St.

Michaels University High School, a small private school in the Midwest, is attempting to
build the best quality sports program in the area. To that end, they would do well to address
three specific areas within the athletic department, specifically the soccer program, that pose
varying degrees of risk to the school and its student-athletes.
1. Provide a safe physical environment: The St. Michaels boys soccer program consists of a
Varsity, JV, 2 Middle School and one intramural team. The teams are required to rotate around
on various athletic fields as the soccer program shares field space with field hockey and football.
So, teams are playing in unfamiliar areas on a regular basis. There is one artificial turf field and
several natural grass fields that vary from fair to excellent in regard to playing conditions. The
artificial turf field has portable benches and tables that sometimes are positioned on the sidelines.
This is a hazard. Sometimes, there is no field allocation as there are too many teams and not
enough resources. Teams search out open grassy areas on campus to use as training grounds.
Sometimes teams train indoors in the gyms due to inclement weather. One of the gyms roof
leaks onto the court. Players are not always prepared with sneakers or indoor soccer shoes.
Mitigation: Hammermeister (2010) reminds us that organizations that provide safe facilities are
ones that optimize opportunities for learning and growth by maximizing the health and safety of
the student-athletes and the staff.
Establish a facilities safety checklist for outdoor fields and indoor gyms. Have the soccer
coaches be responsible for completing the checklist (dating/initialing it) every training
session. Additionally, have the building and grounds team inspect the facilities in
question once per week.
Designate an open patch of grass on campus as the auxiliary field to be used when the
traditional spaces are all being used. Have building and grounds mark out the area with
paint. Inspect the area using a safety checklist.
Confer with St. Michaels game day management team to ensure that benches and tables
are positioned a safe distance from the sideline on the artificial turf field. Add this to
their facilities safety checklist.
Prohibit student-athletes from training if they do not have proper footgear for the surface
they are to train on.
Turn in a work order to have the roof leak repaired in the gym. Cordon off the section in
question in the gym when training in the gym until the roof is repaired.
2. Match athletes appropriately: The Varsity soccer team has players ranging from 9th 12th
grade. They differ in level of physical and mental maturity. The smallest player is 5-2 and 105
pounds. The largest is 6-2 and 200 pounds. Players vary in their level of experience.
Mitigation: Martens (2014) recommends that players are not placed in situations in which they
are at a disadvantage such that the likelihood of injury increases.

 Reduce player-coach ratios at training especially for younger, inexperienced studentathletes.

Be alert to particular activities that might require certain student-athlete pairings.
Inexperienced student-athletes should be given more practice repetitions than
experienced student-athletes.
Student-athletes should be generally paired by size and weight.
Specific supervision would address things like teaching a logical progression of skill
development that would precede physically demanding activities.
Coaches must be fully accredited through the National Federation of High School
Coaches.
Coaches should use manufacturer guidelines for fitting and maintaining protective gear.
Act quickly and decisively to correct actions that could lead to injury.
Be sensitive to student-athletes dignity preempt embarrassing situations in training.

3. Supervise the activity closely: The boys JV soccer team provides an egregious example of
poor coach supervision. The boys congregate in the locker room after school to change from
their school uniform into their soccer kit. The locker room is unsupervised during this time. The
boys have approximately 30 minutes to change and be prepared for training on the soccer field.
The first boys arrive on the field some 15 minutes prior to the official start of training. The JV
soccer practice field is unsupervised at this time. The boys train for 1 /12 hours. The coach
departs immediately after training. The boys filter back to the locker room to change and
organize themselves. They are not supervised during on the walk back or in the locker room.
The boys then wait for rides at the athletic car circle on outside benches. They are not supervised
during this time period. The JV soccer teams failure to supervise and plan is a commonality
shared among many sports teams at St. Michaels University High School.
Mitigation: The NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, Guideline 1A, Sports Medicine
Administration, cites planning and supervision as a critical component to a sound health and
safety program. The NCAA Handbook states that safety in intercollegiate athletics can be
attained only by appropriate planning for and supervision of practice, competition and travel.
Post regulations for good order, decorum and safety in and around the school.

 Require all coaches to have a walkie-talkie with them at all training sessions. This
would enable instant communication with athletic trainers and school security.
Each sports team must provide qualified supervision for teams that are practicing and
competing. This is a head coach responsibility. Upper classmen, teacher assistants and
maintenance staff are not considered qualified supervision.
A member of the coaching staff must be present when student-athletes are in the locker
room before and after training and competition. A member of the coaching staff must be
on-site providing supervision after training and competition until the student-athlete
leaves the campus. The locker room supervision assignment will be rotated among all
sports teams coaching staffs in season so as to alleviate double coverage in the locker
room.
Do not put coaches in isolated circumstances or in situations that are beyond their ability
to supervise.

References

Hammermeister, J.J. (2010). Cornerstones of coaching: The building blocks of success for sport
coaches and teams. Traverse City, MI: Cooper Publishing Group, LLC.
Johnson, J., Haskvitz, E. & Brehm, B. (2009). Applied sports medicine for coaches. Baltimore,
MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Martens, R. (2014, September 5). Successful Coaching. Retrieved from blackboard.ohio.edu:
https://blackboard.ohio.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/COED_6150_1002_LEC_FALL_201415/Successful_Coaching_Managing_Risk_Ch20%281%29.pdf
NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook (24th ed.), 2013-14, Retrieved from
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2013-14%20Sports%20Medicine
%20Handbook.pdf