Coaches need to become familiar with foundational knowledge on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), while becoming confident, competent, and proficient in their emergency action plans for using CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and an AED [automated external defibrillators] to provide immediate and appropriate care to athletes. This article refers to a…

Each year many young athletes suffer injuries from overtraining. According to the existing literature, strategies do exist to help control this growing problem. This article explores the basic nature of training and overtraining, with a particular emphasis on endurance athletes. Several psychological factors are highlighted as the first clear…

Objective: The purpose of this article is to discuss the process of developing and validating an instrument to investigate an athletic trainer's attitudes and behaviors regarding the recognition and treatment of exertional heat stroke. Background: Following up from our initial paper, which discussed the process of survey instrument design and…

Shin splints are a common but often confusing injury. Sources disagree on both the cause of the injury and the anatomical source of the pain. Some blame shin splints on foot pronation, footstrike pattern, or arch height. Regardless of what causes the condition, it affects many runners, beginning in some at a young age. Young runners often have…

Sports offer so many benefits to kids, from fun and fitness to responsibility and teamwork skills. With sports also come bumps and bruises--and one type of injury requires much more than an ice pack or a band-aid. Head trauma is one of the most common injuries sustained by young athletes, with more than 60,000 concussions occurring each year in…

Education Commission of the States (ECS) reviewed legislation in the 50 states to see how state leaders are responding to concerns about concussions in youth sports. This report reviews state responses to concussion concerns, and provides examples of provisions put in place by California, Connecticut, and Texas. Three emerging innovations are…

Now in its fifth edition, this outstanding resource for teachers and school professionals has been retitled "Medical and Psychosocial Problems in the Classroom" to more accurately reflect what teachers encounter during the course of their careers. Each chapter highlights the important role teachers play when interacting with health-care…

The pole vault was considered the ultimate test of physical ability and daring before the advent of modern extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, and mountain biking. The inherent risks of the pole vault have been well documented. The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reported in 2007 that the catastrophic injury…

Sudden cardiac death among athletes continues to take the lives of college students across the nation. Leadership at all levels of higher education has great concern over this phenomenon. However, the processes and procedures related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remain poorly understood. Corrado (1998) suggests that sudden cardiac death of…

Presents suggested actions for strength and conditioning coaches to take when an emergency arises, focusing on: athlete collapse; thermoregulatory conditions (heat illness and cold illness and their prevention); asthma/bronchospasm and prevention of asthma/bronchospasm emergencies; diabetes and prevention of diabetic emergencies; and…

Sports-related concussions can happen to any athlete in any sport. Each year in the United States, an estimated 1.6-3.8 million sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur, most of which can be classified as concussions. To help coaches prevent, recognize, and better manage sports-related concussions, the Centers for…

In August 1995, a young football player died as a result of heat exhaustion suffered on the first day of football practice in Arkansas. Spurred by this tragedy, the district made some changes that every school district with an athletic program should consider. These include using a heat-stress monitor; abandoning the practice of group physical…

Discusses the potential for teaching psychological skills to student athletes in school sport programs, outlining a conceptual approach to psychological skills training for athletic coaches. The paper details how to develop a psychological skills education curriculum, explaining issues of curriculum sequence and implementation strategies in the…

Gives information about opportunities, job tasks, and educational requirements of sports-related jobs in high school, college, and professional athletics: coaches, sports medicine specialists, managers, public relations specialists, and trainers. (SK)

Exercise has important benefits for people with epilepsy, but several factors must be considered when making activity recommendations. Seizures during sports activity are rare, but physicians, coaches, and parents should know what to do if a seizure occurs. Some antiepileptic drugs may adversely affect sports performance, and exertion may reduce…