The coaches and commissioners of PYA attended a two-hour safety training event run by injury prevention educators from Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Cohen Children’s Hospital, the Northwell Health System and Safe Kids Nassau County. The event was held at the Weber Middle School gym in April.
The PYA Board of Directors solicited the expertise of these health facilities in looking at the number of youth-sports injuries nationally, which have continued to rise since 2001. The board feels that the best treatment for any injury is prevention, and that the best medicine is education. As such, the program was mandatory for all PYA coaches and commissioners, although PYA welcomed parents and anyone else affiliated with its programs, too. There were over 100 attendees.
The instructors also provided a lecture on Sports Safety: Changing a Culture, and relevant portions of PYA’s Safety Procedures were discussed including refresher training on the AED and CPR, as well as how to deal with injuries and concussion issues. You can check out the PYA policies link at www.pyasports.org/safety.
PYA is a nonprofit charitable organization formed to promote the exemplary development of local youth through participation in sports. PYA teaches teamwork and individual responsibility in an atmosphere of respect and sportsmanship. Go to PYA at www.pyasports.org for more information.
