1 Risk Management

It is the intent of PRFC to deny any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence or a crime against a person, or a felony involving the welfare of a child, the opportunity to be involved in any capacity (such as a coach, volunteer, player, administrator, employee or referee) with PRFC.  It is the intent of PRFC to suspend immediately any person who has become involved as a defendant in litigation detrimental to the welfare of any child or litigation based on activity detrimental to the welfare of any child until the completion of the litigation.

Annually (or as required), all prospective coaches, assistant coaches, administrators, referee’s other volunteers are required to submit to a criminal background check through our ‘league’ affiliate.  The club may impose further risk management policies at its discretion.

2 Child Protection

The protection of the child is PRFC priority.  PRFC ensures coaches are aware of possible symptoms of participants at risk.  To ensure the welfare of the child is protected, all allegations and incidents will be reported to the President and Executive Director.  All concerns will take priority and be dealt with immediately.  If a member of PRFC or any parent/guardian has concerns about a child, or suspicions of abuse including allegations against a PRFC volunteer, the individual who has concerns must contact PRFC  President and Executive Director

All allegations and incidents will be referred to the police with 24 hours.  If the allocations are made against a member of the PRFC coaching team or administrator, that person will be suspended from all activities pending an investigation and clearance by an appropriate authority.

3 Jewelry

Soccer is a ‘contact’ sport!  With all the best intentions to limit physical play, players will still regularly come into contact with opponents in practices and in games.  To limit the possibility of accidents and injuries, players are required to adhere to the following restriction for jewelry:

  • Jewelry is not permitted for girls or boys unless accompanied by a Doctor’s letter stating why the objective cannot be removed.
  • Piercings must be removed.
  • No watches, bracelets or necklaces
  • No eye glasses unless sports safety glasses
  • No peaked hats

Parents should contact Director of Coaching to request approval for wearing jewelry for medical purposes.

If a player is wearing jewelry, the coach will request that the player removes the object.  If the player/parent is unwilling/unable to remove the item, the player will not be able to participate. 

4 Anti-bullying

PRFC defines bullying as a situation where an individual or group feels threatened, hurt or put under stress by the actions of another person or group, be those actions willful, conscious or unconscious. Bullying is an intentional onside ongoing threat or intimidation. It is not a conflict, which many kids have and is often misinterpreted by parents This may take the form of name-calling, violent attack or threat of violent attack, being ostracized by a peer group, mimicking, face pulling, taunting, teasing or forcing someone to act against their own will.    

PRFC will not accept anyone being bullied, including but not limited for reasons of gender, race, disability, sexuality, religion or wealth.  All coaches and parents have a responsibility to act immediately if a bullying action is witnessed by them or brought to their attention.

In the event a person is suspected of bullying, please contact Director of Coaching immediately to report the incident.  See the discipline policy for the consequences for a person guilty of bullying.

Bullying Management Procedure:

  • Listen to the child (victim) and the alleged bully.
  • Reassure the child (victim); give them support by telling them we will act.
  • Complete an Incident Form and submit it to the Director of Coaching and Managing Director within 6 hours of the incident.
  • Make the bully aware of the unacceptable nature of his/her behavior.
  • Inform both the parents/guardians of the bully and victim of the incident.

5 Non-collection of Child

On occasion, a parent/guardian may be delayed in collecting a child from a PRFC program at the stated collection time.  In such event, the following procedure should be followed:  

  • Under no circumstances should the coach leave the field/location until all players are collected.  In addition, the coach must not advocate the responsibility of supervision of a child to any other adult unless permission is granted by the child’s parent/guardian.
  • The Coach should call the first contact number detailed on the registration form.  If this call is not answered, the other contact numbers on the registration form should be called.
  • Should the Coach be unable to contact any of the parents/guardians highlighted on the registration form, they should contact the police.

6 Lost Child

In the event a child is lost during a PRFC program, the coach/PRFC representative initiate the following steps in the procedure:

  • Contact the parent/ guardian
  • Gather all other participants together to ensure their safety
  • Assign other adults to search
  • Contact the police within 10 minutes if the child is not found
  • The Coach will follow directions of the police.  If the child is found at any stage the parents, followed by the police will be called immediately.

7 Safety and assessment of risk

PRFC take positive steps to promote safety and ensure proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.  Reasonable steps are instituted to ensure hazards to participants are eliminated. 

Prior to commencing any activity, the coach must ‘walk’ the activity area to determine if any hazards exist.  Areas of concern are exposed sprinkler heads, holes in the field (where a player can turn an ankle), stones/rocks, animal excrement, glass or any other hazardous material left of the field/area.  In addition, the coach must ensure any goals are correctly secured to the ground to avoid the goal tipping/falling forward or backward, the goal posts are correctly aligned and joined together, and the net is correctly formed (the net must not be ripped to allow a child’s body or head to fit through).  In the event the activity area or equipment is not up to safety standards, the coach should seek an alternative location and notify Director of Coaching and Managing Director.

8 Supervision and bathroom breaks

Unsupervised participants are not allowed to leave the training areas under any circumstances.  In the event a participant requires to use the bathroom initiate the following procedure:

  • In the event a player needs to leave the session for whatever reason, the first consideration must be to locate the child’s parent/guardian.
  • The next option is for a PRFC authorized adult to take the child, accompanied by another participant.   Under no circumstances must a child leave the group without another participant unless with the child’s parent/guardian.

9 Fire Safety

If PRFC is utilizing indoor facilities, the Coach should be aware of the fire evacuation procedures.   In the event of a fire, instruct the participants to following the directions of the coach to evacuate the building.

Concurrently instruct another adult to call the fire department.  Once all participants are safe call the parents/guardians

10 Attendance Records

PRFC Coaches/Managers should maintain attendance records for each group attending practices and games.  In addition, the Coach/Manager must have contact details for the participants parents/guardian and all relevant medical information (if applicable).  The attendance record should be furnished to Director of Coaching at the end of the season or by request at any time.

11 Child Sickness

To prevent the spread of infection, and to protect the health and safety of other participants in PRFC programs parents are required to abstain from bringing their sick child to PRFC programs during the period the child is sick/infectious.  PRFC/coach reserves the right to prevent a sick child from participating.   

Parents are requested to exercise common sense in determining if a child is fit to participate and/or the risk of infecting others is a possibility.  Players should be fever free with no medicines for 24 hours or as instructed by the Doctor. 

In the case of a child becoming ill during their participation the parent/guardian will be required to remove the child from the session.

12 Concussion

A concussion is a brain injury and all brain injuries are serious. They are caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or by a blow to another part of the body with the force transmitted to the head. They can range from mild to severe and can disrupt the way the brain normally works. Even though most concussions are mild, all concussions are potentially serious and may result in complications including prolonged brain damage and death if not recognized and managed properly.

You can’t see a concussion and most sports concussions occur without loss of consciousness. Signs and symptoms of concussion may show up right after the injury or can take hours or days to fully appear. If your child/player reports any symptoms of concussion, or if you notice the symptoms or signs of concussion yourself, seek medical attention right away.

Any athlete even suspected of suffering a concussion should be removed from the game or practice immediately. No athlete may return to activity after an apparent head injury or concussion, regardless of how mild it seems or how quickly symptoms clear, without medical clearance. Close observation of the athlete should continue for several hours.  An accident report must be filed with the Director of Coaching immediately following the activity.

A youth athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in a practice or game shall be removed from competition at that time and may not return to play until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed heath care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussion and received written clearance to return to play from that health care provider.  A copy of such clearance must be sent to the Director of Coaching and the Head Coach.

13 Smoking and alcohol

PRFC is strictly a no smoking and no alcohol organization.  To this end, adults are required to refrain from smoking or drinking alcohol at any practices, games or tryouts.  If an adult is suspected of smoking or drinking alcohol at a PRFC event, the witness must contact President and Managing Director.

14 Medication

PRFC has a clear policy regarding the administration of medication.  PRFC volunteers are prohibited from administering any medication to participants.  Unless stated otherwise by the State/Local Board of Health, for medication to be taken by the participant during a program the following must be adhered to:

  • Participants must be capable of administering their own medication.
  • Medicines must be clearly labeled and in original containers.
  • Only prescription medicine must be taken on program.
  • Parents must give prior notification to PRFC.

Where participants are unable to administer their own medication, parents may be asked to attend the program at the time the medicine needs administering (i.e. where a child needs an epipen for a nut allergy).  Where a parent/guardian is unable to attend to administer the medication, the player will not be able to participate.

Parents must notify Director of Coaching and the Coach of any medication needs administered by the child or parent.  This includes regularly or occasionally and required or precautionary medication.

It is clearly the parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure their child administers medication responsibly.  PRFC does not accept any responsibility for administering medication.

15 First Aid

Unless required by law or state requirement, PRFC does not provide first aid equipment to coaches.   In the event of an accident requiring medical attention, the coach will call the emergency services and parent/guardian of the participant.

Consent is provided by all parents at registration to PRFC to seek necessary medical assistance.

16 Accident Reporting

Naturally, there is apparent and real risk of injury participating in a contact sport such as soccer.  When injuries occur, it is vitally important for parents to understand the cause of injury, so they can seek necessary treatment for their child. 

The following procedure is implemented for all accidents occurring during a PRFC sponsored event:

  • All general accidents require the Coach or other adult witness to complete a ARSC Accident Report (attached to this page). 
  • Where possible Accident Reports should be signed by a parent/guardian and then submitted to Managing Director
  • In the case of a serious accident, the parent/guardian if present will be responsible to seek medical attention.  If the parent is not present, the parent/guardian will be contacted immediately, and an ambulance called.
  • Parent/guardian’s accept responsibility for ambulances summed in their absence. 

17 Food and Drink

Regular drink breaks should be scheduled during practice sessions and games.  The duration and frequency of breaks will be decided by the coach and correlated to the weather conditions. 

Food must not be consumed during practices or games unless authorized by the coach.

PRFC does not provide participants with any food or drink.  Parents/guardians should provide sufficient drink for the entire session.  We do not allow participants to visit vending machines. 

Parents must provide players with sufficient drinks to provide re-hydration during activity.  Energy drinks during exercise should be avoided - water is the best drink.   Players are not permitted to share drinks so to avoid transporting germs from one child to the next.

18 EXTREME HEAT CONDITIONS

Under extreme outdoor conditions practices and games may be postponed due to concerns about player health and safety.  

  • If a parent believes the conditions are unsuitable for their child’s participation, they should let the coach know and not attend.  Do not put this responsibility on the coach or the club.
  • We use the Arizona Department of Health Heat Advisory  to determine if it is safe for practices to be held.  https://www.azdhs.gov/

During spells of warm weather, parents/guardians are asked to follow these precautions:

  • Ensure participants wear adequate sun protection (select the correct factor).  Participants should supply and apply their own cream.
  • Ensure participants have enough to drink for the whole session, preferably water.
  • Participants should wear suitable sun hats.

If a coach must postpone a practice session due to extreme temperature, he/she should notify the parents immediately.

19 Severe Weather (Lightening and other extreme conditions)

When the weather forecast predicts electrical storms, the coaches are responsible for monitoring local forecasts/warnings and actively look for the signs of threatening weather. Coaches should obtain a weather report each day before practice or an event and should be aware of the National Weather Service issued thunderstorm “watches” and “warnings”, as well as the signs of thunderstorms developing nearby. 

Lightning is a severe hazard that must be viewed seriously. Everyone should immediately seek shelter any time they believe Lightning threatens.  A safe location is any substantial, frequently inhabited building.  The building should have four solid walls (not a dugout), electrical and telephone wiring, as well as plumbing, all of which aid in grounding a structure i.e. stadium locker room. 

The secondary choice for a safer location from the lightning hazard is a fully enclosed vehicle with a metal roof and the windows completely closed.  It is important to not touch any part of the metal framework of the vehicle while inside it during ongoing thunderstorms.  It is not safe to shower, bathe, or talk on landline phones while inside of a safe shelter during thunderstorms.  Avoid being the highest point in an open field, in contact with, or proximity to the highest point, as well as being on the open water.  Do not take shelter under or near trees, flagpoles, metal fences or light poles.  Should you be caught in a Lightning storm, assume the lightning safe position (crouch on the ground, weight on the balls of the feet, feet together, head lowered, and ears covered) for individuals who feel their hair stand on end, skin tingle, or hear “crackling” noises.  Do not lie flat on the ground. 

  • Coaches must postpone or suspend activity if a thunderstorm appears imminent before or during a practice or game, (irrespective of whether lightning is seen or thunder is heard) until the hazard has passed.  Signs of imminent thunderstorm activity are darkening clouds, high winds, and thunder or lightning activity.
  • Once activities have been suspended, wait at least 30 minutes following the last sound of thunder or lightning flash prior to resuming an activity or returning outdoors.  
  • All individuals have the right to leave in order to seek a safe structure if the person feels in danger of impending lightning activity, without fear of repercussions or penalty from anyone.

20 Cold/Wet Weather

Soccer is played in almost all weather conditions including cold and wet.  Parents should assume practice/game sessions are continuing as scheduled unless otherwise notified.  If the weather conditions have made the fields unsafe for the participants, the coach or PRFC will notify the parents via the website and/or email.  On occasion, the fields may also be closed by the town to prevent field damage.

  • Where it is deemed to be particularly cold or wet, a Coach or PRFC official may decide to cancel/suspend the activity.   
  • If a parent believes the conditions are unsuitable for their child’s participation, they should let the coach know and not attend.  Do not put this responsibility on the coach.