Safety Issues

The Penn State scandal didn’t occur in youth sports.  Yet, it is one of the rare occasions that sex abuse by coaches, which is a major problem in youth sports, got the type of national publicity that allowed the problem to penetrate the public consciousness.  The big question is whether we as a sports society are up to the task of doing to more to prevent future abuse.

 

Flash mob violence is likely to happen at a high school sports contest somewhere, sometime.  That's the problem with flash mobs: where and when they occur is up to the flash mob itself. 

Following a near fatal injury, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced that it will require metal bats to meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution Test Performance Standard (BBCOR) and ban composite bats effective immediately.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is implementing a new concussion rule for the 2010-11 academic year which not only requires immediate removal of any athlete suspected of having suffered a concussion but bans his return until cleared to play by an appropriate health-care professional. This rule also covers youth leagues that play under high school rules or modified high school rules, but does not apply in those states where even stricter concussion laws have been recently passed.

It’s the biggest fear of anybody who runs an urban athletic program, and it just happened in Chicago. A group of gang-bangers with no affiliation with your school or program decide to bring their foolishness into your gym.