The North Ridgeville Amateur Soccer League (NRASL) is a youth soccer program with the mission of providing recreational and competitive opportunities for community youth to enjoy the game of soccer. These opportunities come in a constructive, organized fashion and require a safe playing area, protective equipment, and the enforcement of rules and regulations to ensure each player is protected to the best of our ability.

Even with these precautions, injuries are bound to occur. Some are obviously more serious than others, but each occurrence deserves the attention of those helping to facilitate the games and practices. This is to ensure all preventive measures are being taken to minimize occurrences, to ensure adequate care is provided to those in need if an incident does occur, and to provide an opportunity for the league and its leadership to be aware of situations so that they are able to follow up with the families and players involved.

The NRASL prides itself on being a tight knit, cohesive organization, with the main focus of helping our kids enjoy the game of soccer in a safe, productive environment. The league must be aware of situations that happen with its players to make sure conditions surrounding the incident were not conducive to the injury and also to ensure that if preventive measures could have been taken or can be found from the incident, they are applied in the future to prevent further issues for our players.

When any injury occurs to a player, spectator, coach, or referee during an NRASL affiliated game, an Injury Report Form must be completed by the coach or assistant coach of that team. Every effort should be made to gain as much information about the situation as possible and to thoroughly record it on the form so that record of the event is documented and the proper chain of personnel can be notified. Contact information and destination/location of next treatment site are most important. Reports must be submitted to the league within 24 hours of the occurrence of the injury.

Please be as detailed as possible in each area of the form so that the correct information is recorded on the report. This affords those reading it after the fact, the ability to properly ascertain the circumstances, details of the injury, follow up with the situation, and the opportunity to learn from the situation and discover any possible preventive actions that could be taken in the future. This also ensures that we have any and all necessary information for our insurance company if the situation requires their involvement.

Submitting Reports:

After the report is complete, the report will be submitted to the appropriate Travel Director or In-house Coaching Director. That person will review the incident report to ensure it is filled out completely and forward it to the Vice President, who will review and record it and conduct any investigation into the incident if necessary.

In addition to submitting the report to the Vice President, the report should be copied to the other Travel and Coaching Directors, the League DOC, both Technical Directors, and the League President. Each of these parties needs to be informed of the incident so they can inform concerned parents and families, answer any general questions that are not of a personal nature, and learn from the incident while providing feedback for potential prevention methods for the future. This also affords them the opportunity for follow up with the family and player to check on welfare and extend best wishes.

Each report will be reviewed by each person listed above who will receive it directly or through a copy. Any areas of concern will immediately be brought to the Vice President for additional review and possible investigation.

Each report will then be recorded as an individual incident, occurring during that soccer year (starting Aug. 1 through July 31). At the conclusion of the year, incidents will be reviewed to check for patterns or other relevant information in the hopes of future prevention. These reports will be kept for 10 years by the league. A copy of each report will also be placed in the player’s jacket kept by the league. This helps to ensure future coaches and leadership will be aware of previous injuries and possible future issues for their players.

Mandatory Participation:

It is the sincere hope of the North Ridgeville Amateur Soccer League that these reports and a more dedicated effort to focus on prevention and treatment of our players’ injuries will help promote a safer and more enjoyable environment for our players and families. Participation in this policy is not optional and will be enforced to the highest degree. Any injuries to the degree described above that are not reported to the league by that specific coach will lead to future disciplinary action toward the responsible party.

The league recognizes that players may seek medical attention for issues not known by the coach after normal, organized activities. It is requested that coaches inform their parents that the coaches must be made aware of any issues with their players and when they occurred. This is not only to record and be aware of them for the player’s limitations on the field, but also to prevent further aggravation or a more severe injury due to overuse or a lack of proper treatment to the pre-existing condition. Any incident that does take place as described above would require the coach to complete the form immediately upon receiving the information to minimize time between the injury and the report, allowing all necessary members of the league to be informed as soon as possible.