Graduated Return to Play (GRTP)

Graduated Return to Play (GRTP) is the staged framework for bringing a player back from a suspected concussion safely. Clubhouse implements the Football Australia Community Sports Concussion Guidelines (April 2025) — an eight-step model with explicit per-step sign-offs and hard floors of 14 days from injury to full-contact training and 21 days to return to match (doubled for repeat concussions within 12 months).

The full workflow, start to finish, is walked through in Run a concussion through graduated return to play; clinical recognition sits in Concussion and Head Injury Assessment. This article is the day-to-day reference for how GRTP is planned, executed and tracked.

The minimum-day floors are calendar days from the date of the incident, not from when the player started Step 1. The 14-day symptom-free requirement for Step 7 is independent and additive — both must be satisfied before Step 7 unlocks.

Clubhouse plans the entire GRTP up-front against the squad's real training and fixture calendar. The physio opens the GRTP plan builder and picks a target session or fixture for each of the 8 steps:

• Steps 1–3 default to self-managed dates, before training.
• Steps 4–6 are typically training sessions from the schedule.
• Step 7 is a training session meeting the 14-day floor and the 14-day symptom-free requirement.
• Step 8 is a fixture meeting the 21-day floor (28 for repeat).

The plan saves as one atomic record. Coaches see a GRTP Step N chip against the player on the roster of the session a step is planned for.

The symptom-free clock starts when the physio taps Mark resolved on the GRTP indicator and picks the date the player became symptom-free (not before the incident, not in the future). Step 7 can't be approved until 14 calendar days have elapsed symptom-free.

If symptoms return, tap Symptoms returned to log a relapse. Clubhouse clears the symptoms-resolved date, restarts the 14-day clock, and notifies the family and treating physio. (A coach's symptom report only blocks the step; see below.) Symptom logs are physio-only; back-dating a relapse before the recorded resolved date is rejected by the database.

When a player has a confirmed second concussion within 365 days, Clubhouse auto-detects it at injury creation and flags the new record as repeat concussion within 12 months. The effect:

• Floors double: Step 7 becomes 21 days, Step 8 becomes 28 days.
• A red banner sits atop the GRTP indicator throughout so the medical team and family know the longer minimum applies.
• The plan builder validates against the doubled floors.

For players under 19, FA April 2025 requires a parallel cognitive return-to-learn track alongside the physical GRTP. Schoolwork load and screen time should progress in step with the physical staging. Clubhouse:

• Surfaces a sky-blue banner in the GRTP indicator when the player is under 19 (derived from date of birth).
• Shows a sky-blue banner to medical staff when DOB is missing so they can add it to the player record.
• Does not enforce the cognitive track itself — that's between the family, the player's school, and the treating practitioner.

For Steps 1–6, after the planned session has happened, the coach opens the training session detail and taps the player's GRTP Step N chip. The Coach Confirm modal asks one question: did the player complete the session symptom-free?

• Yes → the step flips to COMPLETED, the player auto-advances to the next step, and the family gets a "Step X confirmed" push naming the next step and its date when the plan has one.
• No, symptoms returned → the step is marked blocked, the coach can attach optional notes for the medical team, and the family and treating physio are told the physio will review. The symptom-free clock is not reset by the coach's flag — the physio logs the relapse from the GRTP indicator once they've assessed, and that is what resets it.

Either answer, a saved plan and a logged relapse all ask first, naming the parents and quoting the notification, with a counted button such as Confirm and notify 2 parents.

Medical staff can also confirm Steps 1–6 from the injury panel — a Confirm Step N button appears on the GRTP indicator for the current coach step. A planned step past its target date is flagged Awaiting confirmation in amber so it isn't missed.

Steps 7 and 8 are physio-only: a coach tapping those chips is told physio sign-off is required.

Steps 7 and 8 are physio-only and work differently:

• Step 7 (full-contact training) is a one-tap Approve Step 7 on the GRTP indicator. Requires the 14-day floor (21 for repeat) AND the 14-day symptom-free streak.
• Step 8 (return to match) is the final clearance, so it opens the resolve flow. The indicator shows Clear & return to match, which opens the Resolve injury form for the clearance date and clearing practitioner (required) plus the return dates. Saving completes Step 8 and resolves the injury in one action.

Resolving tells the family and the squad's coaches and S&C staff that the player is cleared. Before you confirm, the form shows you who that is and the exact wording they'll read, and the button names the head count — a sent notification can't be recalled. The toggle is on by default; turn it off and the clearance is still written to the injury's timeline, it just goes out silently. Either way the player is available again everywhere.

If a planned training session is cancelled or a fixture is abandoned, the bound GRTP target is marked BLOCKED by the hourly orphan-sweep, and the medical inbox shows a "Replan needed" banner so the physio can pick a new session/fixture for the affected steps. The sweep also pushes "Step 7/8 sign-off needed" to the treating physio when an approval-only target reaches its date and is still PLANNED.

For a concussion at Step 8, Clear & return to match is the resolve action — it opens the same gated Resolve injury form, which requires a medical clearance date AND a clearing practitioner name before it will save.

The return-to-match date is optional: entered inside the 21-day (or 28-day) floor it's rejected client- and server-side; left blank it inherits the return-to-training date. The optional FA RTP Declaration upload attaches the practitioner's declaration to the injury as a clearance letter. Once resolved, the GRTP indicator shows the full ladder as complete.

Soft-tissue and joint injuries don't follow the FA concussion GRTP — use the Status update flow with drill levels and max-speed caps. The 8-step protocol surfaces only on injuries flagged Suspected concussion.