Is your child planning to play a sport in school for the next academic year? Is your child THINKING about playing a sport next year? If so, we recommend you do two things as the current school year winds to an end:
- Schedule your child’s annual well visit as soon as possible to get it in before tryouts and/or practices start for the sport(s) he/she will be playing.
- Tell the nursing staff and the doctor that your child will (or may) need a sports clearance, either in the summer, or later in the year. This will assure we ask the appropriate questions and add the appropriate parts of the physical exam to clear your student athlete.
Remember that a clearance for sports is good for a full 12 months. So if your child has a well visit this summer, he/she can be cleared for the entire school year. An injury could require a re-clearance post-injury, but in the absence of that, a well visit will count as a sports physical, and be valid for the entire 12 months.