There are just a couple of days left until winter break and then students will be out of school until the next year. These two weeks will go by quickly and soon, everyone will be back to their hectic and busy daily schedules. Many sports start back up in the winter season after break. If your child will be entering into a new sport, you want to make sure they are prepared.

Get their sporting equipment early
Waiting until the last minute usually means you will pay full price. Also, if any of their needed sporting equipment items are backordered, you might have to wait many weeks for it to come in. In the meantime, your child will have to borrow other equipment or miss practice, putting them behind on their schedule. Find out where other parents are getting their sporting equipment from and place your order early.

Fill in dates on the calendar
Any parent with a child in a sport or school activity knows how busy it can be. You will find that your schedule will fill up very quickly. Your week will be filled with pickups and drop offs. Don?t forget about the practice dates and the games that you also have to attend. Most sports coaches give a full schedule before the practices ever start so that you can plan accordingly. Make sure you fill in all of the required dates, as it is easy to get overwhelmed.

Get your child?s physical early
Most school sports require that children get sports physical before ever starting. Sports physicals ensure that they are in good enough health and shape to participate in the sport. While sports physicals generally only take a couple of minutes, you usually have to schedule an appointment. If you unable to get into your primary physician?s office for many weeks, you may not be able to get the sports physicals in time. Fortunately, you can always go to a multicare or urgent care medical clinic for sports physicals. Many parents are not aware that sports physicals are offered in an urgent care center. Yet, there are currently 20,000 physicians who practice urgent care medicine today, including giving sports physicals.

Prepare for a medical emergency
Although school sports are generally safe, they do pose some risks. Your child will be participating in a sport, usually, one that is held outdoors. They can fall, twist an ankle, or even break a tooth. Most of the injuries associated with school sports are minimal but do require a medical consultation. Fortunately, 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week. Most school sports take place after school, which usually means that your primary care physician?s office is also closed. Take note of where the local urgent care centers are in your city.

Most urgent care centers also provide the same medical care that you would receive from your primary care physician. You can even get diagnostic imaging like you could from an emergency room center. The only difference is that you won?t have to wait hours and hours to be seen by a medical professional. Four out of five urgent care centers provide fracture care, which is the most common type of injury from school sports.

School sports can be advantageous for children. They get them exercising, increase their social skills, and keep them focused on school success. With many school sports starting over the next month, now is the time to get your child prepared. Make sure they have all of their needed sporting equipment, pencil in all of their required practices, get their school physical out of the way, and make sure you are prepared for any sporting medical emergencies. Local urgent care center medical models are helpful in obtaining a sports physical and in handling common everyday sporting injuries.