There is lots to be mindful of with regard to health and safety considerations in planning a training session. Health and safety considerations can be linked with sports policy and the sports environment as well as environmental considerations from Sports Medicine.
As one of the elements to be considered when planning a training session, health and safety is the most important consideration. The training session needs to suit the athlete being trained. This means, if it is a child with low levels of fitness, then the training session should match their fitness and skill levels. This also applies for the adult, training should be done at a level that extends the athlete and develops them for the sport, but not set at a level that could be harmful to them.
Other safety aspect include, having an adequate warm up before each session and ensuring that all equipment is available and in working order. This includes, bats, pads, balls, posts, and fields/courts. It is important that the field or court is examined prior to training to ensure it is safe. Pot holes, uneven surfaces, water, rocks etc all should be dealt with before training. An appropriate venue should be chosen that caters for the specific training session.
Health and safety considerations also includes the athlete’s state of health, and whether they are ready for training. This can be both mental and physical health. If an athlete is sick, suffering an injury, or is not in the right state of mind for training, then they should not train because it places their health at risk.
Other health and safety considerations include:
- protective equipment
- clothing
- safety gear (sunscreen, water etc)
- first aid kit
- climactic conditions etc