U14’s and U15’s Games at Ashburton
Today there were two games held at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton.
U14’s played first 10am KO with U15’s Game KO at 12pm
U14’s Game
Prior to U14’s playing, there was a player c/o of calf tightness, so I gave him a quick 5 minute calf massage on both legs and helped him stretch prior to the game starting. I gave him a massage because I think it is the quickest way to get your muscles warm in order to help stretch them after.
During the 2nd quarter of the game a player had fallen on his elbow causing a very small bruise on the lateral epicondyle. After assessing the players range of movement I applied an ice pack to the area to help reduce the pain. Once the ice pack had been on for 10 minutes I reassessed the ROM of the elbow and the pain had reduced. The player wanted to continue playing which I was happy for him to do so due to the ROM is not limited and the pain had reduced. I advised that he should get some more ice on the elbow after the game had finished to help reduce any pain that occurs later.
The 3rd quarter there was one injury that required general first aid from the player sliding on the astroturf causing a graze on the lateral border of the athletes thigh. I cleaned the graze and due to it not bleeding I left it uncovered for the air to get to and help heal the wound.
After the game had finished, I took over with the cool down to ensure they were all stretched before heading home.
U15’s game
The first and second quarter had no injuries occur, however during the third quarter there was an ankle injury (a quick sudden twist) I checked his range of movement however it was limited due to pain so I applied an ice pack to help ease the pain. After 10 minutes of the ice pack being on I was able to reassess the athletes ROM and found the range was not limited. No bruising or swelling occurred. I advised the athlete to apply pressure onto the ankle by walking around otherwise the ankle would stiffen and cause more pain due to the muscles tightening because of the sudden injury.
At the end of the game I again took over the cool down ensuring that they were all correctly performing the exercises and making sure that they were fully stretched prior to heading home.
Due to being pitch side there is not really a lot I can do other than waiting for injuries to occur, obviously I do not want injuries to occur but when they do I make sure that I am ready, fully equipped and confident in my knowledge. Next time I want to ensure that I am giving the injured athletes exercises to do (rehab exercises) rather than just ROM to ensure that we are strengthening that limb in order to prevent the injury from reoccurring.