Safety Coach
Making the position part of the youth-sports lineup
By John Engh
My memories of being a volunteer coach of my kids’ teams rarely involve anything to do with the sport I was coaching. Sure, I remember some of the conversations with players after a particularly fun game, certain kids making great plays, and those times when one of my lesser-skilled players rose to the occasion and did something in a game that he had struggled with throughout the season. But the most vivid memories stem from situations involving fear.
NAYS
One of the scariest was related to the weather. I live in South Florida where—like a lot of places—weather can be unpredictable. and a brief rain shower can turn into a violent storm quickly. One time, on a typical Saturday afternoon, multiple soccer games were happening simultaneously on fields ranging from the 3- and 4-year-olds games on mini-fields to a couple of high school-aged kids’ games on full-sized fields. So, there were hundreds of players, spectators, and volunteers. Then, a storm began to build. It was not one of those you see coming from miles away, but a cloud that just grows bigger and darker.
It had seemed like a nice day, and we coaches were focused on the game. Then a parent yelled that rain was coming, and we should all be careful. She wanted the game to stop right away. One of the assistants told her it was the official’s call to stop play, not the coaches’. About two minutes later a bright flash appeared, and the crack and boom of thunder immediately followed. Everyone scrambled to grab their children and head to the cars. Luckily, the strike was about a mile away, but it had started a fire along one of the main roadways to the park. No one was injured, but it’s something I’ll never forget.
Time For A New Role
The three busiest people during games are likely to be coaches, officials, and supervisors. And that’s on game day. Let’s not forget practices, usually held in less-organized circumstances.
That is why there should be another role mandated for every youth-sports team—a team safety coach.
Monitoring the weather is just one task he or she could handle. Knowing basic first aid and the signs of heat illness, as well as being familiar with sudden cardiac arrest and identifying concussions, are some of the issues that have been identified as risks in youth sports. The busiest people on a field should not be expected to be on top of all these issues and also focus on the actual game.
Therefore, having a team safety coach makes sense. The National Alliance for Youth Sports has compiled a group of trainings that suggest at least one individual should be responsible for making safety decisions. Most of these trainings are free.
Give this some thought. If a child is to return to play from a head injury, that decision should be made by a safety coach. If there is ever a need for an AED, a safety coach should know its location and how to use it. And yes, if dangerous weather is in the area, a safety coach should have the authority to postpone or cancel play.
John Engh is executive director of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached via email at jengh@nays.org. To join more than 3,000 communities by starting a NAYS Member Organization, visit www.nays.org, email nays@nays.org or call (800) 729-2057.