"I have found that for many coaches and administrators, their focus on winning far outweighs their desire to understand the inherent challenges that take place with athletes both physically and mentally, hence, the avoidable injuries, the overtraining, the last minute disappointments due to ridiculous administrative errors, etcetera."
It recently became very apparent to me, the extent to which many coaches and administrators downplay their duty to look after the well-being of their athletes. I suppose, because many of the current coaches were once athletes, and in their training days they did not have athletic trainers, therapists, strength coaches and doctors specially assigned to them and their specific needs that, in their minds, the importance of these roles are exaggerated and maybe even glorified. Such sentiments affect me none, but it certainly confirms for me, the level of ignorance that still exists in the local industry. It is not uncommon for parents to accompany their children for the first few sessions of therapy. Almost every time this happens, the parent mentions how long the child had been complaining about their pain and the poor choices they, as the parent, ironically made in trying to do the best they could for their child. It is only after a process of trial and error and sometimes a little help from the internet that the parent realises how far out of their realm they are in understanding what is physiologically taking place with their child.
I have found that for many coaches and administrators, their focus on winning far outweighs their desire to understand the inherent challenges that take place with athletes both physically and mentally, hence, the avoidable injuries, the overtraining, the last minute disappointments due to ridiculous administrative errors, etcetera. Be it physical or emotional, parents in T&T are proving themselves ignorant as athlete parents—a fact that becomes more obvious to them after their child is completely unable to push himself/herself anymore through the pain. In August, 16-year old DJ Searcy, a Georgia High School American footballer was attending a camp in Lake City, Florida, when he collapsed and died. It is being speculated that the child died of heat illness but I wonder whether the precautionary steps were taken to ensure this child’s safety.
There is no rocket science to so doing and I constantly advocate it: • Ensure that all athletes are medically examined prior to participation. Aside from understanding all personal and family medical histories, ECGs should be done to rule out the possibility of heart-conditions such as dangerous and irregular heart rhythms. Between September 2010 and January 2011 there were three high school athlete deaths due to heart failure in the US, reigniting the debate to make heart screenings mandatory. • Ensure that physical assessments and fitness screenings are done. This has the ability to expose everything from limitations and/or vulnerabilities in the body such as poor flexibility or core control, to performance susceptibilities which can be rectified to ensure improvements before competition time. • Make sure that everyone in contact with the athlete is properly qualified to execute their role. If not, the athlete could be at risk.
Last week, I had an athlete come to me following a tournament with a painful shoulder he was finally unable to ignore, following a poorly structured training program. The young athlete of 17 years had a tape job that was applied to him from seven days prior, still on his body, the purpose of which I have yet to discover. Not only did the work done on the shoulder seem to lack purpose and directive but once applied the individual who applied it, never checked on the athlete again for the rest of the tournament. It would be simple to point the finger at the person who applied the tape and accuse him/her of working outside of his/her area of training, however, my frustration in situations like this rests more so with the administrative team who put that same individual in this situation and create opportunities for such drivel to happen. Some people out here, loosely referring to themselves as “physios,” have no qualifications to afford themselves such a luxury.
However, with no industry standards and no need to provide credentials anyone willing to travel for free usually qualify to fill the role and “Voila! We have someone to take care of the athletes.” Absolute insanity. So, parents, do not be afraid to respectfully share your concerns with your coaches and your NSOs. It is your duty as a parent, to be informed of what is happening with your child; to ensure that your child is not being physically, mentally or emotionally abused; that the coach is properly trained to do his/her job. The main stakeholder in sport is the athlete and just as I expect them to hold themselves accountable for their actions and choices, they should be assured that the entity they represent in competition is willing to do the same for them.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt
By Asha De Freitas-Moseley