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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Safety First – Getting On The Same Page

by: Adam Griggs
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If you’ve spent time this off-season reviewing the latest safety rules and guidelines, working with medical professionals and athletic trainers to institute procedures for dealing with injuries, checking out the latest in innovative safety equipment and making plans to ensure proper hydration and heat stroke prevention in early season practices, then congratulations! You’ve taken the first steps to make player safety a priority for your program.

Now, looking ahead to next season, it’s imperative that you have a plan to inform all your key constituencies – players, parents and administrators – what you and your staff have done and will continue to do to make your team’s football experience as safe as possible. Having safety procedures in place is critical, but sharing your plans for safer football with the ones they affect the most will put you and your staff in a position of strength when dealing with safety-related issues, should any arise.

Gene Robinson, head coach at Marian High School (MA), takes a comprehensive approach to safety communication. “The responsibility of communicating safety issues to players, parents and the administration clearly falls on the head coach,” said Robinson. “We have a parents meeting in June at the end of the school year and discuss a variety of issues including safety, summer workouts, August camp and the fall schedule. Our athletic trainer is at the meeting so he’s available to answer any questions parents may have related to safety. We also have our helmet sales representative there to discuss the proper fitting of each player’s helmet.”

Chris Young is the new head coach at St. Mark’s, a private residential prep school outside of Boston. He has coached at both the high school and college levels and understands that communication between coaches, players and parents is more challenging when they are spread out geographically. “Because we have a small roster and the kids are from all over New England, it is difficult to have a formal conversation with a group of players or parents prior to the season,” he said. “So we have a lot of individual meetings. Communicating what we’re doing for safety is critical, so we find a way.”

According to Young, coaches on teams where the parents are not nearby take on added responsibility for player safety. “Before parents decide to enroll his son at our school and in our football program, the relationships with the head coach formed during this period must make them comfortable knowing that their son is in the hands of dedicated people with the student’s interests always a priority.” Parents will often discuss the dangers of playing the game, and Young does not shy away from them. But he wants to make sure the parents know they can call at any time, and that coaches will never hesitate to communicate to the parents what is going on with their son.

In the case of a player injury, Young takes the lead. “Regardless of the official protocol a school puts in place, between documenting the injury, talking to an athletic trainer, doctor, athletic director, it is vital that the head coach be the one to get a hold of the parents,” he said. “It lets them know that he is concerned with the player’s safety. They will imagine the worst. Any reaching out you do, they will be grateful and feel their child is in good hands when they don’t see him every night.”

Bentley University’s Assistant Coach Sean Walsh sees the same dynamics at this Division II college. “When parents drop off their child, you are responsible for their lives.” Bentley encourages parents to attend a pre-season meeting where various safety topics such as concussion baseline testing are discussed with the head athletic trainer. “Parents don’t just want to hear you say it is important – they want to see what exactly you are doing to keep their child safe,” said Walsh.

According to Walsh, if you are fortunate enough to have a full-time athletic trainer on your staff, take advantage of his expertise in safety. “We are lucky to have a trainer that is more like the 11th coach on staff. We trust in his abilities to monitor not just players but the coach’s efforts in maintaining a safe environment while balancing the need for contact and some long practices in extreme conditions,” Walsh said, “Our trainer doesn’t tell me how my receivers should run a slant, I know not to question him when our players are exhausted and need rest.”

Retired coach Brent Steuerwald spent 43 years as head coach at Shenendehowa High School in upstate New York. In addition to making sure players and parents are aware of safety policies and procedures, he knows that it’s also critical to keep the school administration aware of any new developments in football player safety. “It’s really important to be on the same page with your athletic director,” said Steuerwald. “Having the support of the school principal and the district superintendent are also important. In most cases, the AD controls the football budget which includes pads, helmets, game pants and jerseys. I would suggest meeting with the administrative staff a few times a year – before the season, directly after the season, and in the spring – to discuss safety and logistical issues.”

Regardless of what form your meetings or written correspondence takes, open communication with all groups regarding the safety of your players is imperative in this safety-conscious era. “We want to keep the lines of communication open and continue to educate players, parents, and the administration,” said Gene Robinson. “No one wants any surprises.”






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