School sports are a huge part of school culture. For many schools, the pulse of student spirit runs through its athletic teams. Running right alongside that spirit, however, is also the risk of student injury.
Ninety percent of student athletes report some sort of sports-related injury. Fifty-four percent of students say that they played while injured. And, perhaps the scariest statistic of all, between 2008 and 2015, 300 sports-related student deaths were reported in the US, according to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
Safety is one of your school’s top priorities. It is your job to make sure your students are safe from terror, bullying, food allergies, natural disasters, faulty playground equipment, outside vendors, mold and other campus hazards, etc. Among the long list of checkboxes on your risk management sheet is also sports safety.
This responsibility primarily falls on your school’s coaches. However, risk management is everyone’s responsibility—even your students.
Students and parents need to take injuries and the time it takes to heal seriously. When the 54% of students who reported playing while injured were asked why, they answered that there was an important game or they felt obligated to the team.
But, before you question a coach’s decision to allow students back into the game, note that 42% of students reported downplaying injuries so they could continue playing. To add to that, 53% of coaches reported pressure from parents to put children back into the game after they had been injured.
Remember Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug who competed with a broken ankle, winning a gold medal in spite of her pain? Even though she risked doing more damage to herself, everyone in America instantly fell in love with her bravery and spirit. It was impossible not to feel overwhelmed with team pride while watching that moment unfold. However, it was a huge risk that could have had a very disastrous ending.
Students and parents must remember that playing with an injury doesn’t make student athletes heroes. Kerri did an amazing thing for her team, but most K–12 games are not comparable to the Olympics—and even on an Olympic scale, we can argue that the risk isn’t worth it.
It’s reported that high school athletes account for an estimated 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year. Overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all injuries reported by middle and high school student athletes.
Not allowing injuries time to heal can prolong recuperation time, intensify the injury (hence, prolonging healing time), and cause injury to other areas that are now overworked to compensate for the original injury. Pressures by teammates, coaches, and parents to continue playing while injured can also lead to athletic burnout, another career-ending aliment common among young athletes.
As your school’s sports seasons continue to intensify, remind parents and students about their role in reducing sports risks—and injury to themselves. Remind your coaches that you support their decisions that best protect students and student athletic careers. They should not give in to parent pressures. Together, risks can be reduced and your athletic team’s overall health can increase.
Protect your school’s athletes with an added layer of coverage. Student Accident Insurance not only helps protect your students while on your campus, it also covers them while transporting to and from playing games at other facilities. This coverage provides added peace of mind for your families, for pennies per child per day, that can easily be folded into your tuition or sports costs.
Additional ISM resources:
The Source for Private School News Vol. 18 No. 4 The Signs of Athletic Burnout
The Source for Private School News Vol. 17 No. 12 Stress Is Contagious: Don’t Let It Spread in Your School
