Gymnastics Injuries and Tips for Creating a Post-Injury Plan for Your Club
Gymnastics injuries are bound to happen and are sometimes out of our control. However, we can manage how our coaches and staff react when it happens and how to best support the gymnast and team during the recovery process. Having a plan in place to support your gymnasts during their recovery can make a very difficult experience more positive for everyone involved. Here are some tips on how you can create a post-injury plan for your club:
Write The Post-Injury Plan…Before Injuries Happen
Work with your staff and coaches to write up a formal “Post-Injury Plan” that includes a detailed, step-by-step processes for the following…
- Phone calls and text communications to parents and gymnasts after the injury happens
- Getting the team and coaches involved by signing cards, sending flowers, or a gift to the gymnast to let them know that they are still part of the community
- Offer support and resources for rehabilitation and physical therapy, nutrition, mental health during the recovery period
- Communications around what items are needed from doctors and parents for the gymnast to return to training activities
- Provide ongoing support and communication with injured gymnast and parents during the recovery period
- Identify different opportunities for injured gymnasts to remain engaged from the sidelines or establish a new training plan focused on areas that won’t affect the injury with coaches, parents, and medical professionals
- Once the gymnast can train again, establish a regular check-in period with parents and gymnast to ensure training isn’t aggravating the injury even more
- Have a plan of action to deploy when a gymnast can’t return indefinitely
Communication & Ongoing Staff Training
After creating your Post-Injury Plan, conduct training sessions every quarter with your coaches and staff to ensure everyone is onboard with what needs to happen after an injury. Training and staff meetings should be regularly scheduled, with safety and prevention at the forefront.
Remember, injuries are not easy for gymnasts, and it requires support well beyond the physical injury/recovery period from your entire club. Coming up with a Post-Injury Plan unique to your club can help create a more positive experience and make recovery time less traumatic for your gymnasts, families, and staff.
