Thought some of you may find this story interesting. It is a video you can watch directly on the website:

 

High school football has never had a higher profile, with nationally televised games, corporate sponsorships, and minute-by-minute coverage on sports websites. In northwest Arkansas, FRONTLINE examines one ambitious high school team working its way towards national renown. With a superstar quarterback at the helm, tiny Shiloh Christian is striving to join the ranks of the country’s best high school teams—teams whose workout schedules, practices, and styles of play increasingly imitate the pros. But as high school players grow bigger, faster, and stronger, there are growing concerns about the health and safety of these young players, with rising rates of concussions and death from heat stroke.

 

 

Your link is bad but this is the show I referenced in #69.

It's always good to educate coaches. However, even within the guidelines athletes can have heat issues. That's why you need someone there whose sole job it is to watch for this and to treat it properly.

 

Again, I agree with you. Bottom line, schools should have an ATC at all football practices, particularly those where heat injuries are possible. Cost should not be the issue that prevents such from occurring.

It's always good to educate coaches. However, even within the guidelines athletes can have heat issues. That's why you need someone there whose sole job it is to watch for this and to treat it properly.

 

By the way, I wasn't talking about the KHSAA heat guidelines (when you can practice and when you can't); I was talking about mandatory training given to the coaches on how to handle heat injuries and other safety related issues. This has just been put in place during the last couple of years. It's a really good program put together by the KMA and is mandatory for all coaches.

Exactly. That's why I'm not so willing to dismiss a nurse's abilities as opposed to an athletic trainer's in this arena. This sounds like I'm dismissing athletic trainers' training and abilities, but that's not the case. Simply that I think memyselfandi is unfairly dismissing the level of education and training a nurse has to achieve as opposed to an athletic trainer in terms of diagnosis.

 

Not dismissing anything, I just know the differences between a nurse's education and an athletic trainer's education.

KY passed a bill today that said middle school and high school coaches have to be trained on how to identify and treat concussions.

 

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Lawmakers_to_consider_concussion_bill_138386504.html

 

Is this realistic? Let's say Junior gets what the old-timers call "his bell rung" on Friday night in the 4th quarter of a tight game. Are coaches going to stop coaching while they pull out their instruction manual to run tests they once learned about? Seems like that is far-fetched.

 

Its about time they passed this. We have been trained on this for the last 3-4 years and get retrained every year. Its amazing to me how many coaches lack the common sense clueness on this issue.

Your link is bad but this is the show I referenced in #69.

 

Sorry, you could probably copy/paste it into the browser.. Interesting film to say the least, wouldn't it be nice to have the team Euliss (sp?) Trinity had?!?

I will clarify a couple of things here regarding athletic trainers in NKY (and surrounding areas).

 

1. The top coverages in NKY are from NovaCare & St. E. In Cincinnati it is NovaCare, Beacon and Wellington (I think I am missing one here).

2. In NKY I think the only school who hired an ATC (Athletic Trainer Certified) within the school is Newport Central Catholic all the others are from either NovaCare or St. E.

3. I am not sure for all schools but I do know all schools who have football have a full time athletic trainer working football who is contracted out to the high school. This is Pendleton Co. 1st year to have an ATC and Bracken Co. does not have one as of yet.

4. Not all schools who have a FT ATC have a FT ATC during other sports (especially during the Spring).

5. The fee to contract from a company like NovaCare & St. E is minimal. They can range from $5,000 - $10,000 (average), depending on the size of the school, referral source and what they are covering (middle school, all sports or just a limited amount of sports). The company pays the ATC's salary and the salary comes from the referral source (kids/families going to physical therapy in their clinics).

6. From my knowledge there is not a shortage of ATCs.

7. In some states it is required to have an ATC for ALL sporting events, games, practices, conditioning. In these cases schools have 2 - 3 on staff and they are employed through the school system and are teachers as well.

 

An she is a good one. Teaches Health, PE, & Sports Medicine. If i'm not mistaken, her contract states the amount of games for each sport that she must attend.

An she is a good one. Teaches Health, PE, & Sports Medicine. If i'm not mistaken, her contract states the amount of games for each sport that she must attend.

 

She is married to the trainer at CCH.

By the way, I wasn't talking about the KHSAA heat guidelines (when you can practice and when you can't); I was talking about mandatory training given to the coaches on how to handle heat injuries and other safety related issues. This has just been put in place during the last couple of years. It's a really good program put together by the KMA and is mandatory for all coaches.

 

The training is very good. There is no excuse for not being able to react quickly in the event of a heat emergency. All coaches (heads and assistants) have been trained in how to respond in these situations.

She is married to the trainer at CCH.

 

Correct, I forgot to mention that, thanks for the assist Clyde.

Nice article on the Texas law passed this past Fall: http://www.ems1.com/pediatric-care/articles/1119190-Texas-football-coaches-required-to-have-concussion-oversight-team/

Nice article on the Texas law passed this past Fall: http://www.ems1.com/pediatric-care/articles/1119190-Texas-football-coaches-required-to-have-concussion-oversight-team/

 

A good read...thanks for sharing.

 

I do worry about how the small, rural schools will be able to meet the requirements or it football will cease at those schools.

Nice article on the Texas law passed this past Fall: http://www.ems1.com/pediatric-care/articles/1119190-Texas-football-coaches-required-to-have-concussion-oversight-team/

 

The right approach.

A good read...thanks for sharing.

 

I do worry about how the small, rural schools will be able to meet the requirements or it football will cease at those schools.

 

IMVHO and ATC is as necessary as a head coach. If a small rural school can't find an Athletic Trainer then maybe they shouldn't be playing football. I know that sounds heartless but if they are willing to cut corners where player safety is concerned where else are they willing to cut corners?

IMVHO and ATC is as necessary as a head coach. If a small rural school can't find an Athletic Trainer then maybe they shouldn't be playing football. I know that sounds heartless but if they are willing to cut corners where player safety is concerned where else are they willing to cut corners?

 

Willing to cut corners? You make it sound as if it is always a choice. In some areas, getting to the nearest hospitals takes an hour. Unless you have an ATC that lives in the community and commutes to work, its very possible that the school may not even be able to get access to one.

 

Guidelines are in place with the Kentucky Medical Association for protocol in determining and treating heat illnesses. That protocol is delivered to the coaches in the mandatory training. Most schools that I know of have an ambulance with paramedics on hand at games. While not a perfect situaion (that would be to have a team doctor on the sideline each day), it is not necessarily being haphazard with safety.