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Dangerous Plays

February 26, 2013

The MHSAA’s fourth health and safety thrust for the next four years focuses on competition rules.  It intends to locate the most dangerous plays in each sport and to try to reduce their frequency.  For example:

  • We know that kickoff returns, punt returns and interception returns – plays in the open field with a change in direction – are the most dangerous football game situations.

  • We know that heading the ball in soccer is injurious, especially to younger athletes, and especially to females.

  •  We know that checking from behind is a cause of serious injury in ice hockey.

  • We wonder if protective headgear has a place in soccer, or if protective head and face protection has a future role in softball.

  • We know that ACL injuries in female basketball players and volleyball players is near epidemic and wonder if there is equipment or conditioning that can be mandated or recommended to save our players from what are serious and sometimes career-ending injuries.

We can make changes ourselves – through MHSAA sport committees – for the subvarsity level, but our committees can only make recommendations to national rules committees for varsity level play.  Over the next four years, we will be asking our sport committees to give more time to the most dangerous plays in their sport – identifying what they are and proposing how to reduce that danger.

A Triple Play for Coaches

May 28, 2013

The following resolution was adopted by the Delegate Assembly of the Michigan Association of School Boards last November:

“The Michigan Association of School Boards urges all local school boards to:

“(a) Employ qualified persons as coaches of interscholastic teams.

“(b) Provide in-service training for all coaches, including training in first aid, current CPR certification, proper athletic conditioning, recognition of athletic injuries, recognition of the use of performance enhancing drugs, and the proper way to deal with hazing within the athletic programs of a school.  Much of this training is available through MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program (CAP).

“(c) Require supervision and evaluation of coaches.

“(d) Make coaches aware of pertinent school policies, rules and regulations and require compliance.

“(e) Encourage coaches to follow the athletic code for coaches in the MHSAA Handbook and include information regarding NCAA eligibility guidelines and requirements.”

During the 2013-14 school year, the MHSAA Representative Council will vote on two proposals that are consistent with this resolution:

  • In December, the Council will consider this enhancement to coaches preparation:

By 2015-16, MHSAA member high schools will be required to certify by the designated deadlines that all of their varsity head coaches of high school have a valid (current) CPR certification.  Inclusion of AED training is a recommended part of the CPR certification process.

  • In March, the Council will consider this enhancement to coaches preparation:

By 2016-17, all individuals hired for the first time as a varsity head coach of a high school team, to begin those coaching duties on or after July 1, 2016, must have completed Level 1 or Level 2 of CAP.

These two measures join the following that the Council approved on May 5:

By 2014-15, high schools must attest prior to established deadlines that all assistant and subvarsity coaches at the high school level have completed annually the same MHSAA rules meeting required of all varsity head coaches or, in the alternative, one of the free online sports safety courses posted on or linked from MHSAA.com and designated to fulfill this requirement.