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Where's The First Aid Kit?
Some Questions To Ask
Disturbing Statistics
What Experts Say
Should Youth Coaches Be Certified?
What Should Parents Do?

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The National Youth Sports Coaches Association, an umbrella organization under the National Alliance For Youth Sports, is one of only a handful of organizations in the country providing certification programs for coaches.

In 1984, DeKalb County, Georgia became the first area in the nation to require that every coach of a youth sport team be certified. Fred Engh, founder of the coaches' association, reports that, over a ten-year period, the State of Georgia certified nearly 150,000 coaches.

Requiring certification could reduce the number of injuries suffered in youth sports. A coach not trained, for example, in teaching the proper technique for heading a soccer ball exposes his players to head, shoulder, back and neck injuries. A certified softball coach will know to limit the number of pitches a player makes so she doesn't suffer an injury to her throwing arm through overuse.

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Since the majority of youth sports coaches are not required by their club or league to have any type of safety training, you should:

• Learn about the safety risks of the sport your child plays. You may have heard the ad slogan "An educated consumer is our best customer." It applies to sports programs as much as to buying clothes or furniture. Parents who are aware of the risks of the sport their child plays can do a lot to minimize its hazards.
  
  

• Lobby local youth sports groups to make training available and require that all coaches participate and complete the programs in order to coach.
  
  

• Insist that the training for all youth coaches cover three areas: sport-specific first aid, CPR, and skill development, with an emphasis on coaching safe playing techniques (such as the proper way to head a soccer ball).

Youth sports organizations that appoint coaches without ensuring that they have been properly trained are putting our children at unnecessary risk.

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A Safety Checklist For Parents
What's In A Well-Stocked First Aid Kit?
Player Safety: It's Not Always A Priority
Does Your State Require Training To Coach Interscholastic Sports?
Sports Safety Training
What Legal Duties Are Owed To Participants In Youth Sports Programs?

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