Educating Coaches in Sports Safety
Jason Roberts, NATS Staff WriterMarch 11, 2009
University of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks appeared before a state Senate committee on March 9th to tell legislators that "coaches should be better educated in sports safety," particularly in light of the death of Pleasure Ridge Park High School football player in summer of last year.
Explaining that he personally felt that player safety was "something that can be addressed before we start up in August," Brooks provided his endorsement to a training program for coaches conducted by the National Center for Sports Safety, which takes three to seven hours to complete, can be taken either online or in person, and costs just $36 per participant.
Brooks' appearance before the Kentucky legislative body came shortly following the Senate Education Committee's denial of a request for additional training for high school football coaches as forwarded by House Bill #383, sponsored by Rep. Joni Jenkins (D) of Shively. The panel instead amended the legislation to include a call for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association to assemble a working group to study the issue of player safety in the state's secondary educational institutions. Research obtained would be compiled and then presented to an interim education committee by October 2009 and taken into consideration in determining any future plans of action.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the Kentucky Medical Association -- which already conducts seminars on player safety on a bi-annual basis in conjunction with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association -- has already begun a review of KHSAA heat policies as a result of Pleasure Ridge High student Max Gilpin, who died three days after collapsing from heat stroke during practice when temperatures had already reached well-over 90 degrees.
Regardless, some senators remain concerned that the Education Committee's call for a study on the issue of player safety would do little more than "create a perception that Kentucky didn't act with enough urgency" in this particular matter.
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