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National Center for Sports Safety teams with Florida to educate state high school coaches
Author: NCSS Information Team
Birmingham, AL & Gainesville, FL — The National Center for Sports Safety (NCSS) and the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) have finalized a partnership to educate Florida’s high school and middle school coaches in the area of sports safety.
The FHSAA Board of Directors have approved an initiative to train coaches through the NCSS PREPARE program.
In 2009, the Florida Legislature passed HB1539 relating to certification of public school athletic coaches. It states that completion of a sports safety course shall meet certain in-service certification requirements; requiring the sports safety course to be approved by the FHSAA Board of Directors and to meet specified requirements.
"We truly believe in PREPARE's ability to reduce the number and severity of injuries to children who play sports, and we are excited that Florida sees the value in this kind of training and is being proactive to fight sports related fatalities and injuries," said NCSS Executive Director, Pat Lynch.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association & Georgia High School Association already require high school coaches to take the PREPARE course. The Mississippi High School Activities Association recommends the course to their high school coaches.
"The Florida High School Athletic Association is pleased to partner with the National Center for Sports Safety in bringing this comprehensive sports safety program to our state," says Dr. Roger Dearing, FHSAA Executive Director. "Due to the insight of the Florida Legislature, the newly adopted statute enables the FHSAA Board of Directors’ to realize one of its major goals, which calls for providing the most advanced safety instruction to Florida’s coaches. The PREPARE Program will definitely make that possible."
Dr. Lawrence Lemak, NCSS founder, said his vision for the organization is not only to offer a resource for education but also to show coaches and parents the grave importance of sports safety training for parents, coaches and athletes.
"There is not one parent that would drop their child off at a local community pool if there was not a certified lifeguard on duty. That same standard of care should be observed on the playing field," Dr. Lemak said.
FHSAA contact: Dr. Roger Dearing, Executive Director, 800-461-7895
NCSS contact: Kathryn Gwaltney, Associate Executive Director, 866-508-NCSS
About
The National Center for Sports Safety, a non-profit organization formed in 2001, was founded by Dr. Lawrence Lemak to promote the importance of injury prevention and safety on all levels of youth sports through education and research. PREPARE is a sports safety course that was developed in 2004, in conjunction with the National Athletic Trainers Association, which educates coaches and volunteers how to prevent common injuries, how to recognize symptoms of potentially dangerous conditions, and how to respond in emergency situations. Visit the NCSS at www.sportssafety.org
The Florida High School Athletic Association was founded in 1920 and is located in Gainesville, Florida. They are the official governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. The purpose of FHSAA is to promote, direct, supervise, and regulate interscholastic athletic programs in which high school students, whose members compete. FHSAA oversees 15 boys’ sports and 15 girls’ sports. Visit FHSAA at www.fhsaa.org
