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What happens if you choose to ignore liability considerations
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Recently, a local friend of mine contacted me for an interview while taking a coaching class. Her assignment was to interview someone in the field on the topic of responsibility. She was instructed to ask two questions, so I thought it would be a very easy interview. She then listed her questions, which I knew would be a longer topic than I had originally thought.
I can understand why she chose me as I recently retired from the industry and have 28 years of experience to draw on at the high school, club and collegiate level.
Her first question was “What experience do you have with liability issues?” Her second question was “What are your concerns about liability prevention?”
Funny how my brain first came up with an interesting answer that litigious parents were the most pressing issue. But then I started to take a serious look at all things that involve responsibility in this field and thought it would be best to write these topics down for anyone thinking of a career in coaching.
Get Athletes Licensed to Play
The first step in coaching is knowing who you are going to coach, which involves team selection. To qualify for rosters, high schools and colleges require athletes to pass a medical exam and often have certain immunizations before being admitted to a gym or playing field.
At the facility where I retire, we also require a general medical questionnaire and require athletes to undergo a concussion test to tell the athletic trainers what normal brain activity looks like for each athlete. As a coach, I can get this information and ask my athletes to inform me of any medical conditions that need attention before we start practicing. The athlete who told me she randomly passed out from time to time definitely caught my eye.
Hire/train necessary support staff
During most seasons, I prefer to have about four coaches and volunteers in the gym for about 16 athletes. It almost convinced me that I could coach without training. It also allows us to work on two networks, as paid assistants are always able to oversee one of the two pitches.
It is imperative that your staff be trained on your teaching tips and the drills you plan to use and their role in those drills to ensure a safe and productive environment for athletes.
For me, paid assistants are usually ex-players who have been in the program and come back to earn their masters. So the training of the clubs and drills is done because they have experience from the previous four seasons. If you hire outside help or get new volunteers, this will take extra time to complete, but is necessary due to accountability.
Communicate with trained professionals
Every practice trainer should have a long conversation with their athletic trainer before stepping foot in the gym or field to find out what kind of coverage they’ll be getting from the athletic training staff. How many people are on duty during practice? Where are they located? Do they move around during practice to visit different practices? What is their mobile phone number?
With this basic information in hand, the coach needs to understand what level of injury is equivalent to calling an ambulance immediately versus the coach sending someone or calling the coach. For example, a severe cut where unconsciousness or severe blood loss is an automatic ambulance call for me as a coach. I also keep crushable ice packs in our cart pockets for minor finger or ankle injuries that are common in our sport. Suppressing the inflammation caused by these injuries is the key to diagnosis and faster recovery.
CPR and AED Training
Train as a first responder
Most instructors require some basic training in how to handle emergencies involving the use of CPR and AEDs through college courses, as well as biennial certification. During my coaching career, I also needed basic first aid many times.
When it comes to treating minor injuries and preventive dressings, I have a policy of following the advice of field trainers as they have more expertise in these areas. This is another way to deflect some of the blame by having those trained in the field handle the athletes. A lot of times, I see coaches tying ankles and doing therapy before games, and I just think that’s more of a responsibility.
Precaution
equipment
Every season, any rookie on my team who plays at the net gets a set of ankle braces because the most common injury in our sport is when a player, usually a blocker, lands in the opponent’s feet and rolled her ankles. This injury typically keeps the athlete out for four to six weeks.
In my first three years at my last school, I had three season-ending ankle injuries, and then they increased my team’s funding to allow me to provide these braces, usually just straps. In my last seven years, I had zero season-ending injuries due to ankle injuries.
Most players wear knee pads, some wear small gloves to prevent burns when diving to their hands, and some liberos (professional defenders) start wearing soft knee pads after multiple head hits on wooden floors. Pad helmet. a ball.
Workout/Strengthening Routine
One of the areas I always make sure to focus on is quad and hamstring strength during the summer and season. Our offense is designed around some movement by our middle hitters, who will often jump off one leg in a maneuver called a backslip. Landings also sometimes have some lateral aspects, which can put stress on the knees, especially in women.
Another factor is that exercise programs need to prepare athletes for multiple sessions on multiple days per day. Some coaches will call for three sessions per day, but I always only use two. Untrained athletes are much more likely to be injured during this phase of training, so without proper planning to prepare them for these rigors, that could lead to liability.
Better to teach landing than just hitting
experience, experience, experience
technology
Before considering becoming a trainer, make sure you have the proper knowledge base to teach the sport. Can you teach the proper technique to avoid injury?
I have many stories of coaches teaching diving, or worse, having athletes participate in diving drills without any training, and the athlete with his head down either cracks his jaw on the floor or gnaws out a tooth .
When coaches teach athletes how to play volleyball, many are good at teaching basic footwork, but ignore the fact that landing on one leg can greatly increase the chances of knee injuries, especially among women.
With regard to blocking, teaching incorrect hand and finger positions is sure to result in injuries that keep athletes out for weeks or longer.
Offensive and defensive system
In addition to general skills, coaches need to understand team skills to prevent injuries. In volleyball, we ask 6 players to play in a 29’6″ wide area without colliding. Many times a ball will be passed directly between two, three or four different players. As a coach, have you devised rules for how to catch the ball without getting hurt? Have you taken the time to specifically practice those dangerous scenarios and instruct your athletes on how to play them safely?
If there were a situation where two players dived for the ball and went head-to-head, hopefully the lawyer would ask each of those two questions. Even with training, it’s happened to my team countless times over the years, including a very horrific incident where two athletes were going full speed before a major collision. Thankfully, both were able to walk away, but not before we thought both were seriously injured.
big crash on the field
new york post
planning is key
practice plan
Another strategy for avoiding liability is to have a plan—not just a plan in your head—but a well-written one. When I realized I was going to be a professional in the field, I noticed that all my mentors wrote out every practice plan. They also shared the plan with their squads before each practice so everyone knew what drills and skills were covered each day.
When I retired, I had a binder full of every training program from the past twenty-four seasons. I know, I said I’ve been coaching for twenty-eight years, so what about the first four seasons? Well, that trainer wrote down her thoughts about five minutes before practice, and there were very few details, so there was really nothing to hold.
In terms of planning, this is also the stage where you consider which drills to conduct, the safety issues in each drill, and the responsibilities of the staff in those drills.
I’ve seen a popular drill where one side smashes the ball directly over the other to practice the smash. The side shots are about 11 feet away, and sometimes the opposite position happens simultaneously, meaning two players are in the air, hitting each other from as close as 4 to 6 feet. If someone gets hurt, I think it’s a major lawsuit because it puts the player in an unsafe position.
Hydration and cooling breaks
In each of the last ten years of my coaching career, throughout the first month of the season, our gym was best described as stuffy because it didn’t have air conditioning. I schedule fans to come in and make sure there are multiple hydration breaks during practice. During a two-hour practice session, I take at least four breaks, sometimes more.
overuse
Finally, you need to consider the impact your training may have on overuse. In our game of volleyball, the dominant arm is often used to serve and hit the ball. Hitting and blocking drills can tire out the legs. So just doing certain types of training for two hours can lead to an increase in overuse injuries. Another factor could be that there isn’t an ideal amount in a position to give the athlete enough rest, or if there is an injury and you let one player down, the remaining players may be doing more reps than they are used to, which needs to be considered within consideration.
If an injury occurs and an athlete files a lawsuit, it would be huge to be able to review the written plan and show the progress you have used and the safety issues you have considered.
facilities and settings
At each practice, I always come thirty minutes before practice, pull out the necessary equipment and walk around the facility. I’m looking for any security issues that would affect the design of the exercises I built for that day.
I’m also there to oversee the setup and always make sure to check the net after the players have put it in to make sure it’s the correct height, the padding it needs is in place and there’s nothing unsafe in any other way.
If the facility or equipment results in injury to a player, it will be a significant liability. The attorney will conduct a site visit on this.
Last fall, a referee friend of mine showed me a video of the referee’s stand being taken out with a loose pin. He has a copy of the video that shows the referee’s table almost completely inoperative, and he falls from where the platform he was standing on disappears before falling to the ground. He was injured and pretty sure the school insurance would pay him some money.
Finally it’s practice time
So, for the question “What are your concerns about…”
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