New Safety Guidelines for Student Athletes

New Guidelines Aim to Save the Lives of Players

Every year, we hear about a young athlete dying during training or practice.  This is a nightmare that no parent or coach should ever have to endure and yet, we hear of it happening more and more.  In the last 12 years alone, 20 NCAA athletes have lost their lives prematurely.  As a result of this unfortunate trend, The National Athletic Trainers Association has established new guidelines aimed at reducing the risk to our young athletes.

It is particularly important that students with these three conditions be aware of and utilize these new guidelines since they are at the most risk for death during practice and conditioning activities:

* Sickle Cell Trait

*Heart Defects including Mitral Valve Prolapse

*Sedentary or Inactive Lifestyle

There are a total of 10 New Guidelines, some of which buck the status quo, but keep in mind that as important as winning is: Living to tell the tale trumps is by a mile.  Here are just a few of the new guidelines, click here for a complete list.

1. Start gradually and build up to an aggressive workout. The drills should be gradually increased over a number of days, as should the frequency and duration of the drills.

2. Let students rest between drills.  There should be 4x the recovery time for each drill.  1 minute drill= 4 minute recovery

3. Do not use exercise as a punishment.  (No more drop and give me 50).

4. Make sure there is sufficient medical supervision on site during practice.

For parents and students, make sure those in position are made aware of these new guidelines, emphasizing that the goal is to save lives and limit liability on the part of the institution- not to lessen the drive to win.

 

New Safety Guidelines for Student Athletes