Coaches Protect Our Athletes

Schools throughout the majority of the nation now require physical education. In fact, forty-two states make physical fitness class mandatory to graduate. What is the result of the emphasis on physical fitness, besides taking a stab at the growing obesity issue among our young? A high occurrence of sports related accidents and even death. What happens to those students who are obese and required to participate in physical activities?

Imagine a three hundred and twenty seven pound student running up and down the court for twenty minutes in a hot gym without being given the opportunity for water breaks. The regular physical education teacher was out and the class was being supervised by an art teacher. Apparently the art teacher was in pretty good physical shape since he played basketball with the students. The three hundred twenty pound student continued playing and after twenty minutes, collapsed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead.

Another trend in schools right now is the frequency of substitute teachers. The student that has a health issue gives the regular teacher the doctors note excusing the student from activity, but the substitute teacher who doesn’t physically see the “note” requires the student to participate. This irresponsible supervision results in catastrophe.

How many more cases of students dying or suffering brain damage or spinal accidents do we have to read about? Pad all areas in the gym that a student could possibly make contact with. When a student’s skull slams into a concrete wall, it most certainly will be a devastating impact. Today schools use their gymnasium a lot more than they used to, so schools need to pad more than just a 12 foot backstop. This seems like an obvious responsible answer.

Patrick Conlon, president of SportsGraphics (the original wall pad company) says that his company has been making wall pads for schools for two and half decades. The common question his safety and image consultants hear is, ‘what am I a liable to pad?’ “I tell them that they need to adopt the prudent, reasonable standard of protecting their students. They will be safe with that premise. The amount of padding depends on the amount of usage in the gym. If the gym is used for kick ball, drills and cheerleading then you need to pad most of the gym, or at least the cement walls and any equipment, poles, columns etc. that protrude. “

When athletic directors and administrator question merely what they are liable for, are they forgetting common sense? If it poses a threat; be proactive to prevent accidents. The internet makes it easy to avoid mistakes that other schools have made. There are a plethora of lawsuits against schools for sports injury and failure to provide a safe gymnasium. If school budgets are tight, educate parents on safety issues and concerns. Let them see you going to extra measures to make your facilities as safe as possible. Raise the money for superior safety precautions; it will save lives, accidents and potentially millions in lawsuits.

For more information on how to make your facility and programs safer follow the risk management plan written by Dr. Richard P. Borkowski, EdD, CMAA in his most recent book Coaching for Safety, A Risk Management Handbook for High School Coaches, published byESD112. Also visit www.sportsgraphicsinc.com for wall padding, bleacher enclosures, crowd control barricades, sideliners, padded score tables and other safety products manufactured specifically for high schools and middle schools.

For more information on making your gym and programs safer follow the risk management plan written by Dr. Richard p. Borkowski, EdD, CMAA in his most recent book Coaching for Safety, A risk Management Handbook for High School Coaches, published by ESD112. Also visit SportsGraphics for wall pads, bleacher curtains, crowd control barricades, padded scorers tables and other safety products.

Breathing Life Into An Old Gym

Outdated Gymnasiums Can Easily Get A New Lease On Life

A large number of school buildings were built in the fifties and sixties and will require immediate attention very soon. One third of urban schools are more than fifty years old.

The gymnasium is the place where the school really shows its age. With mandatory physical education classes comes more wear and tear, while it still remains the gathering center for assemblies, dances, and of course, hosting the community games; it is getting more difficult to hide the outdated fixtures and the “tired feel” these gyms exhibit.

Parents and grandparents nostalgically go back to the day when they were center stage as the crowd cheered, and because of this connection between the community and gymnasium, it is hard to agree on a renovation strategy. What appears to be dilapidated to some is a piece of history that by know means- is justified for the wrecking ball.

There are a lot of affordable ways to breathe new life into an old gym.

At this time, teachers across the nation are being laid off, programs are cut to avoid projected deficits. Even the schools that agree upon a new construction plan to their gymnasium know that now is not the time to make such a move.

Research and Developer for SportsGraphics, Tom Conlon, encourages these schools, “There are a lot of affordable ways to breathe new life into an old gym. We take a lot of time with each school to understand where they are at right now, and where they want to be. It is exciting to see how creative schools across the nation are; One school district got their students together and made a fun “Painting the Gym Day.”

These are a few inexpensive tips that any school can do to breathe new life into their gym:

1. Painting the gym will make the lighting look more modern and will be the perfect backdrop for the other suggestions. Wall murals are customary in gymnasiums.
2. Every gym needs to have a huge mural of their mascot with the name of the school written across the walls. Muralists are very expensive. You pay for the design and you pay by the hour, and there is always the mess and the time involved. 3M has come out with a digital film graphic that allows you to see the image before the image is applied to the wall. It is also a fraction of the cost for a painter, yet it looks just like a painting. Now that you have your color on the walls it is time to decorate.
3. Bleacher Curtains also known as “Bleacher Enclosures” can do wonders for the look of old bleachers in an old gym. These are very affordable for the actual impact of color and style it will have on your space. They are put on the sides of the open ends of the bleachers and are used to keep children from playing underneath the seats. Make sure when you are dealing with a company that you ask if they do their own in-house printing. This will save you money and time. The larger companies have flat- bed printers in their facility which will allow the entire enclosure to be printed instead of a small square in the middle of a plain end closure.
4. Gymnasiums are being used so much more these days; from kickball to physical fitness classes. Padding more than just the area underneath their basketball hoops has become standard safety practice. Since it’s a liability issue anyway, have your pads “wow” your audience. New technology in printing allows some manufacturers of wall pads to print scenic vistas or mascots that come to life. This will no doubt be what your students and visitors notice when they walk into your gym.

Some high schools are trying to invest in the scorers table with the led screens and advertisement feeds. Of course those are state of the art, as well as the price tag. There are companies out there that still make scoring tables that are completely padded and will coordinate with the other products I’ve mentioned. These padded score tables are an affordable alternative. Remember the coordinated color scheme, mascot, and lettering is what makes the difference between mismatched items, or a real defined, designer look. It is best to work with one manufacturer that will design all of these items for you. You would be surprised how many different shades of red there are. By working with one company you eliminate trying to match previously purchased products.

If you are dealing direct with a manufacturer, (and I suggest you do for better discounts) tell them your overall goal and they can give you the graphic designs for all of your products with a package price. Work with the company to pay per item, yet under the discounted package pricing.

Most manufacturing plants can offer pre-pay discounts. Although some schools policies won’t allow for pre- purchasing items, don’t hesitate to work out the same discount if you were to pay within five days of receiving shipment.

Give your students the gym that they will be proud of now. These furnishings a long with a fresh coat of paint will minimize the facilities shortcomings. Conveniently, they can all be put back into the gym once your have your new, well deserved, state of the art gymnasium.

For more ideas on ways to breathe new life into your gym or sports facility, contact Kimberly Conlon at SportsGraphics.