Decision Making

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Calendar ] [ Teams ] [ Fields ] [ League Info ] [ Umpires ] [ Links ]
[ Up ] [ Prevention ] [ Decision Making ] [ Guidelines ] [ Injury Report ]

Safety Decision Making:

Injuries to players can range from almost insignificant to very serious. Knowing how to assess the situation and what to do once you have is extremely important.

It is always the best choice to have a parent of the injured player make the decision.

If you as a coach or manager feel that the parent is being conservative and that the player is hurt more seriously, please encourage the parent to seek further medical care.

If no parent is available, the coach or manager should make a decision in the best interest of the player.

Notify parent immediately of injury and where child has been taken!

To call or not to call, that is the question!

It is difficult for some people to know when to call 911 and when not to. The suggestions given here are by no means meant to be the law, but instead are meant to be used as a guide to help those at the field make the best decision they can with the level of expertise they have.

Always call 911 for:

Any player who has no pulse and/or is not breathing.

Any player with a head or neck injury that includes a loss of consciousness (passing out, fainting, etc.)

Any wound or broken bone that has excessive bleeding.

Any player with respiratory difficulties, i.e. asthma without relief from inhaler, allergic reaction, etc.

Any injury that looks "bad", i.e. protruding bone, or significant eye injury such as a direct blow to eye.

The purpose of this education is not to teach people CPR. There may be EMT’s, nurses, MD’s, etc. in the audience who are able to take over care of a seriously injured player before an ambulance arrives. You should defer care to them. Do not attempt to perform advanced care if you are not qualified.

All minor injuries should be treated at the field by the coach or manager. If a parent feels the player needs further care they can transport to medical care by car.

NOTE: If a parent feels that a minor injury should be transported by ambulance, you should not intervene in that decision. It is ultimately the parents’ choice.

If parents are not at the field at the time of a minor injury, please make sure that you do notify them that their child was hurt while playing and complete the incident report.

Obviously, if their child has a serious injury, you would notify them after you have initiated a 911 call.

Internet Services Provided by Iserv
Please email webmaster@iserv.net with any
comments or suggestions.

Last Modified: March 15, 2001