Eye On Emergencies
How prepared is your program?
By John Engh
I live in South Florida. If you know one thing about living here, you know the weather can sneak up on you at any time. The rainy seasons can make scheduling outdoor youth-sports events really challenging, and trying to complete games and not ruin fields by playing on them too soon after storms can really add to the stress of making official rainout calls when weather is approaching.
Once, after about 30 minutes of practice, a coach from another team asked if my team would like to have a practice game. I could tell that rain was coming fairly soon, but we might be able to squeeze in a couple innings.
After 10 minutes of play, the skies began to darken a little to the west. My team had scored a couple runs, and it was the other team’s turn to bat. I told the coach we needed to pack it in and get everyone to their cars. He was adamant that we had at least 20 to 30 minutes before anything “serious” arrived, and we should let his kids take their turn batting. Against everything I knew to be the right decision, I relented. “OK, let’s do this as quickly as possible.”
Within five minutes the skies turned black, the wind picked up, and a bolt of lightning struck a couple hundred yards from the field. It was the kind where the flash and the thunder are simultaneous. Needless to say, everyone ran for the cover of their cars and some to a nearby shelter. We got lucky. Very lucky.
Ready For Anything
I was just a volunteer coach doing my part to make sure that a bunch of kids were going to have fun playing baseball. No one ever told me I might be in a situation where my decision could affect a life, or lives. I had always heard that, when you hear thunder in the distance, that is the time to get everyone off the field. But what if the first thunder you hear is the result of the first lightning strike in that particular storm, and it’s right on top of you? Storms in open spaces are serious issues and dealing with them is an important aspect of any youth-sports administrator’s job. They are also part of a huge list of emergencies.
The scenario above is also a good reminder that these types of situations do not only happen during game time. In sports, we spend more time with players on teams practicing than we do actually playing the games. So it’s important to have comprehensive plans that deal with almost any scenario that may arise. And those plans should also cover situations where you might not be available to directly oversee an emergency.
I was recently reminded of the great work and huge steps that have been taken in this area when I reviewed the city of Greensboro’s (N.C.) Better Sports for Kids Quality Program Provider application. The designation can only be attained by an organization that completes an extensive review of its policies (it’s free), and has a specific emergency-action plan. To say the Emergency Response guide is comprehensive is a real understatement. It’s an 82-page guide with specific actions for almost anything that can happen in a public space. To allergic reactions from insect bites, to dealing with an active shooter, to bomb threats, and, of course, dangerous weather, everything is covered. (If interested in checking out the city’s guide, email Erice Wingate at ewingate@nays.org.)
These types of issues should remind all of us that the safety of participants and spectators is a big part of who youth-sport administrators are as professionals. The people who come to these activities have an expectation that someone has thought through all the possible situations that might occur, and the best course of action for each, and they are correct to expect that.
John Engh is executive director of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached via email at jengh@nays.org. To join more than 3,000 communities by starting a NAYS Member Organization, visit www.nays.org, email nays@nays.org or call (800) 729-2057.