| RI Interscholastic League Monthly Bulletin September 1999 FROM THE DESK OF… The Executive Director On Behalf of the RIIL staff, I welcome you back to another school year --- the last of this century. As always, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who serve the RIIL. the strength of the organization is predicated on your involvement. Your expertise, dedication, and leadership have touched the lives of thousands of student-athletes throughout the State of Rhode Island. The 1999-2000 school year will be a busy one, with business as usual. In addition, it is a year in which all sports will be reviewed relative to alignment. It is important that everyone look at the large picture rather than their individual schools/teams. Our goal is to ensure that all league alignments are based on good competition, equity, and parity. I would like to thank all of you who have responded so favorably to the new system of submitting eligibility lists on line. The response has been overwhelming. As with any new undertaking, there are still some glitches to be worked out. However, we are confident that this system will simplify everyone’s job. Please Note: August 2000 is the deadline to remember. Starting with the 2000-2001 school year, eligibility lists will be accepted only on line. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the League office. The RIIL Receives Grant to Address Shortage of Female Basketball Officials The Rhode Island Interscholastic League, in partnership with the other New England states, has received a financial grant from the New Fund, an organization of concerned business women whose purpose is to increase opportunities for women and girls through sports. The grant will enable the states to identify and recruit 50 female officials who are willing to become trainers/instructors. They in turn will train 100 new female basketball officials during the school year. Rhode Island Officials’ Associations and colleges will be invited to participate in designing and implementing a program whose sole purpose is to increase the number of qualified female basketball officials. Our hope is to identify and train 10 women to become R. I. high school basketball officials. We need your help. Do you know a basketball official who is willing to become a teacher/mentor? Do you know a young woman interested in becoming an official? Please contact Dick Magarian at the RIIL office, 272-9844, for more information. A Thought for Back to School: Two Truths Of course I’ll quiz you on your state capitals and drill you on the times tables up to 11. I’ll raise an eyebrow when you get that check mark in deportment, or that C in phys. ed. You’ll know (yes, you’ll know) I’m not pleased with that last minute, slap dash, cardboard-and-coat-hanger excuse for a science project, and the history paper that you might have wrestled with a little bit more. I’ll cry to the heavens exasperated at 9:07 pm when you announce you need super glue and two dozen cardboard tubes from the middle of toilet paper rolls or you’ll get an F in science tomorrow morning. And I’ll cringe to hear a callous tone creep into your changing voice, and wince to watch you treat a former friend so coldly. But please know, my child, on your permanent record with me, you get straight A’s whenever you are you. By Tom McGrathWellness Update Teach players to be accountable for their behavior. Teach players to think before they act as there are consequences for all behaviors.
Remember, in athletics, as in life, Character Counts! Excerpts taken from Character Counts! "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." Andy WarholManagement of Concussion in Sports Athletic directors and coaches need to become knowledgeable in the management and evaluation of concussions. The Brain Injury Association has developed a very easy-to-understand guide in the treatment of concussions. Grades, management of concussions and when to return to play A Grade 1 concussion has the symptoms of transient confusion (inattention, inability to maintain a coherent stream of thought and carry out goal-directed movements). There is no loss of consciousness, and abnormalities usually resolve themselves in less than 15 minutes. The student-athlete should be removed from the contest, and s/he should be examined immediately and at five-minute intervals for the development of mental status abnormalities. The athlete with a multiple Grade 1 concussion should sit out one week. A Grade 2 concussion shows the symptoms of transient confusion, no loss of consciousness, and symptoms lasting more than 15 minutes. The athlete should be removed from the contest and not allowed to return that day. A trained person should perform a neurological exam to clear the athlete after one week of rest. A multiple Grade 2 concussion should require two weeks of rest. A Grade 3 concussion has the symptom of any loss of consciousness for either a brief or prolonged (minutes) period of time. With a Grade 3 concussion, it is very important to transport the athlete from the field to the nearest emergency department by ambulance if worrisome signs are detected (with cervical spine immobilization, if indicated). When to Return to Play
Features of Concussions Several features of concussions are frequently observed. These features would include a vacant stare (befuddled facial expression), delayed verbal and motor responses (slow to answer questions or follow instructions), confusion and inability to focus attention (easily distracted and unable to follow through with normal activities), and disorientation (walking in the wrong direction, unaware of time, place and date). Other features of concussions include slurred or incoherent speech (making disjointed or incomprehensible statements), gross observable uncoordinated movements (stumbling, inability to walk tandem/straight line), emotions out of proportion to circumstances (distraught, crying for no apparent reason), memory deficits (repeatedly asking the same question that has already been answered, inability to memorize and recall 3 of 3 words or 3 of 3 objects in five minutes). The most serious feature is any period of loss of consciousness (paralytic coma, unresponsiveness to arousal). For more information about the management of concussions in sports public education campaign, please call the Brain Injury Association at 703-236-6000, ext. 122. To order palm cards call 800-321-7037. Additional information on management of head trauma in sports may be found on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org. Larry Munksgaard, CAA, is the athletic director at Southeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has made several workshop presentations at national athletic directors conferences and now serves as the moderator of the NIAAA Blue ribbon Panel. In 1995, Munksgaard joined the NIAA Publications Committee. While working in Iowa, he received the 1985 State Athletic Director of the Year Award and the 1991 State Award of Merit. "Character – the willingness to accept responsibility
for one’s own life – Sportsmanship From A – Z Accept and abide by the decisions of the contest officials. "You guys line up alphabetically by height." Bill Petersona Florida State Football Coach The risk of a high school athlete dying during competition or practice is 1 in 200,000 based on the insurance statistics for Minnesota. Although the odds are slim of an athlete dying at your high school, a non-fatal collapse requires immediate attention and an emergency medical plan. Are you and your staff prepared for a downed athlete or spectator? Are all coaches trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)? Do you have an emergency care plan and has it been rehearsed? An emergency response plan should prepare for a collapsed athlete at school-supported events. The plan for adverse events and injuries should be based on potential casualties in high school-based programs. The response team should develop a protocol for the collapsed athlete, train the staff to respond properly, and assemble the necessary equipment and supplies. The most common causes of collapse are not fatal and the downed athlete will generally regain consciousness in short order. Cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, diabetic shock, bleeding, concussion, heat stroke, and cervical spine fracture are the most likely catastrophic events that will require immediate intervention. In 20 years of sideline coverage, I have been involved in one cardiac arrest, one insulin shock, and one collapse that did not resolve in a short time of observation. I have evaluated and cared for many athletes with cerebral concussion, heat stroke, and short duration lapse of consciousness that required the same initial intervention as fatal and near fatal collapse. The problems are rare, but you must be prepared for the worst. The first line of defense for many schools is the "911" call for assistance. This may be all that is needed if the ambulance service is located next to the facility and the crew is always available for the school athletes during practices and games. In most cases, additional planning is needed to begin "first aid" for a collapsed or severely injured athlete while the emergency response vehicle is en route. The interim support given to the athlete while awaiting the ambulance arrival may be critical to the eventual outcome for the athlete. When utilizing the 911 system, state the problem, state the urgency, and give directions to the site. Ideally, the directions should be posted next to a wall or desk phone or taped to a cellular phone, and should include the address of the site, the location of the facility on the site, and the most accessible or efficient entrance to the facility or property. The directions to the site should be clear and understandable. At each practice and competition site, there should be a designated phone person to contact Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for assistant. All coaches and care personnel should know the location of the phone. Phone access also allows contact with EMS providers, the team physician, and special consultants, and the transfer of care to the emergency system. The on-site emergency response plan should be simple and easy to execute. The initial step in developing an emergency plan is to identify the personnel for the response team. The response team will vary based on the available personnel at the site. The most trained individual on site should head the response team. The coach or athletic trainer will most likely head the response team, unless the team physician is present. The response team should include an adequate number of people to accomplish the required tasks of CPR, phone access, record keeping, and area security. All coaches should be trained in CPR, and trained to use the automatic external defibrillator, if one is available at your site. The ambulance paramedics will be ACLS- and ATLS-trained, and the response plan is best if it is integrated into the emergency medical services protocols to ease the transition of care. Developing a relationship with the ambulance support providers in your area will smooth the transition of care. Someone on the response team should be designated to clear the immediate area of athletes and spectators. This avoids the accidental moving of a neck-injured athlete, and allows some privacy and confidentiality for the downed athlete. It also decreases the blood-borne pathogen risk should there be a bleeding injury or if sharp instruments are used in the resuscitation or evaluation. The presence of teammates can heighten the anxiety level of a downed athlete and complicate the evaluation. An additional person should be designated to document the incident with witness accounts, names, and addresses to develop a record of the event for health care, insurance, and legal purposes. A medical kit should be developed for each team, and should include a pocket mouth-to-mouth mask, protective gloves, sterile gauze pads or bandages, alcohol pads, soap, viricidal/bactericidal wipes, scissors, and tape. A swimming pool should have easily accessible backboards, especially if there is a diving board. Athletes with special problems like diabetes and asthma may add medications sent from home to the team kit. An athlete with a known allergy to bees or other triggers of anaphylaxis may require an epinephrine injection kit andoral diphenhydramine; a diabetic may require glucose tablets, gel, or solution; and an asthmatic may have inhalers or a nebulizer. As automatic defibrillators become more commonplace, a high school may be expected to have one on site and that would become a part of the medical kit for games and practices in the school. The on-site management protocol begins by quickly investigating the circumstances of a collapse or injury. Was the collapse exercise related, was it witnessed, was trauma involved, and is the victim conscious or unconscious. The on-site rescue effort can be divided into three management phases: immediate, early, and late. Immediate management utilizes the pneumonic "DR ABC" to begin the evaluation and care of the downed athlete. The pneumonic stands for: D Remove from Danger R Response to query (AVPU) Alert? Verbal response? Pain stimulus response? Unconscious? A Airway (with cervical spine control) OK? Position of airway correct? B Breathing Spontaneous Mouth-to-mouth? Resuscitation bag? Intubation necessary? C Circulation Spontaneous and palpable pulse CPR Early management advances the care of the athlete to assure neck stabilization and protection, a call for help from the response team, a phone call to contact 911, assembly of the on-site medical care team, and initiating CPR. The team should continue CPR if needed, triage and examine for a cause of the collapse, and begin the on-field care protocol. This may include connecting an automatic defibrillator, initiating oxygen supplementation, cooling measures for suspected heat stroke, and establishing an intravenous access if that equipment and expertise is available. The medical response team should also control any bleeding with direct pressure, keep the athlete warm in cool conditions, and elevate the legs to raise the core blood pressure if appropriate. Late management includes the transfer of care to the ambulance crew and emergency facility. A school administrator or coach should accompany the collapsed athlete to the emergency room (in loco parentis) unless a parent is available to attend to the athlete. If parents are not available someone from the school response team should notify the family of the injury and the plan of transfer. On-site emergencies are rare, but they do occur in high school athletics. Each school should have an emergency care plan, train the staff, assemble the necessary equipment and supplies, and rehearse with mock drills to deliver the best care possible should a catastrophic event occur during an athletic contest. Dr. Roberts is a family physician who is a member of the Minnesota State School League’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and who serves as attending physician at numerous MSHSL state tournaments and meets. Summary of Meeting The following is a summary of the August 25, 1999 meeting of the Principals’ Committee on Athletics: Executive Director’s Report The Executive Director’s Report was approved. Treasurer’s Report There was no report. Ms. Hale reported that she closed out the books for 1998-99 at the end of July 1999. Since the meeting is before the end of August, a report is not available for this meeting. Communications Mr. Lynch referred to several memoranda and publications which were placed in member’s folders or filed in the League office. The Committee authorized Mr. Lynch to send a letter and registration form [from the National Eating Disorders Screening Program] to all member schools. Football: Mr. Thomas Mezzanotte and Mr. James Murano Mr. Mezzanotte reported that a meeting of all football coaches and captains will be held on Monday, August 30, 1999 at East Providence High School. He also reviewed the agenda for the meeting which includes a film on head injuries and a guest speaker who will address the captains on "Leadership, Sportsmanship, and Character." In other business, discussion{s} ensued regarding the football officials’ evaluation procedure and the starting date of football practice being scheduled earlier than the usual date of August 20th. Soccer: Ms. Jane Hale and Mr. Victor Mercurio Mr. Mercurio reported that a meeting of all coaches and captains was held on August 23, 1999 and was very successful. He also proposed the following amendments to the soccer rules to become effective with the 1999 soccer season: Rule Change Number Two presently reads: "Players who receive yellow cards may not re-enter the game in the same half of play." In an attempt to be more consistent with the national rules regarding yellow cards, player injury, and player removal from the field of play after an injury or yellow card, the new rule should read as follows: "Excluding goalkeepers, players must leave the field of play after a yellow card had been issued. Players removed from the field of play after receiving a yellow card may not enter the field of play in the same half." Rule Change Number Nine presently reads: "There is to be no dialogue between and among coaches, players, and referees during the course of a match." The rule should read as follows: "There is to be no negative, foul, or abusive dialogue between and among coaches, players, and referees during the course of a match." Mrs. Crowley commended the soccer committee for tightening the rules and their efforts to make boys’ soccer a better game for the student-athletes and the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. In other business, the Committee discussed a letter to the RIIL from Allen Huestis, Corresponding Secretary, RIIAAA, on behalf of the Association. The Athletic Directors’ Association expressed two (2) concerns regarding the League. The first concern pertains to the RIIL imposing additional fees during a school year for which the member schools have not allowed in their respective budgets. The Executive Director and the Committee sympathizes with the concern and will try to avoid it from happening in the future. The second concern is that of requiring police detail at all boys’ soccer games. To adhere to this rule would have a major impact on the school(s) budgets which could cause junior varsity programs, or soccer itself, being eliminated. The Committee voted to change the rule to read "… provide police as needed for a soccer contest." Tennis: Mrs. Kathryn Crowley and Mr. John Lyle The Committee discussed at length a letter received from Tim Murphy, Tennis Coach, Barrington High School, and a professional tennis instructor. In his letter, Mr. Murphy explained that the RIIL rule, which prohibits coaching your own players after the season and during the school year, infringes on his livelihood. After much discussion, the Committee agreed to keep the rule as it is written. Volleyball: Mrs. Patricia Pitocchi and Ms. Elaine Botelho The Committee reviewed a fee proposal for volleyball officials for the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons submitted by John Anderson, R. I. Volleyball Officials’ Association. The Committee voted to charge the Executive Director to negotiate and finalize the contract with the officials’ association. The Committee also would like a response to the stipulation agreed upon last year relative to the association providing a yearly report to the RIIL Volleyball Directors regarding the professional development activities of referees and umpires for the given season. Field Hockey: Ms. Jean Angell The Committee voted to deny the request Tiverton High School principal, William Rearick, to waive the fine for Tiverton High School not being present at the mandatory interpretation meeting for Field Hockey Coaches, which was held in June 1999. Hockey: Mr. Daniel Sheehan Mr. Sheehan reported on a meeting of coaches and athletic directors of schools that participate in the Championship Division. Discussion ensued regarding an alignment proposed by Cranston High School West. Subsequently, Cranston West decided to remain in the B Division, which makes any new alignment a moot issue. However, Mr. Sheehan was authorized to inform Cranston West of a drop-dead date to finalize the issue. Mr. Sheehan also informed the Committee that Tolman High School [through its athletic director] has requested to move from Division C to Division B. Mr. Sheehan reminded the Committee that this request could be entertained inasmuch as Providence Country Day School requested last spring to move from Division B to Division C. On a motion made and seconded, the Committee unanimously app roved moving Tolman High School to Division B and Providence Country Day School to Division C, contingent on a formal letter from the Tolman High School principal requesting the move. In other business, the Committee reviewed the policy of reimbursing rinks for their [home] teams participation in the hockey championships. After a lengthy discussion, the Committee voted to maintain the policy as it is presently administered. Swimming: Mr. Richard Magarian Mr. Magarian once again emphasized to the Committee that there will be a separate boys’ and girls’ swim league beginning with the 2000-2001 school year. According to a recent survey, 19 boys’ teams and 22 girls’ teams will participate. Mr. Magarian reported that Mr. Kenneth Reall, Director of Swimming, was trying to convince Cranston High School East to move to the top division, thus allowing a new team from Toll Gate High School, to replace Cranston East in Division B. Mr. Magarian also reported that the 1999-2000 schedule will be ready for the September meeting of the Committee. Cross Country: Mr. Charles Sweeney Mr. Sweeney recommended that eighteen (18) cross country teams from the dual and class meets qualify for the state meet. On a motion made and seconded, the Committee unanimously approved the proposal. Track: Mr. Charles Sweeney Mr. Sweeney reported that a meeting was held with the Joint (Boys’ and Girls’) Track Committees. The goal of the meeting was to incorporate indoor and outdoor track rules so that they be consistent for both boys and girls track. Mr. Sweeney further explained all the recommended changes for boys and girls track. On a motion made and seconded, the Committee on Athletics approved the proposed changes. Realignment Committee Mrs. Kathryn Crowley, Chairperson of the Realignment Committee, reported that the Realignment Committee agreed to continue utilizing the general criteria for alignment; i.e., geography and enrollment. She also reported that there will be a mandatory dinner meeting inviting all sports directors to discuss issues that need to be addressed by all sports committees in anticipation of the upcoming realignment year. Realignment in all sports will take place during the 1999-2000 school year, to become effective with the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year. The role of directors and the makeup of sport(s) committees will also be part of the agenda. Review of the 50% Rule – Article 7, Section 7d The Committee considered a letter from the President of the Portsmouth Babe Ruth League in which he requested that the Committee review the 50% rule. After a lengthy discussion and interaction, the Committee voted to table the issue. Winter Sports Schedules / Interpretation Meetings Mr. Magarian reviewed the winter sports schedule with the Committee to secure dates, times and places for such meetings. Boys’ Basketball and Boys Indoor and Outdoor Track will be determined at a later date. Coaches Education Program The Committee unanimously approved the Coaches Education Program that was proposed to the Committee during the 1998-99 school year. RIIL Athletic Participation Mr. Magarian reviewed the participation summary and explained the survey used to arrive at the figures. He reported that 57.6% of boys in the state and 42.4% of girls participated in sports for the 1998-99 school year. This includes those student-athletes who participate in more than one sport. Hearings The Textron/Chamber of Commerce Charter School Present for this hearing was Robert Pilkington, Operations Officer. The Committee on Athletics, at its meeting in June 1998, granted a request to extend the one-year probationary period for students in The Chamber School, thereby allowing them to participate in athletics at their feeder school(s) for one year only. It was stipulated at that time that the school would be required to re-petition the Committee to further the eligibility of their students. On a motion made and seconded, the Committee unanimously voted to approve the extension of the probationary period for one (1) year.
Send mail to webmaster@riil.org
with questions or comments about this web site. Information contained on this
website belongs to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
|
Your Athlete is
Down: Do You Have a Plan?
