Club admin
Managing injuries in a volunteer club
How community clubs can keep track of injuries, recovery and return to play without a full time physio, and keep that information private.
· 2 min read
Start with what you are not
Most community clubs don't have a physio at every training session, and coaches are not medical professionals. The job of the coaching group is not to diagnose. It is to record what happened, make sure the player gets proper advice, and not pick a player who isn't cleared.
Record the basics the same day
- Who was injured, and at which game or session
- What happened and which part of the body, in plain words
- Who the player has been told to see, and whether they've seen them
- An expected return date, once there is one, marked as an estimate
Keep one shared record
The usual failure is not a missing record but several of them: a note on the trainer's phone, a message in the coaches' chat, and something on the whiteboard. Agree on one place, and make updating it part of the Tuesday or Thursday routine.
Treat injury information as private
Injury details are health information. Share them only with the people who need them to keep the player safe, usually the coaching group and the trainer. For players under 18, involve a parent or guardian, and get their consent before recording injury information.
Plan the return, not just the absence
A player cleared to train is not always ready for a full game. Agree a simple return pathway with the trainer: modified training, full training, then selection. Note each step in the recovery notes so every coach knows where the player is up to.