:: SportsSafety.org/Press Corner/
Renowned Sports Doc Works To Lessen Injuries
Author: Stanley Robinson, Birmingham Park and Recreation
BIRMINGHAM, Al - Last summer, Jack Wood, National Center for Sports Safety (NCSS) outreach coordinator and Kathryn Gwaltney, NCSS assistant executive director and director of operations, presented commissioners of the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board with a framed certificate to recognize its support of the NCSS, a non-profit organization founded to promote the importance of injury prevention and safety on all levels of youth sports through education and research. The NCSS program provides youth program coaches and volunteers with the most current medical and sports safety information available on injury prevention, sports safety and emergency response.
Several thousand youths will participate in sports programs throughout the year in area parks and recreation facilities, learning team play and sportsmanship. However, a number of these young athletes will suffer injuries that may taint their enjoyment of the experience of organized athletics. While occasional injuries are an accepted possibility in the world of athletics, the severity of theses injuries may be lessened or avoided if coaches and responsible volunteers are fully prepared to deal with the situation.
"There is not one parent that would drop their child off at the local community pool if there were not a certified lifeguard on duty. That same standard of care should be available at every sports facility in this country," says Lawrence J. Lemak, M.D., founder of the National Center for Sports Safety.
A total of 36 City of Birmingham recreation employees participated in a recent NCSS training class at the Hawkins Recreation Center. A grant received through Alabama State University allowed for the course to be offered at no cost. These employees are confident that they now have the knowledge to effectively construct a safer environment in which to coach youth sports.
"The success of our programs is not measured by numbers in the win column," said Melvin Miller, director of Birmingham Park and Recreation. "Our goal is to develop facilities that are safe havens for youth. The NCSS program is the best that I know of in helping us to bring that goal to fruition."
The sports safety course covers seven key areas: emergency planning, heat and cold illness, emergency recognition, medical considerations, principles of first aid, head, neck and facial injuries, and warm-up and cool-down. Upon completion of the course, each participant receives a certificate of completion, a sports safety patch and his/her name will be added to the NCSS' National Registry of Coaches, available at www.sportssafety.org.
"We appreciate the City of Birmingham's help in making the NCSS/ASU partnership a success, and for taking the initiative to keep the child athletes of Birmingham safe," said Kathryn Gwaltney, Assistant Executive Director of the NCSS. "From February to May, we have had over 250 coaches from Alabama take the online course and 150 take the hands-on class."
For More information on the National Center for Sports Safety, please visit www.sportssafety.org or call 866-508-NCSS (6277).
