Emergency Care
September 7, 2012
As stated in our last posting, preparticipation physical examinations are imperative; but their practical limitations will not permit every heart defect to be discovered prior to participation.
So if sudden cardiac arrest is not 100 percent preventable within the modest means of school sports, the following measures represent the standard that parents would expect – reasonable or not – for the children they put in the care of those administering school sports:
1. There should always be a staff person nearby who holds current certification in CPR.
2. There should always be an AED nearby and in working order, and a staff person nearby who has demonstrated proficiency in its use.
3. There should always be an emergency plan in place with which coaches and trainers are familiar because they not only were presented it, they also practiced it.
Time is of the essence when sudden cardiac arrest occurs; and these three measures combine to deliver competent care quickly.
Future Thinking
August 11, 2017
The prolific author Thomas Friedman has written more than once that those who don’t invest in the future tend not to do well there.
What might it mean to invest in the future of interscholastic athletics? What are the things we should be doing now that may not show immediate results, but are essential for securing a future for school-sponsored sports?
Two things, I believe, most of all ...
One is the emphasis on serving and supporting junior high/middle school programs. Getting to students and their parents at this stage and even earlier with the meaning of educational athletics. With a definition of success and demonstrations of sportsmanship that differ from other programs. With encouragement to sample different sports and to eschew year-round practice and competition in a single sport. Feeding the roots of high school sports with the nutrients of educational athletics.
The second is the education of coaches, the delivery system of most of these important messages about school sports. What the MHSAA does season after season with rules/risk management meetings and week after week with the Coaches Advancement Program, and what local school administrators do day after day to manage, mentor and motivate coaches. These efforts may not show quick returns, but they are essential investments in the future of school sports.
We cannot expect to do well in the future if we do not pay attention to our foundation – junior high/middle school programs – and to our infrastructure – coaches.