CHANGES MADE TO INCREASE SAFETY IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS.Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer Coming off an unusually tragic year in high school athletics, those who make the rules governing local prep sports are trying to make the games safer for football players. With the deaths last school year of five Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, prep athletes - two football players, two track performers and a baseball player - on their minds, officials of the Southern and City sections of the California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (abbreviated CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from others in that it covers most high schools in the state of and the National (football) Federation have been making changes aimed at reducing football injuries. ``(The tragedies) made us look at our policies and make sure we were doing the most that we could be doing,'' said City Section commissioner Barbara Fiege. ``We found that we really were doing a lot of what we should be doing.'' But the City Section also found room for improvement. The LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) has produced a half-hour television program for athletes and their parents highlighting key points of sports safety. The programs have been broadcast on the district television station, KLCS, and are available at district campuses on video cassette video cassette Noun a cassette containing video tape video cassette n → videocassette f video cassette n → . ``We wanted to increase parent awareness of what could happen, of what the risks are,'' Fiege said. District coaches are being strongly urged to attend seminars to receive training in recognition of and first-aid procedures for sports injuries Sports Injuries Definition Sports injuries result from acute trauma or repetitive stress associated with athletic activities. Sports injuries can affect bones or soft tissue (ligaments, muscles, tendons). , particularly head injuries. School administrators have been ordered to crack down on coaches whose training is not up to date. ``If their first-aid and CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Definition Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure to support and maintain breathing and circulation for a person who has stopped breathing (respiratory arrest) and/or whose heart has stopped (cardiac cards are not current on the first day of practice, they don't coach,'' Fiege said. The district has begun to examine an offer from Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. to provide coaches with sports-injury training. ``I don't have much information on that yet,'' Fiege said. A number of rules changes aimed at injury prevention have been handed down by the National Federation this year, Fiege said. The ball is to be whistled dead the moment a ball carrier loses his helmet. Penalties for roughing the snapper snapper, name for members of the Lutianidae, a family of spiny-finned food and game fishes found chiefly in tropical coastal waters. Snappers are carnivorous, active, and voracious, with large mouths and sharp teeth. Most species travel in dense schools. or roughing a passer have been stiffened. Plastic eye visors sometimes worn by linemen are required to be of a clear material that will allow medical personnel to clearly see an injured player's eyes. Southern Section officials sent out safety guidelines borrowed from the National Athletic Trainers' Association The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. to its member schools this fall. The schools are encouraged to make them available to coaches, players and their parents. The section put special emphasis on heat awareness this season, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. section commissioner Dean Crowley. ``We're stressing that kids need to be given breaks and that kids need to have water,'' Crowley said. Unchanged this season are the districts' policies requiring trained medical personnel on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. at football games. City Section policy says the presence of a doctor, emergency medical technician e·mer·gen·cy medical technician n. Abbr. EMT A person trained and certified to appraise and initiate the administration of emergency care for victims of trauma or acute illness before or during transportation of victims to a health care or a registered nurse meets the requirement. The Southern Section leaves the matter to its individual leagues, some of which require a doctor. Verdugo Hills High athletic director Don Scott employs nurses provided by an agency at Dons home games and said their knowledge and training have proven excellent. L.A. County EMTs are available at a firehouse near the school if needed, he said. A doctor's services would be nice but are hard to get and unnecessary, Scott said. ``No matter who is here - a doctor, an EMT See Efficient markets theory. or a nurse - if the injury is something serious, like a head injury or a neck, they're going to say, `Let's put a collar on him and get him to the hospital,' '' Scott said. ``I think they're going to make the same finding.'' Crowley said a doctor is required on the sidelines of Southern Section playoff football games. This year, those doctors will be required to visit the locker rooms after the game to check for injuries. ``We don't want (the doctors) going right home after the game,'' Crowley said. SAFETY FIRST Changes intended to make high school football safer this season. CITY SECTION Produced sports safety video Strict enforcement of policy that makes up-to-date first-aid and CPR training requisites for coaching. Strong encouragement of coaches to attend sports-injury seminars. SOUTHERN SECTION Campaign to increase awareness of the dangers associated with practicing in extreme heat. Distributed sport safety guidelines provided by national sports trainers organization. Will require sidelines physicians at playoff games to make postgame visits to locker rooms to check on players. NATIONAL FEDERATION Rule makes ball dead when ballcarrier loses helmet. Tougher penalties for roughing passer or center. Plastic helmet visors must be of clear material to allow medical personnel to see players' eyes. CAPTION(S): Box Box: SAFETY FIRST (see text) |
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