Mission: Improving Youth Sport Safety

Advocates for Injured Athletes is just one of many foundations that’s mission is to improve the sport safety experience for all young athletes.  Beth and A4IA got its start after Tommy survived a potentially fatal neck injury and concussion while other organizations get their start after a tragedy (Taylor Hooten Foundation, Matthew Gfeller Foundation, Eric Paredes Save a Life Foundation, Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation, Korey Stringer Institute among others).  In the end, no matter the specific mission of the foundation, or how it got its start, the end goal for all these groups (and the countless others not mentioned here) is to reduce the number of sport-related deaths in our youth.  Thinking about this mission and the recent story of Dayle Wood, along with the “saves” performed by ASA Ambassadors I am proud to have even a small role in educating coaches, parents and athletes alike in how to be better prepared to help young athletes in distress.  I would like to think that the combined efforts of everyone working toward this goal has in some way prevented many tragedies and saved families and communities from the heartache that can result. 

As I’ve read the paper over the last few months with fall sports seasons well under way I felt like I was still reading many more stories about young people who have left us way too soon and far fewer stories about individuals who had survived a potential tragedy.  My initial reaction is:  we still have much work to do.  There are parents, coaches and administrators to educate, athletic trainers to advocate for and continued efforts needed to maintain youth sport safety as a priority in our local communities.  This initial reaction is what keeps me going with A4IA and expanding its efforts, but I realized we may need to look a little closer to find the positive effects of the youth sports safety movement.

Further reflection caused me to realize that perhaps I’m reading more about tragedies and less about survivors because the opportunities for tragedy has decreased.  What if the work being done isn’t only preparing providers to act appropriately in an emergency, but what if the potential for a tragedy is being reduced (and ultimately eliminated)?  Perhaps the old saying, “an ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure” is really true.  The funny thing is, it is difficult to know how many emergencies were prevented since they never happened.   Despite this I would argue preventing an emergency from happening is always the better course as opposed to an emergency you are ill equipped to manage.  In the end, planning and preparation are your best keys to prevention.  What have you done today to prevent an emergency with your child?  Team?  School? League?  Are you prepared to prevent an emergency today?  I hope there comes a day where everyone can answer “yes” with confidence.

In order to gather my thoughts for this post I took about thirty minutes and did an Internet search for young athletes who suffered a potentially fatal injury while participating in fall sports (August –September 2013) and I found one survival story in Dayle Wood, but found these tragedies:

Milo Meeks, 18, basketball player

September 20, 2013

Collapsed in HS cafeteria following a run around the school track.  Had previously been cleared through an annual sports physical to compete on the basketball team.  Cause of death currently unknown, believed to be SCA.

Allison Trebesch, 13, swimmer/diver

September 19, 2013

Cause of death to be determined and other details were not released.  It is unclear whether her passing was sport-related at this time.

Damon Janes, 16, football

September 17, 2013

Lost consciousness on the sideline after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit during a football game.

Cameron Espinosa, 12, football

September 16, 2013

Had an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to fire ant bites during a game.

Ben Richards, college wrestling

September 14, 2013

Suffered exertional heat illness during wrestling practice, team training.

Antwon Whitehead, 15, basketball

September 7, 2013

Collapsed while playing pickup basketball in a local gym.  Family has history of “enlarged heart” (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and HCM was found to be cause of death.

Marissa Miller, 12, soccer

September 5, 2013

Collapsed during a soccer game and it was determined that she suffered SCA.

Gekobe Hunter, high school basketball

August 30, 2013

Had just starting playing a pickup basketball game when he collapsed, cause of death unknown, but believed to be SCA.

Tyler Lewellen, 16, football

August 27, 2013

Collapsed on the sideline after making a tackle.  The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined.

Deantre Turman, football

August 16, 2013

Fractured his neck during a football scrimmage.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families, teammates and communities who are still dealing with the loss of these young people and hope someday soon there will be far fewer of these tragedies to report in the local news.  I acknowledge that this list may be incomplete (as sometimes searching on the Internet is not an exact science) and so I send condolences to those communities who may be suffering from a loss that I’m unaware of.  In the end, I look forward to continuing to work with all those like Beth and A4IA until athletes of all ages and all competitive levels can compete and play safely.

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC

A4IA Featured in Wall Street Journal Article

A Wall Street Journal article published on September 16, 2013 brings attention to cervical spine injuries in high school sports and recent tragedies.  The article features A4IA and the work we're doing through the ASA Program to educate students on how to recognize such injuries,  The hope is these efforts will help prevent cervical spine injuries and have a more positive outcome in situations where these injuries do occur.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC

Meet Doug Casa: Member A4IA Medical Advisory Board

Douglas J. Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA is a current member of the Advocates for Injured Athletes Medical Advisory Board.  Dr. Casa has been involved with A4IA almost since its inception providing insight and up-to-date information on all topics related to preventing sudden death, but especially exertional heat illness (EHI).  For those “in the know” Dr. Casa is considered a content expert in the area of exertional heat illness, working most prominently through the Korey Stringer Institute to help promote heat illness prevention and overall sport safety.  A4IA is proud to have Dr. Casa be a part of the Medical Advisory Board and appreciates the information and insight he brings to educating student-athletes about EHI through the ASA™ Program.  This blog is an opportunity for all our readers to get to know Doug a little better.

One of the most fascinating stories about Doug is how he got his start in athletic training and developed his passion for better understanding EHI.  For him, it began in 1985 during a track event at the Empire State Games.  For those of you who don’t know, the Empire State Games are an annual summer amateur event that gives high school and master athletes alike the opportunity to showcase their skills.  Doug was running the 10k as a high school student on a very hot day and collapsed on the track near the finish line.  He had suffered exertional heat stroke.  Thanks to the quick actions of an athletic trainer at the event he survived to tell his story.  He also decided at that point he was going to make it his passion to better understand EHI through research and educate others.  That passion put him on the path to becoming an athletic trainer and a researcher.  He is still filling both those roles today at the University of Connecticut as both Director of the Athletic Training Education Program and the Chief Operating Officer of the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI).

For me, the more interesting part of Doug’s story is something that happened in 2001 at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium.  Doug had been selected to receive the NATA’s New Investigator Award and was asked to give a presentation in connection with receiving this award.  As part of his acceptance speech he relived the fateful event that happened in the summer of 1985 and had guided him to this day.  He had told this story on several previous occasions, but on this day it would help him meet the man who saved his life 16 years before.  An athletic trainer sitting in the audience (Cindy Trowbridge, PhD, ATC) heard the story and had realized she has heard it somewhere before… at Ithaca College.  Kent Scriber, Head Athletic Trainer and Athletic Training
Education Program Director at Ithaca College at the time had relayed Doug’s story in his athletic training classes and to colleagues many times, but had never learned who the young man was that he saved that day.  Thanks to a former colleague and a stroke of luck Doug and Kent met for the first time.  Since that time they have collaborated on research projects, given presentations to each other’s students and become close friends.  At the time, Kent was just doing his job, helping a high school athlete.  Little did he know that doing so allowed Doug to become who he is today and now their combined impact is immeasurable. 

For those of you who have watched any recent ESPN, PBS or other programming pieces on EHI you have probably seen Doug speaking  about KSI and the work it is doing around EHI.  The Korey Stringer Institute has four primary focus areas:  1) research, 2) education, 3) policy, and 4) mass media/outreach.  Most of us are probably most familiar with his mass media work (ESPN, PBS, NFL Network, etc.) that spans 40 articles in over 1000 newspapers, but the impact KSI is making is much broader.  Research assistants (currently 15 graduate assistants) are continually collecting data at live events including the Falmouth Road Race, Marine Corps Marathon, the IronMan Triathalon, and the New York Giants.  Additionally, numerous projects have been completed in the laboratory setting using the heat chamber or other tools.  One of the more interesting projects currently underway is looking at thermal imaging and trying to learn what it can tell us about EHI risk.  Doug and KSI also work to educate states on what the standard of care should be in order to prevent, recognize and treat EHI.  He is a strong proponent of standard guidelines.  His policy work has led to approved guidelines in Florida, Texas and Georgia.  Other policy areas include using AEDs and implementing EAPs.  Finally, education is critical to the success of heat illness prevention including textbook development for coaches and healthcare professionals as well as collaborating with other organizations.

Originally A4IA was connected to Doug Casa through a mutual connection.  That original connection ultimately led to Doug’s role on the Medical Advisory Board.  His input with the ASA™ Program, especially the heat illness component has been invaluable.  Doug’s continued commitment to Advocates for Injured Athletes beyond those initial requests is very important in keeping the program content current, especially as the program’s reach continues to grow.  In an interesting turn of fate, Doug and KSI recently recognized Beth and Advocates for Injured Athletes as the KSI Lifesaving Education Award winner this past April.  What you know, may save someone you know!  continues to ring true.

As some final food for thought, I asked Doug if he could give one piece of advice to parents who have children participating in sports and without hesitation he said,

“Make sure there is an athletic trainer available to provide care.  In an emergency the first three to five minutes can make the difference between life and death and you need a trained professional.  You can’t count on a coach or another parent to provide care.”

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC

Mike Ryan, Head Athletic Trainer for Jacksonville Jaguars Joins A4IA

Head Athletic Trainer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mike Ryan, PT, ATC, PES is the newest member of the Medical Advisory Board for Advocates for Injured Athletes.  He comes to A4IA with 25 years of experience working in the NFL and involvement with a variety of organizations ranging from the Professional Football Athletic Trainers’ Society, Korey Stringer Institute and Gatorade among others.  Mike was drawn to A4IA after speaking with Beth and hearing Tommy’s story and how a potential tragedy was averted.  He is also an advocate for increasing the number of athletic trainers in the high school setting and understands the value of the ASA™ program and the athletic trainers who teach it. 

Mike has achieved a life-long dream by becoming a head athletic trainer in the NFL.  Once his high school guidance counselor made him aware of the athletic training profession he took an almost single-minded focus toward achieving his goal.  He did not achieve this goal on his own, but with the help of many mentors along the way including Carl Krein, Head Athletic Trainer at Central Connecticut State University and Ronnie Barnes, Head Athletic Trainer for the New York Giants to name a few.  They gave of their time and knowledge to help him be the outstanding professional he is today.  In the same way they mentored him, Mike has worked to mentor and give back to others.  Mike’s desire to mentor others and give back is exciting for A4IA and the ASA™ program.  Mike’s experience and outlook on advocating for athletic trainers and athlete safety will be extremely valuable in expanding the impact of the ASA™ program to more and more youth athletes.

Mike has been in the NFL long enough to really see the focus on player safety increase.  There are several organizations associated with the NFL, athletic trainers and sports medicine that are working diligently to make the game safer for all players.  The focus covers a variety areas from rule changes to injury management and injury documentation expectations.  Unfortunately, player safety at any level is not an exact science, but he believes efforts to improve player safety should continue.  He believes the value of the ASA™ program is in its potential to provide peace of mind for parents who can be assured their children are safer.  Their children will be safer because the program has resulted in an increased number of athletic trainers at youth events as well as preparing teammates to help each other recognize potentially dangerous situations.

Mike is an athlete himself, completing six (6) Ironman Triathlons and numerous international extreme athletic events.  He loves the challenge and the opportunity to travel to see different cities while pushing himself to his limits. Mike believes in the positive benefits of sports participation not only for himself, but for others.  Benefits such as improved self-confidence, teamwork and meeting a challenge can potentially be part of the value of the ASA™ program because it can help keep more youths involved in sports.  The ASA™ program can potentially minimize the number of parents who opt against sports participation for their children feeling as though the safety concerns outweigh the positive benefits. 

In the brief phone conversation I had with Mike I could hear his passion for his work as well as for challenging himself and giving back.  He said it best himself, “I always want to feel that at the end of the day I am better than I was when I woke up.”  To that end, he works hard to keep his athletes healthy and gives freely of his knowledge to others.  A4IA is proud to be one of the organizations Mike has agreed to give his talents to, it will only make A4IA and the ASA™ program better.  A4IA believes very strongly in collaboration in order to maximize what we’re able to offer and Mike is now a part of that collaborative effort.  If you want to learn more about Mike and his passion for sports medicine and fitness check out his website HERE.  Welcome to A4IA and the Medical Advisory Board!

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC

NFL Season Opens Tonight After Weather Delay

For those of you who wait all summer for the new NFL season to start you had to wait an extra thirty minutes for the game between the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens to kickoff in Denver, Colorado tonight.  If you listened to the commentators who were trying desperately to fill the unplanned airtime you would have thought the game was being delayed because of wind and rain depending on when you tuned in.  In reality, the delay was due to the potential for lightning strikes at the stadium.

Lightning safety at large stadiums is of particular concern when developing emergency action plans because of the unique considerations required.  If you have a football stadium full of fans numbering in the tens of thousands how do you protect them in a storm?  Do you try to get them to leave the stadium and risk potential injuries because of a panic?  Do you design/retrofit the stadium to allow for redirecting the electrical current and keep fans inside the stadium?  These are questions that must be asked by facilities management and the sports leagues anytime lightning is a risk.

To get a refresher on lightning safety basics, check out this previous blog entry.  If you want to learn more about lightning safety in large stadiums, check out this article written by Joel Gratz in 2006.  This article is the crux of many emergency action plans for large sports stadiums and lightning safety.

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC