SportsLetter

Certified athletic trainers for high schools

A pilot program to instruct student athletes to recognize "symptoms of potentially life-threatening injuries encompassing the head and neck, heat illness and sudden cardiac arrest" has just graduated its first class in San Diego County and it took a near catastrophic injury on a lacrosse field to make it happen.

In 2009 a lacrosse player at a San Diego high school was injured in a game and was attended to by the school's certified athletic trainer (CAT).  At the time only 35 percent of California high schools employed CATs.

From The Coast News:

[High school lacrosse player] Tommy told Riki Kirchhoff, the high school’s assistant athletic trainer, that he felt fine. Kirchhoff nevertheless insisted that he stay down. After a series of tests, Kirchhoff discovered that Tommy couldn’t feel the back of his head. She stabilized his head and neck, and with input from Dr. Eric Waldrip, a team parent and anesthesiologist who was in the stands, she contacted paramedics.

After arriving at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Tommy was diagnosed with a fracture of the first cervical vertebra, which links the skull to the spine. Doctors explained that had he stood up after the accident, he most likely would have died or become a quadriplegic.

“There are so many things on that day that went right that could’ve gone so wrong,” [Tommy's mother Beth] Mallon said. “All I kept thinking about was what does somebody do when they don’t have these resources? I felt like I couldn’t sit back and not try to change things.”

So the Mallons did something about it:

The Mallons turned their near tragedy into a mission by establishing AIA (Advocates for Injured Athletes), a nonprofit that seeks to ensure that every high school in California has CATs.

Funded with a $25,000 private donation through the Red Cross, they established ASA (Athletes Saving Athletes), a pilot program that provides instruction to 30 student athletes at 10 San Diego County high schools in recognizing symptoms of potentially life-threatening injuries encompassing the head and neck, heat illness and sudden cardiac arrest.

ASA ambassadors, in turn, teach fellow athletes what they’ve learned when they return to school. The class is taught by a CAT with a representative from the Red Cross who certifies participants in CPR and automated external defibrillator.

Explains Rikki Kirchhoff, who now serves on AIA’s Outreach Advisory Board:

“[Tommy’s] injury made me realize that these kids’ lives are in our hands,” she said. “I challenge parents to ask the administrators of their children’s school, ‘Who’s on the sideline taking care of my child?’”

First the World Cup and now this, Mr. Beckham?

Life as an icon on the pitch and as a pitchman will not prevent you from being kicked out of a kid's soccer game, as soccer idol David Beckham recently discovered.

The LA Galaxy star recently visited the set of BBC television host Jonathan Ross and according to the Mirror revealed:

... he was sent from the touchlines after turning up early to watch son Cruz in action in Los Angeles.

He said: “I was watching the kids play the other day, it was the younger kids of [son] Romeo’s club. They’re playing in the game and there was a penalty given.

"And the kids are seven years old and he sent the kid off. And I was like, ‘Come on, he’s seven-years-old, referee, you can’t send him off.’ And he looked at me and was like, ‘Yes, I can.’ And I was like, ‘Ok, well, you can’t, he’s seven years old.’

"And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For real. The gate was only 20 yards away and I waited and went back in when my son’s game was on.”

Coaches behaving very, very badly

A high school football coach in Salisbury, Maryland, is "under investigation by police for steroid possession and distribution, and sex offense accusations," according to Delmarvanow.com.

From Delmarvanow.com:

David Nettles, 44, was placed on administrative leave Nov. 28 immediately after the school board became aware of the allegations; however, according to board officials, no criminal charges had been filed as of late Wednesday.

"The school system is following appropriate legal and personnel procedures in the matter," said Tracy Sahler, a spokeswoman for Wicomico County public schools.

Nettles, who became head coach during the 2004-05 football season, has led the Indians to five state playoff appearances including two trips to the 2A East regional final.

Nettles is only the most recent Wicomico High School coach to have been accused of sex offenses.

Last January volleyball coach Steven Mark Kiggins was charged with sex abuse of a minor after a student alleged he had sex with her on school grounds.  According to reports he has been released from the Wicomico County Detention Center on $50,000 bond.

And in 2007,

Robert Alan Borello, 57, pleaded guilty to three counts of fourth-degree sex offense during a Wicomico County Circuit Court hearing in March 2007 after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old volleyball player. He was sentenced to 18 months in county jail and three months of probation.

Wicomico County is on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and, according to the county website, is one of "America's 100 Best Communities for Young People."

School vs Club rapidly becoming less of a choice

Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times reports that many high school athletes are forgoing playing sports for their schools in favor of joining clubs and travel teams they say give them the best chance of attracting college recruiters and coaches, a development Sondheimer has observed for some time, now.

From the Times:

With few exceptions, playing high school sports is no longer considered a vital pathway toward obtaining a college sports scholarship. College recruiters are relying more on club competitions, combines, camps and showcases to identify the majority of their recruited athletes.

Changes in NCAA recruiting rules, combined with the idea that the best and most efficient way to evaluate players is when they compete in all-star events, has made high school sports competition almost irrelevant for college recruiters in certain sports.

Golfers are scouted and recruited off their play in American Junior Golf Assn. tournaments. In tennis, the major events for boys and girls are in August when the USTA junior championships are held.

Football, basketball and baseball seem to be the exceptions, commented Sondheimer, but seemingly not for long: 

Football coaches can't visit schools to evaluate prospects during the summer. Basketball coaches can't watch players who aren't in high school-sanctioned events during the prep season. Baseball coaches can't watch players from early November through the last day in February.

But those sports are slowly tipping in the direction of the Olympic sports because of the increasing importance put on summer competition.

Player ejections in HS sports

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which oversees high school sports in the state, has seen an increase in the number of ejections in several sports, including a "disturbing" rise in boys soccer, reports the Tri-City Herald.

About boys soccer, the Herald reported:

The WIAA noticed a disturbing trend during several years in the number of ejections for violent conduct and abusive language. In spring 2009, there were 42 ejections for violent conduct and 47 for abusive language.

It was the result of an "imperfect storm," said John Miller, a WIAA assistant executive director.

"I think it had to do with a lot of different things," he said. "Soccer is becoming a much more physical sport, and because of its nature, there's a lot more retaliation."

In response, the Herald reported, the WIAA implemented the most severe suspension policy in WIAA-sanctioned sports:

Effective last spring, the WIAA executive board's boys soccer policy requires players who are ejected for violent conduct or abusive language to receive a three-game suspension.

The definition of violent conduct in boys soccer applies to acts on and off the field, regardless of whether the ball is in play.

Violent conduct also includes using "excessive force or brutality" against an opponent "when not challenging for the ball," as well as against a teammate, spectator, official or other person, according to the WIAA policy.

While the 2010-11 school year saw a 22 percent increase in player ejections in football, the changes implemented in boys soccer seemed to have had an impact.

From the Herald:

In boys soccer during the 2010-11 school year, there were 129 player ejections in Washington.

That was down 26 percent from 175 ejections the previous season.

And the totals for violent conduct and abusive language also fell.

"I think it's going to take a few years to turn that culture around, but I believe we're headed in the right direction," Miller said.

Professional golf is kid stuff

A fourteen-year-old New Zealand girl won the New South Wales Open by four strokes Sunday becoming "the youngest winner of a professional golf tour event," according to ESPN.

From ESPN:

[Lydia] Ko, the world's top amateur, broke Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa's mark of 15 years, 8 months, and Australian Amy Yang's women's record of 16 years, 192 days in the Australian Ladies Masters.

The South Korean-born New Zealander shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 14 under for the tournament, four strokes clear of Becky Morgan of Wales. Ko came close to winning the tournament last year, but missed a putt on the last hole to lose by a stroke.

...Ko, a Grade 11 student at North Harbour near Auckland, plans to play about 30 tournaments this year, including professional events over the next two weeks at the Australian Masters at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast and the LPGA's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

"I'll play in mostly amateur tournaments after that, and my schedule looks pretty busy for the next several months," Ko said.

CNN airs documentary on concussions in HS football

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, examines concussions in high school football in "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Big Hits, Broken Dreams," which premiers this Sunday, January 29, 2012.

From a Sports Illustrated interview with Dr. Gupta about the documentary:

SI.com: How widespread is the problem?

Gupta: In high school players, it's estimated that about one in 10 players have probably had a concussion. Forty percent of them went back to play in the same game, and sixty percent of players who got knocked out cold by their concussion also went back to play the same day. If you start doing the math, you're talking about tens of thousands of kids every year who are literally taking a gamble. And this time the risk is their brain. Kids who don't know better are willing to gamble their entire futures on a sport that they love.

SI.com: From your research, what did you find most telling?

Gupta: One of the things that I really wanted to ask in the documentary was, if you create a safer game of football, is it still football? And the answer is yes. It can still very much be football if you don't use a three-point stance but you use a two-point stance. If you move the kickoff line five yards farther ahead so you get fewer kick returns -- which are the most dangerous part of the game. The culture is starting to change and it's not taking away from the sport that we are so passionate about.

Mercy, running clocks and Texas HS football

The organization that oversees non-public high school sports in Texas has instituted a "mercy rule.  According to ESPN, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) will put into place in the 2012-2013 a rule for football and basketball that:

mandates that any game which reaches a 40-point difference after halftime, will be subject to a running clock for the remainder of the game. This includes plays that end out of bounds and play stoppages for fouls in both sports.

Having a running clock in a game that is "out of reach" is not that uncommon in high school football if both coaches agree.  The TAPP rule makes the running clock mandatory.

Naturally, not all coaches were in agreement over the rule.

From ESPN:

Current coaches in TAPPS were not notified or polled on the subject of a mercy rule before the legislation came to be law, which didn't sit well with some coaches, like Dallas Lutheran football coach John Bronkhorst ...

...To Bronkhorst, a 75-point, one-sided game isn’t over at halftime, leaving the last two quarters as a sort of formality. That second half is a lesson in adversity and a chance to gain game-speed practice for the remaining games in the season.

The instances Bronkhorst has been offered the “mercy” of a running clock in the second half, including the 75-0 loss, he has respectfully declined.

“The officials came to me at halftime and asked if I wanted to run the clock and I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ ” Bronkhorst said. “It’s not to be cruel to my team because it’s a teaching opportunity. It’s an opportunity for us to learn in life you’re not going to get bailed out. We need to learn how to overcome adversity, and I can tell you right now, we grew from that game.”

TAPPS director Burleson disagreed:

“Extra reps against someone who is getting hopelessly beat?” Burleson said. “We couldn’t find anyone in our group that comes from a wide spectrum and they weren’t all in agreeance with this rule. It shortens the time you’re in misery. Now the losing coach doesn’t have to beg for mercy and the winning coach doesn’t have to make that decision or else look like the bad guy. We have taken on the role of the bad guy.”

Section 130 of the TAPPS Constitution and Bylaws states the purposes of the athletic program for the participant schools are: (C) to regulate competition so that students, schools and their fans can secure the greatest educational, social, recreational and aesthetic benefits from the contests, (E) to preserve the game for the overall benefit of the contestant and not sacrifice the contestant to the game, and (F) to promote the spirit of good sportsmanship and fair play in all contests.

This week in youth sports embezzling news

The former treasurer of a youth sports organization in Roanoke, Virginia, pleaded no contest to one count of felony embezzlement, reports the Roanoke Times.  Bob Collis had stolen about $85,000 from the nonprofit Greater Southwest Athletic Association by writing checks to himself.  He repaid the full amount and, as a result, was charged with stealing "only" $8,000.  In a plea agreement Collis "received a three-year suspended prison sentence, was placed on probation for a year and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service."

Across the country, in San Marino, California, "San Marino High School football coach Mike Mooney pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft embezzlement Tuesday for stealing $20,000 from the funds from the school booster clubs," according to the Pasadena Star-News.  Mooney was sentenced to three years of probation and 20 days of community service.

And, just to show that stealing money from children is not a uniquely American pastime, the Vancouver Sun is reporting that the former treasurer and chairman of the Richmond Youth Soccer Association in British Columbia has been sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay full restitution for embezzling a staggering $204,407 over a five-year period from 1998-2003.

From the Sun:

Listing the mitigating factors, Judge Chen noted that [Debbie] Judd has otherwise lived a law-abiding life, and although she "obfuscated" when initially confronted, she quickly admitted her crimes, cooperated with the RCMP investigation and pleaded guilty at first opportunity.

The judge also noted that her crimes continue to haunt her and her family. As result of the adverse publicity, the entire Judd family has been shunned by the Richmond community, and by the soccer community at large. They moved to the Calgary area, where Judd's husband secured a job as a soccer coach, but when news of Judd's misdeeds followed them there, he lost his job.

Not even Courteney Cox will be welcome

The cougar will not be the mascot of a new high school in Draper, Utah, because school board members "expressed concerns over the appropriateness of using a mascot title that, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, can be used as a slang word for 'a middle-aged woman seeking a romantic relationship with a younger man.'"

Future students of the new school -- to be opened in 2013 -- had the opportunity to select the school's colors and mascot.  After the votes were tallied the navy, silver and white school colors chosen by students were kept, but the Canyons School District replaced Cougar with Charger.

From KFOR.com:

With 23 percent of the votes, future students had selected the Cougar as the school's mascot, but Canyons School District said that board members expressed concern over the use of Cougar because it's used as a derogatory term for some women.

They also said that the Cougar is also a mascot for three other Utah schools, plus Brigham Young University, whose school colors are also blue and white. Corner Canyon High School is the first in Utah to use the Charger as its mascot.

According to Fox Sports:

Instead the board members chose a war horse as the school mascot noting the alliteration of Corner Canyon Chargers. It was also an image of strength that could unify the community, the board noted.

There has been no comment, as yet, from the ASPCA or those with excessive credit card debt.