Serious injuries are rare at our age. Most of the injuries we see are wrist or arm injuries suffered in schoolyard accidents. We occasionally see growth-related pain in the feet or twisted ankles.
Game-day injuries:
If your daughter suffers an injury, please remain calm and let her coach make an initial evaluation. In the vast majority of cases, game-day injuries aren’t serious and the player is able to remain in the game, or only needs a few minutes of rest and recovery before she can return. In rare cases, the coach may call or signal you to come over to check on your daughter.
Minor or nagging injuries:
Our philosophy on minor or nagging injuries is conservative. We’d rather a player with a minor or nagging injury stay home and rest and recover, rather than attend practice and try to “tough it out”. (Playing while hurt makes no sense at our age group!)
Kids usually recover quickly if given a few days of rest, but recovery can be delayed if a player doesn’t rest while hurt. If your daughter has pain or limps or isn’t 100% herself, please feel free to keep her home. Just keep us informed about her situation.
At older age levels, coaches may recommend or require injured players to attend training. We don’t think this makes sense at our age group. Injured players who can only sit and watch learn one thing: it’s no fun watching all the other girls play!
Treating injuries:
Bruises or twisted ankles usually respond well to R-I-C-E treatment. If in doubt, check with your doctor or pediatrician. (If there’s no swelling involved, you may want to consider a technique known as contrast therapy.)
R: rest the injured body part as much as possible until you are back to 100%
I: ice; apply ice to the injured body part for 20 minutes, then 20 minutes of no ice, repeat 2-3 times
C: compression; keep the injured part wrapped (a Coban wrap or Ace bandage will work)
E: elevation; sit with the injured body part propped up above your heart level
Long-term injuries:
If a player suffers a long-term injury, she could potentially go through depression symptoms because she can’t do something that is near and dear to her heart — play soccer! If your daughter has a long-term injury and wants to stay involved, we’ll find a way to keep her involved.
Depending on the type of injury (and doctor’s advice), it may be regular practice activities but no games, limited practice activities, or a non-playing role such as an assistant coach, ref or scorekeeper.
If your daughter has a long-term injury but finds another avenue to keep herself mentally occupied while she heals, that’s OK too — just keep us informed.
Casts:
A player in a cast can participate in practices and scrimmages if her doctor approves and she fully wraps the cast in bubble wrap or dense foam.
Georgia Soccer had a long-standing rule prohibiting players who wore casts from playing sanctioned games in Georgia. The rule was changed in 2019. Here’s the current rule. Rule 540.3: Players may wear a cast on the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm or shoulder if it is covered and padded with a closed-cell, slow-recovery foam padding no less than ½-inch thick. (Other states’ rules about casts may vary.)
Secondary insurance through Georgia Soccer:
Georgia Soccer maintains secondary medical injury insurance for all registered members. Link: Georgia Soccer Youth Medical Insurance Claim Procedures. If you decide to file a secondary insurance claim, please contact your coach to start the process.
PT Solutions Physical Therapy – NTH’s sports medicine partner:
PT Solutions (formerly known as Neurosport) is NTH’s sports medicine partner. They offer a wide array of services, including sports medicine and rehab. If you’re looking for a sports medicine specialist, or just want a 2nd opinion, check out PT Solutions.