Photo Credit: NAYS
Staff members and volunteers in youth sports have to be prepared for everything. And I do mean everything.
I’ll never forget one particular football game when a young player was tackled and immediately grabbed his shoulder as he was writhing in pain. An assistant coach ran onto the field and immediately decided the player had a separated shoulder. But anytime a coach assumes the role of physician, it becomes a dangerous situation for the athlete. So, picture this: The coach put his fist under the boy’s armpit and pushed down to pop the socket back into place. But the boy actually had a fractured arm. The break was halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. According to the lawsuit that was later filed, by pushing down on the arm, the coach completely broke the player’s arm. He was rushed to the hospital and never played again.
Currently, injuries on the playing field are the most common type of emergency, but certainly not the only one that can put lives in jeopardy in a youth-sports setting.