EAPs
If you don’t know what it stands for, you should
By John Engh
With the summer months approaching, I am reminded of a specific incident that could have ended in tragedy during my youth-sports experiences decades ago. I was 16 years old and participating in pre-season football practice. It was August in Florida, so I don’t have to convince you that it was already a dangerous situation with the high heat and humidity. The team was halfway through a scheduled two-hour practice when a number of my teammates started to show the effects of the heat. On almost every play, someone was getting dizzy or falling down from fatigue. The heat was miserable. But, instead of taking a break and making sure we were all hydrated, the overzealous assistant coach doubled down on the intensity and withheld a scheduled water break because none of us were playing at full speed.
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / tammykayphoto
Thankfully, no one died that day. Years later I realized how close we were to a tragedy. I remember complaining to my dad, who called the coach and read him the riot act. The next day the head coach talked anonymously of the “pansy who complained to his daddy,” but I didn’t care since we would be getting multiple water breaks during the remaining practices that summer.
Heartbreaking Outcomes
During our Youth Sports Congress, I reflected on those viciously hot afternoons, competing at full speed in full pads. Two educational presentations highlighted the importance of proper training and well-thought-out emergency-action plans (EAPs). The first presentation was from the creator of the Jordan McNair Foundation, Martin McNair. He spoke about the death of his son Jordan from heat-related illness and the steps that were taken to try to save his life. Obviously, it was an emotional presentation from a father who had lost a son, but it also shed valuable light on the importance of having a plan in place when emergencies occur in youth sports. McNair feels—and rightly so—that if there were established plans and proper safety equipment available and put into use immediately that day, Jordan would be alive today.
Robert Huggins from the Korey Stringer Institute followed that presentation with a very informative talk about the importance of educating coaches, parents, and administrators about heat-related illness and other emergency situations that arise far too often in sports. Korey Stringer was a lineman for the Minnesota Vikings who also passed away from the effects of heat illness after a practice. Both men spoke about the countless catastrophic events that happen each year that could have been prevented if standard emergency-action plans were in place. And it’s not enough to have a plan—it must be practiced often so everyone knows their role because every second is crucial when a child is in distress.
Not Far Enough
Listening to these presentations made me feel proud that, as youth-sport administrators, we have come so far in regard to protecting young athletes, but the goal should be zero catastrophic events each year. We know so much more now. Both speakers used the acronym EAP throughout the presentations, and I realized that, even today, those letters aren’t as well-known to some as AED or CPR, but they certainly should be.
Are they prominent in your programs?
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.