Parents have plenty to be concerned about when their children start playing organized sports. But youth advocates point out parents also have the right and obligation to get as much information they can on a league or team when they sign their kids up to play.
Parents should never assume that all leagues, teams, sports and coaches are the same in terms of how they deal with safety. Here are some questions they can ask those who run the league or team before they enroll their child:
Are screening and background checks done on the coaches?
What, if any, training are coaches required to complete?
Will there be someone present at practices and games trained in first aid and CPR?
What is the protocol in the event of an emergency?
How are injured players evaluated?
Is there a policy on when injured players are allowed to play again?
Does the league have insurance?
How old is the protective equipment and what condition is it in?
Parents can also learn a lot about the leagues and teams their children are joining just by playing close attention at practices and games.
“Take a look around and see what the equipment looks like, see what the facility looks like, what the field looks like. Is it clean? Is it maintained?” said Dr. Michael F. Bergeron, executive director of the National youth Sports Health & Safety Institute. “Encourage your kid if they see a problem to tell you about it.”
Parents should observe the overall atmosphere at games and note the behavior of people on and off the field.
“If there are coaches or spectators berating officials or acting inappropriately, that’s probably an indication that the program doesn’t hold the adults accountable for their actions,” said John Engh, chief operating officer of the National Alliance for Youth Sports.
After games and practices, parents should remain on the lookout for signs of injuries, particularly concussions. They should be vigilante even if their child didn’t show any signs while playing, because “kids often tend to try to hide that they may be experiencing symptoms so they can continue playing in the game,” Engh said.
Parents also need to watch for signs of bullying, Engh said, and alert the coach anytime they see bullying behavior taking place.
Regardless of how safe they are at games and practices, children can still be very susceptible to what are known as overuse injuries. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school athletes.
Overuse injuries are the result of repetitive use, stress or trauma to the soft tissues of the body. Injuries to muscles, cartilage and joints and stress fractures have become more prevalent because children are starting high-intensity competition at younger ages and concentrating on one sport, playing it all four seasons and often playing in multiple leagues at one time.
Parents too often think specialization increases the likelihood of their child obtaining a college scholarship or even playing professionally. But many of the best athletes have well-rounded athletic experiences during childhood, Bergeron said.
“Development takes time,” he said, “and if you overload or specialize too early, especially when you do that before and during the rapid-growth period, kids are very vulnerable to these kinds of injuries because their muscular-skeletal system is so immature and is still growing. They’re not really able to handle a huge amount of repetitive physical stress.”
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