‘Kiss’ method, Keep-It-Simple-Stupid!
As I said, kids don’t concentrate or listen too well. Only through repetition will it
finally sink in. So, stick to a few simple instructions and drills and for Gods’ sake
Keep-It Simple-Stupid!
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Ground rules, bloody or otherwise must be made and (hopefully) adhered to.
A trait of all good Rugby teams (or any team for that matter) is discipline!
Only through solid discipline, on the training paddock and during the
game will success follow.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Schools have precious little real discipline any
more and some parents should not have been allowed to breed, so how to do it.
Your attitude that’s the key!
That or an electric cattle prod or large stick will give excellent results!
Unfortunately shock therapy and the beating of small children and adolescents
as well as many other forms of “contact counselling” seem to be frowned
upon in these unenlightened times, but we can still dream.
But I’m getting ahead of myself yet again.
The posts are going up…
Coaching is exactly like playing, if you go in half-hearted you’ll only
get smashed!
Each year around March, April you begin to see the cricket pitches being covered and the Rugby posts going up and I think to myself, “Not too long till kick-off”
One must ask oneself if you really want to be a coach.
It’s a big commitment over a season and there’s a whole lot more to it than just turning up to training and going to games.
Coaching a mini’s or junior’s team is very much like trying to herd twenty cats into a wheelbarrow, and some seniors aren’t much better!
Calling yourself a coach and actually being one are two completely different things.
You need to be thick-skinned, strict but easily approachable and readily contactable and above all know what you’re doing and be a good role model.
You must be a teacher and mentor, disciplinarian and diplomat, doctor, sports phycologist, tactician, inspiration and good-humoured steamroller all rolled
up into one! (Gee I wish I took my own advice!)
You must also be able to deal with angry or demanding parents who want to know why their immature, disruptive and uncoordinated smart-ass offspring isn’t named captain or five-eighth because “He’s obviously the best player in the team?!” or you get into strife because you disciplined a player/s for being slack around the ruck during a game or messing around at training etc.
Oooooh that’s a big one! You’re not allowed to call a spade a spade now’a days as the truth my damage some ratbag kids delicate little Psyche. But more of that one later as well.
You must be prepared to go to coaches and managers meetings, seminars and lectures, keeping up with the seemingly endless rule changes and be prepared to give up a whole lot of personal time in bettering your skills and knowledge; and you won’t get paid one bloody brass razoo!
If you want to coach for just a bit of fun or a laugh (or a wank…) then don’t sign up for the job!
In my opinion, there are two types of coaches. The one that takes the job seriously and the one that doesn’t.
Case in point, an under elevens game my team played early in a season is a perfect example.
At the sign on the table I met with the opposing coach to chew the fat and say g’day and was jovially informed that;
“Oh we just have a bit of fun at training you know, you don’t want to be too serious, it’s all just a bit of a run around for the kids isn’t it.”
Now that’s just fine and peachy for under-sixes and Golden oldies but not for any graded team.
We won the match about sixty something to nil with three of his players taken from the field injured, not through any foul play but we just played harder and meant business.
Remember, your skills as a coach are just as much on display as the skills
of your team.
You’re Credentials:
There’s no point in telling the team to “Go out there and smash em!”
If you haven’t coached them how to…
Let’s get something straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re coaching “As,” “Ds” or the under sixes, you must take the job very seriously or not at all!
Mum, Dad and the team are depending on you so don’t let them down!
Keep your OH&S (Smart Rugby etc) qualifications up to date. Remember if you have anything to do with training a team, be it coach, runner manager etc you must be accredited.
It was put very succinctly during my first “Smart Rugby” seminar; “Gentlemen remember this. Without these qualifications under your belt, you could be one collapsed scrum away from losing your house!” Perhaps a slight exaggeration on the part of the instructor but the thought of being possibly responsible for a player under your care being seriously or even permanently injured made us all sit up and listen I can tell you!
If you want your team to perform safely and to expectations, then you must be 100% sure of your skill level and your commitment, you must keep up with your training and always try to expand your knowledge base, rules and techniques are changing all the time and there’s no point schooling this years team with last years techniques.
Another case in point.
Two very keen gentlemen took on an U10 team and did pretty well in their first year, they had some big strong boys for their age and lots of speed out wide they won plenty of games and breezed into the final’s only to be beaten out of a grand final appearance by the bounce of the ball!
They came back the next year with high expectations, but no new ideas or skills.
Unfortunately, the gap between their team’s skill and discipline and most of the oppositions began to show and they only just creped into the finals on the back of some strong individual efforts but were all too easily bundled out in the end.
These mugs came back again for their third campaign with still no new skills and drills to teach the squad and had a disastrous year, loosing every single game by very large and very embarrassing margins!
This was a tragedy in every respect as the team never got to play to their true potential. The squad contained no less than 5 “A” grade district representative quality players and the rest of the squad were competent, middle of the road or top string “B” graders. They were all let down by very keen but hopelessly underskilled “D” quality coaches who felt they, “didn’t need to worry about learning all that boring technical stuff!” The alarm bells should have started ringing when the players started saying, “When are we going to train properly?!”
The squad disbanded the next year with disillusioned parents and players splitting up and going to different clubs and Laurel and Hardy left wondering what happened.
All the skills, drills and motivation were there, but the coaches just didn’t know what on earth to do with it because they were too lazy to find out!
Kids grow up very rapidly and get bigger, bonier, meaner and heavier and the hits are harder and can be more damaging, your coaching skills must keep in step with their physical and mental development and this dear coach is one of your biggest responsibilities
The parents entrust you with their kid’s and their well-being must be your top priority! If someone gets badly hurt during a game or at training because you neglected to drill and skill them properly because your not up to date with the current OH&S requirements it will be on your head and no one else’s!
(I cannot to strongly suggest a coach should obtain a level one qualification before he puts his hand up for any graded team and has a first-aid certificate from the outset.)
The Big Three!
1: I believe a coach’s first and last priority is the safety, wellbeing and enjoyment of his team. Any victory, honour or kudos gained must take second place!
The coach is for his team, not the team for the coach.
2: Be practical and reasonable about your expectations of the team.
Accept that all players of all ages are different and will develop (or not) at their
own pace.
Though you might like them to all be “A grade” representative material and super athletes the facts are most of them won’t be.
This may seem obvious but I have heard coaches bellyache at their under10s team
for not attaining standards that most 1st grade squads would have trouble achieving.
3: A coach’s responsibility is not confined to his own player’s safety, but extends to every player on the field!
He must lend assistance to the opposition if need be and if he is closest to an injured player he must help immediately.
I have seen opposing team runners and coaches completely ignore a hurt opposition player even though they were lying almost at their feet! As far as I’m concerned, this is deliberate negligence and is a breach of our “duty of care!”
Coaches and runners must have some idea of how to triage and treat injuries.
An up to date first aid certificate and medkit and the knowledge of how to use it is essential.
Some coaches (and clubs) seem to put the game and victory ahead of the player’s wellbeing and this must be discouraged at the highest level. A “she’ll be right mate” attitude can cause more harm than good and more serious injuries can happen through a clumsy coach’s or runner’s well-meaning efforts.
I have seen a coach run-up to a downed player clutching a shoulder only to reef him to his feet with “Oh you’ll be all right son” only for the child and shriek hysterically and collapse again.
That was the shoulder that proved to be dislocated…
Another instance is the winded player fighting to catch his breath having water poured down his throat whilst still flat on his back, almost drowning the boy.
Each team should have a “Runners Pack,” a bum bag big enough to hold one or two water bottles, medi swabs, sterile gauze, Elastoplast tape, electrical tape (for boots and for holding up socks) scissors, gloves, aluminium foil (for holding in loosened teeth whilst on the way to the casualty ward) extra sprigs and sprig keys, and a clean “emergency” mouth guard etc.
All injuries are different and you should be familiar and competently trained with the prescribed protocols that are required in their treatment, however a basic course of action should be this.
As soon a player goes down, you or your runner get to him straight away calling to the ref and linesman as you go, if need be.
Mostly it’s nothing more than a bump or a winding but always plan for the worst.
When you get to the player reassure him that your there to help and that he’ll be ok, to calm down and try to get him to steady his breathing etc.
Before touching him simply ask, “Where does it hurt?”
If he can respond and points to an arm or leg etc you can then remove the mouthguard (always a good idea) and slowly help him sit up, if it’s just a simple knock that is.
He should do this under his own power with only you giving support where necessary.
Give water, encouragement and let him decide if he wants to play on or go off the field for a rest though depending on the injury you might want to take him of anyway.
DON’T PRESSURE HIM TO PLAY ON IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO!!!!
If it’s a head knock, stop the game and assess the severity of the injury (do they need
to go to hospital etc) and at the very least put the player on the sideline for the rest of the game to be on the safe side.
If a downed player complains of tingling in the limbs or is rendered unconscious,
DO-NOT-TOUCH!
STOP THE GAME AND GET AN AMBULANCE!
Remember, the human spinal cord has the consistency of toothpaste!
Know the required protocols and don’t take risks with your player’s safety!
If a player needs to go to the hospital go with them if possible and at the very least visit them, this is just good form.
Next instalment tomorrow, stay tuned.
Friendly advice to Virgin coaches.
OR
A guide for the “volunteered” Junior
Rugby Union/League coach.
OR
“So you really want to herd cats into a wheelbarrow!?”
By Grunthos (Volunteer cat herder)
Preface:
This is not a Rugby Union/League manual as such as new rules come and go all the time, it’s more like some basic practical advice and some ideas and techniques that I have come up with for coaching and running mini, junior and senior
Rugby Union/League teams (though the basics can be applied to coaching and managing any team sport) since I began way back in 2001 with the Collaroy Cougars then the Narrabeen Tigers, Dee Why Lions, Manly Marlins, Pittwater and Freshwater high schools and other rugby and league teams in the northern beaches and Warringa area.
You may or may not agree with them but they been successful for me.
In The Beginning:
“The club needs a keen volunteer to coach the under six minis, congratulations Grunth,
you’re it!”
And so my glittering career as a Rugby Union coach begins!
Will it be one of brilliant triumph? Shall I be revered as a master coach?
Venerated throughout history for my sharp eye for spotting talent, innovative training
techniques, and inspirational motivation and feared for my guile and cunning tactics.
Shall I guide one team after another to victory after victory, until one day,
one glorious, triumphant day; the might of the Wallabies will be mine to weald!
I look down at the bright, shining, expectant face, of the small boy standing before me.
“David pushed me and I fell over on the ground and it hurt and I wanna
do a wee wee now…”
To say the magic vanished as fast as the reality set in would be an understatement.
“All right go to the toilet,” says the “Uber” coach, “David don’t push your teammates, Ok!”
“Can I go too?” a small chorus erupts from nine other under-sixes.
“Yeah, yeah all of you go, but don’t mess around and come straight back all right!”
Ok, that takes care of the next three minutes, what do I do with the rest
of the hour I have them!?
So, about me, forty-three years old at the time of writing (2001) six foot two inches tall
in the old money, I don’t know what that is in metric and what’s more I don’t care.
Overweight, not fat or burly, just big.
(My wife will beg to differ)
Married to the delightful Evelyn, with two children, Michael and Daniel.
One will be a captain of industry, the other a Napoleon of crime.
I’m not too sure which.
As for me, I have yet to decide if I will grow a ponytail and buy a Harley
and try to sew my wild “oat” while I still have an “oat to sew
without chemical assistance…
ZOOOOOOM! Shit! What was that!
That was your youth mate, did you enjoy it!?
…Bugger!
But in truth gentle reader I have no envy for our pony-tailed brethren
and “Donercycles” don’t turn me on either. And as for my “oats”,
they are in the safekeeping of my darling wife and shall be forevermore.
So what am I doing here in the middle of a football field?
Ahhh yes…
There comes a time, in a boy’s life, when he must make a choice!
Shall he begin his long journey to manhood on the gentle field that is Rugby,
struggling against his fellow man, falling, only to rise again, to continue the battle until
he is either glorious in victory, or noble in defeat.
Or play Soccer with the other girls…
Fortunately, my sons genuinely wanted to have a go at the manly game of Rugger
(Thank God!) and I came along for the ride, a VERY long ride as it transpired.
But whatever his (or her) sporting choice is, it must be fully supported by you, "Mr embryonic coach"
as well as their mum and dad and that, dear friend is why I am here!
Now, back to training and what to do with the dear little cherubs for the
rest of the hour?
I know, I’ll lay down some bloody ground rules!
SOME BLOODY GROUND RULES!
When you obtain discipline then you can have cohesion.
When you have cohesion only then you can you achieve victory!
“All right you horrible lot listen up, eyes and ears on me if you please, finger out of
nose young man, snot is not one of the recognised food groups, thank you!”
This is greeted with gales of laughter.
Ok, I’ve got their attention, so far so good.
“You are here because you want to play the glorious, manly and noble game
of Rugby, and I am here to try to teach you. And you will only learn from me,
if you listen and concentrate on what I am telling you!”
A dog barks far in the distance, ten little heads swivel to see where the
sound came from, a hand shoots skyward, “Yes, Mitchell.”
“I have a doggy and his name is Tim, and Tim, he sounds just like that
doggy only different.”
I should have known…
Kids, (and I also refer to anything under twenty-seven years of age for that matter)
don’t really concentrate or listen very well to instructions.
In fact, the average six or seven-year-old has an attention span only slightly
longer than a doggy named Tim, who just happens to sound a lot like
other doggies, only different!
So where to now “wonder coach!!!”
Enter the ‘Kiss’ method, Keep-It-Simple-Stupid!
As I said, kids don’t concentrate or listen too well. Only through repetition will it
finally sink in. So, stick to a few simple instructions and drills and for Gods’ sake
Keep-It Simple-Stupid!
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Ground rules, bloody or otherwise must be made and (hopefully) adhered to.
A trait of all good Rugby teams (or any team for that matter) is discipline!
Only through solid discipline, on the training paddock and during the
game will success follow.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Schools have precious little real discipline any
more and some parents should not have been allowed to breed, so how to do it.
Your attitude that’s the key!
That or an electric cattle prod or large stick will give excellent results!
Unfortunately shock therapy and the beating of small children and adolescents
as well as many other forms of “contact counselling” seem to be frowned
upon in these unenlightened times, but we can still dream.
But I’m getting ahead of myself yet again.
The posts are going up…
Coaching is exactly like playing, if you go in half-hearted you’ll only
get smashed!
Each year around March, April you begin to see the cricket pitches being covered and the Rugby posts going up and I think to myself, “Not too long till kick-off”
One must ask oneself if you really want to be a coach.
It’s a big commitment over a season and there’s a whole lot more to it than just turning up to training and going to games.
Coaching a mini’s or junior’s team is very much like trying to herd twenty cats into a wheelbarrow, and some seniors aren’t much better!
Calling yourself a coach and actually being one are two completely different things.
You need to be thick-skinned, strict but easily approachable and readily contactable and above all know what you’re doing and be a good role model.
You must be a teacher and mentor, disciplinarian and diplomat, doctor, sports phycologist, tactician, inspiration and good-humoured steamroller all rolled
up into one! (Gee I wish I took my own advice!)
You must also be able to deal with angry or demanding parents who want to know why their immature, disruptive and uncoordinated smart-ass offspring isn’t named captain or five-eighth because “He’s obviously the best player in the team?!” or you get into strife because you disciplined a player/s for being slack around the ruck during a game or messing around at training etc.
Oooooh that’s a big one! You’re not allowed to call a spade a spade now’a days as the truth my damage some ratbag kids delicate little Psyche. But more of that one later as well.
You must be prepared to go to coaches and managers meetings, seminars and lectures, keeping up with the seemingly endless rule changes and be prepared to give up a whole lot of personal time in bettering your skills and knowledge; and you won’t get paid one bloody brass razoo!
If you want to coach for just a bit of fun or a laugh (or a wank…) then don’t sign up for the job!
In my opinion, there are two types of coaches. The one that takes the job seriously and the one that doesn’t.
Case in point, an under elevens game my team played early in a season is a perfect example.
At the sign on the table I met with the opposing coach to chew the fat and say g’day and was jovially informed that;
“Oh we just have a bit of fun at training you know, you don’t want to be too serious, it’s all just a bit of a run around for the kids isn’t it.”
Now that’s just fine and peachy for under-sixes and Golden oldies but not for any graded team.
We won the match about sixty something to nil with three of his players taken from the field injured, not through any foul play but we just played harder and meant business.
Remember, your skills as a coach are just as much on display as the skills
of your team.
You’re Credentials:
There’s no point in telling the team to “Go out there and smash em!”
If you haven’t coached them how to…
Let’s get something straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re coaching “As,” “Ds” or the under sixes, you must take the job very seriously or not at all!
Mum, Dad and the team are depending on you so don’t let them down!
Keep your OH&S (Smart Rugby etc) qualifications up to date. Remember if you have anything to do with training a team, be it coach, runner manager etc you must be accredited.
It was put very succinctly during my first “Smart Rugby” seminar; “Gentlemen remember this. Without these qualifications under your belt, you could be one collapsed scrum away from losing your house!” Perhaps a slight exaggeration on the part of the instructor but the thought of being possibly responsible for a player under your care being seriously or even permanently injured made us all sit up and listen I can tell you!
If you want your team to perform safely and to expectations, then you must be 100% sure of your skill level and your commitment, you must keep up with your training and always try to expand your knowledge base, rules and techniques are changing all the time and there’s no point schooling this years team with last years techniques.
Another case in point.
Two very keen gentlemen took on an U10 team and did pretty well in their first year, they had some big strong boys for their age and lots of speed out wide they won plenty of games and breezed into the final’s only to be beaten out of a grand final appearance by the bounce of the ball!
They came back the next year with high expectations, but no new ideas or skills.
Unfortunately, the gap between their team’s skill and discipline and most of the oppositions began to show and they only just creped into the finals on the back of some strong individual efforts but were all too easily bundled out in the end.
These mugs came back again for their third campaign with still no new skills and drills to teach the squad and had a disastrous year, loosing every single game by very large and very embarrassing margins!
This was a tragedy in every respect as the team never got to play to their true potential. The squad contained no less than 5 “A” grade district representative quality players and the rest of the squad were competent, middle of the road or top string “B” graders. They were all let down by very keen but hopelessly underskilled “D” quality coaches who felt they, “didn’t need to worry about learning all that boring technical stuff!” The alarm bells should have started ringing when the players started saying, “When are we going to train properly?!”
The squad disbanded the next year with disillusioned parents and players splitting up and going to different clubs and Laurel and Hardy left wondering what happened.
All the skills, drills and motivation were there, but the coaches just didn’t know what on earth to do with it because they were too lazy to find out!
Kids grow up very rapidly and get bigger, bonier, meaner and heavier and the hits are harder and can be more damaging, your coaching skills must keep in step with their physical and mental development and this dear coach is one of your biggest responsibilities
The parents entrust you with their kid’s and their well-being must be your top priority! If someone gets badly hurt during a game or at training because you neglected to drill and skill them properly because your not up to date with the current OH&S requirements it will be on your head and no one else’s!
(I cannot to strongly suggest a coach should obtain a level one qualification before he puts his hand up for any graded team and has a first-aid certificate from the outset.)
The Big Three!
1: I believe a coach’s first and last priority is the safety, wellbeing and enjoyment of his team. Any victory, honour or kudos gained must take second place!
The coach is for his team, not the team for the coach.
2: Be practical and reasonable about your expectations of the team.
Accept that all players of all ages are different and will develop (or not) at their
own pace.
Though you might like them to all be “A grade” representative material and super athletes the facts are most of them won’t be.
This may seem obvious but I have heard coaches bellyache at their under10s team
for not attaining standards that most 1st grade squads would have trouble achieving.
3: A coach’s responsibility is not confined to his own player’s safety, but extends to every player on the field!
He must lend assistance to the opposition if need be and if he is closest to an injured player he must help immediately.
I have seen opposing team runners and coaches completely ignore a hurt opposition player even though they were lying almost at their feet! As far as I’m concerned, this is deliberate negligence and is a breach of our “duty of care!”
Coaches and runners must have some idea of how to triage and treat injuries.
An up to date first aid certificate and medkit and the knowledge of how to use it is essential.
Some coaches (and clubs) seem to put the game and victory ahead of the player’s wellbeing and this must be discouraged at the highest level. A “she’ll be right mate” attitude can cause more harm than good and more serious injuries can happen through a clumsy coach’s or runner’s well-meaning efforts.
I have seen a coach run-up to a downed player clutching a shoulder only to reef him to his feet with “Oh you’ll be all right son” only for the child and shriek hysterically and collapse again.
That was the shoulder that proved to be dislocated…
Another instance is the winded player fighting to catch his breath having water poured down his throat whilst still flat on his back, almost drowning the boy.
Each team should have a “Runners Pack,” a bum bag big enough to hold one or two water bottles, medi swabs, sterile gauze, Elastoplast tape, electrical tape (for boots and for holding up socks) scissors, gloves, aluminium foil (for holding in loosened teeth whilst on the way to the casualty ward) extra sprigs and sprig keys, and a clean “emergency” mouth guard etc.
All injuries are different and you should be familiar and competently trained with the prescribed protocols that are required in their treatment, however a basic course of action should be this.
As soon a player goes down, you or your runner get to him straight away calling to the ref and linesman as you go, if need be.
Mostly it’s nothing more than a bump or a winding but always plan for the worst.
When you get to the player reassure him that your there to help and that he’ll be ok, to calm down and try to get him to steady his breathing etc.
Before touching him simply ask, “Where does it hurt?”
If he can respond and points to an arm or leg etc you can then remove the mouthguard (always a good idea) and slowly help him sit up, if it’s just a simple knock that is.
He should do this under his own power with only you giving support where necessary.
Give water, encouragement and let him decide if he wants to play on or go off the field for a rest though depending on the injury you might want to take him of anyway.
DON’T PRESSURE HIM TO PLAY ON IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO!!!!
If it’s a head knock, stop the game and assess the severity of the injury (do they need
to go to hospital etc) and at the very least put the player on the sideline for the rest of the game to be on the safe side.
If a downed player complains of tingling in the limbs or is rendered unconscious,
DO-NOT-TOUCH!
STOP THE GAME AND GET AN AMBULANCE!
Remember, the human spinal cord has the consistency of toothpaste!
Know the required protocols and don’t take risks with your player’s safety!
If a player needs to go to the hospital go with them if possible and at the very least visit them, this is just good form.
Next instalment tomorrow, stay tuned.
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