Fall sports (or at least practices for those sports) have already started or are about to begin. As such, it’s important that schools do whatever they can to keep students safe. One thing those schools might take into consideration is a series of guidelines featured in the new issue of the Journal of Athletic Training.
Basically, those guidelines stipulate some of the practices that sports overseers can enact in order to protect students from harm. One of the sports physiologists responsible for putting together the recommendations, for instance, points out the advisability of having a certified athletic trainer on hand for games and even practices. That way, emergencies can be seen to at once.
But physical trainers aren’t the only thing needed to ensure safety. The recommendations also point to the importance of Automatic External Defibrillators. The aforementioned sports physiologist notes that having the AED inside the school isn’t good enough. The machine has to be right next to the field and a physical trainer has to be ready to use it within 60 seconds of the athlete’s heart stopping.
Of course, it’s also important that athletes get an ample amount of rest and water. It’s usually still quite hot when practices begin at the end of the summer, and students shouldn’t be pushed past their breaking point this early. They should be able to drink plenty of water and have breaks between practices.