ESLL First Aid and Safety

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ESLL First Aid and Safety

• March 2009

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Outline

• Why is safety important?
• Injury Prevention, Treatment Reporting
• Your Role
• Review of Resources
• Questions Answers

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Why is Safety Important?

• Little League Requirement
• Safety Awareness Makes A Difference
• Commitment of ESLL Board
• Not just little adults
• Public Trust

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Little League Requirements

• Active Safety Officer on file with HQ
• Safety Manual
• Emergency numbers
• Fundamentals training for coaches managers
• First aid clinic
• Field inspections
• Annual facility survey

• Concession stand procedures
• Inspection/replacement of equipment
• Report and track injuries
• Provide first aid kits
• Enforce rules
• Volunteer Application background check

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Why is Safety Important?

• Little League Requirement
• Safety Awareness Makes A Difference
• Commitment of ESLL Board
• Not just little adults
• Public Trust

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2004 Little League Program
ASAP A Safety Awareness Program

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Making it safer for the kids
The Mission To create awareness, through
education and information, of the opportunities
to provide a safer environment for kids and all
participants of Little League Baseball

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Why Were Here

• ASAP Makes a Difference
• Fewer injuries to kids/all participants
• Reduces severity of injuries
• Participation grown 8/year (50 in 2003)
• Reduces insurance costs
• - 20 CAN Accident Credit
• - State premium reductions
• 1 state in 2001
• 7 states in 2002
• 50 states in 2003

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ASAPs Impact
Injuries Turn-Around - Without ASAP, 5,695
people injured - With ASAP, 1,341 people
injured - 76 reduction per year under ASAP

Average of 11.5 injuries per District per year,
1991-1995 Average of 2.8 injuries per District
per year, 2002
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Why is Safety Important?

• Little League Requirement
• Safety Awareness Makes A Difference
• Commitment of ESLL Board
• Not just little adults
• Public Trust

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ESLL Safety Statement

• SAFETY MISSION STATEMENT
• EAST SIDE LITTLE LEAGUE SHALL PROVIDE THE
  OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITYS CHILDREN TO LEARN
  THE GAMES OF BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL IN A SAFE AND
  FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT.

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Why is Safety Important?

• Little League Requirement
• Safety Awareness Makes A Difference
• Commitment of ESLL Board
• Not just little adults
• Public Trust

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Why is Safety Important?

• Little League Requirement
• Safety Awareness Makes A Difference
• Commitment of ESLL Board
• Not just little adults
• Public Trust

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Public Trust

• Parents Expect It !!

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Outline

• Why is safety important?
• Injury Prevention, Treatment Reporting
• Your Role
• Review of Resources
• Questions Answers

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Injury Prevention

• Check fields and equipment (checklist)
• Warm-up exercises
• Heat and hydration (drink before thirsty)
• Enforce pitching rules
• Weather awareness

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Fields and equipment (checklist)

• Prior to each practice and game
• Inspect grounds
• Check equipment
• Laminated card to be provided

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Warm-up exercises

• Stretching important to avoid injury
• Laminated card to be provided

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Heat and hydration

• On hot summer days, protecting our players form
  a potentially deadly injury may depend on what we
  as managers and coaches dont do. It is vitally
  important that we as responsible and safety
  conscious adults know how to prevent and treat
  heat related illnesses (heat stroke and heat
  exhaustion) in our children.
• To protect players from heat-related illnesses,
  it is the policy of ESLL to make sure that all
  managers and coaches are fully aware of the
  proper means of keeping their kids wet inside.
  During the yearly safety clinic, proper hydration
  techniques are stressed, and the ASAP sign,
  Drink Before You Are Thirsty is posted at all
  ESLL fields. Managers are also taught the
  following
• Schedule drink breaks at least every 30 min.
  during hot, humid practice/game days.
• Athletes should drink 10-16 ozs. of fluid during
  these breaks.
• To make sure that the players know to drink 10-16
  ozs. of water about 15 minutes before practice.
• Remind players to drink before they get thirsty.
• Avoid carbonated drinks.
• Sport-type drinks are absorbed into the body as
  rapidly as water and can provide energy to
  muscles that water cannot.

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Heat and Hydration

• It is also important for mangers to know and
  understand the differences between heat
  exhaustion and heat stroke. In heat exhaustion,
  the persons temperature ranges from normal to
  slightly elevated, while in heat stroke the
  bodys core temperature is at least 105 degrees.
  This is an extremely dangerous situation, leading
  to loss of consciousness, coma and death.
• In heat exhaustion, the skin is cool and damp.
• In heat stroke, the skin is hot, dry and red.

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Heat and Hydration

• How do we treat them?
• First and foremost, get the player out of the
  sun!!!
• If the player is suffering from heat exhaustion
• Cool the player down as rapidly as possible.
• Give them a diluted salt solution to drink (1
  part salt to 1 quart of water).
• Notify the parents or guardian.
• Dial 911.
• If the player is suffering from heat stroke
• Cool the player down as rapidly as possibly by
  wetting him/her down and fanning them or packing
  them in ice.
• Dial 911 immediately.
• Notify the parent or guardian.

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Some Specific and Potentially Dangerous Injuries

• Eye Injuries
• According to the National Institutes of Health,
  no children who suffered eye injuries during
  baseball and softball games had any form of eye
  protection, leading to the conclusion that the
  vast majority of eye injuries were preventable.
• How can we prevent these injuries?
• By the simple use of a baseball helmet with a
  face guard for all age groups. This effectively
  protects not only the eyes, but also the nose,
  mouth and facial bones from hit or pitched balls.
• ESLL has the position that all players use the
  available safety helmet with the attached wire
  shield.

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Some Specific and Potentially Dangerous Injuries

• Dental Injuries
• The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has
  the position that Although nearly half of all
  sports related injuries occur in baseball, a
  mouth guard is not required. A child should wear
  a mouth guard when he or she is in an activity
  with a risk of falls or head contact with other
  players or equipment. This includes baseball.
• Also, the American Dental Association has the
  position that mouth guards can help cushion
  blows that might otherwise cause broken teeth,
  injuries to the lips, tongue, face or jaw and may
  even help reduce the severity and incidence of
  concussions.
• What Can We Do?
• Stress to parents and guardians during the parent
  meetings on the importance of wearing mouth
  guards.
• Ask the parents, Why will you spend 5,000 on
  braces, and not protect them with a 20 mouth
  guard?
• Inform the parents of the two different forms of
  mouth guards, custom and form fitted. Form fitted
  mouth guards are simply placed in boiling water
  and bitten down on. Custom fitted mouth guards
  are fitted by the childs dentist, and therefore
  causes very little, if any, discomfort.
• Realize that most children will refuse to wear
  these guards so all managers and coaches are
  given a copy of the handout Emergency Treatment
  of Dental Injuries to be placed in their
  scorebook or clipboard.

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Injury TreatmentFirst Aid

• Cellphones 911 EMS
• P.R.I.C.E.S.
• Dos and Donts
• Ice and First Aid Kits
• Acute and overuse injuries
• Playing through pain not an option

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P. R. I. C. E. S.

• Protection
• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation
• Support

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Dos and Donts

• Do
• Reassure and aid children who are injured,
  frightened or lost.
• Provide, or assist in obtaining medical attention
  of those who require it.
• Know your limitations
• Carry your first-aid kit to all practices and
  games.
• Assist those who require medical attention- and
  when administering aid, remember to
• Look for signs of injury
• Listen to the injured describe what happened and
  what hurts if conscious. Before questioning, you
  may have to calm and soothe an excited child, or
  parent !!!
• Feel gently and carefully the injured area for
  signs of swelling, or grating of broken bones.
• Have your players Medical Clearance Forms with
  you at all practices and games.
• Make arrangements to have a cell phone available
  when your team is at a facility that doesnt have
  public phones.

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Dos and Donts

• Dont
• Administer any medications.
• Provide any food or beverage other than water.
• Hesitate to provide aid when needed.
• Be afraid to ask for help if not sure of the
  proper procedure.
• Transport injured individuals except in extreme
  emergencies. (Use EMS)
• Leave an unattended child at a practice or game.
• Hesitate to report any present or potential
  safety hazard to the Safety Director, or any ESLL
  Board member immediately.

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Ice and First Aid Kits

• Must be on hand at all practices and games
• Provided in each lock box
• Provided in each team equipment bag
• Replacements available

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Overuse Injuries

• Pitching
• In an American Sports Medicine Institute study on
  the correlation of pitch count and arm injury in
  children 14 years and younger.
• PRELIMINARY DATA DEMONSTRATES THE FOLLOWING
• A significantly higher risk of elbow injury
  occurred after pitchers reached 50
  pitches/outing.
• A significantly higher risk of shoulder injury
  after pitchers reached 75 pitches/outing.
• More than 450 pitches/season led to cumulative
  injury to the shoulder and the elbow.
• Mechanics did not lead to arm injuries.
• Pitchers who limited their pitches to the
  fastball and changeup had the lowest rate of
  injury to the throwing arm.
• Based on this data, a recommendation to limit the
  number of pitches per outing was made. For the
  age group 8-12 years of age, no more than 50 60
  pitches/outing, and for the 13 and 14 year olds,
  no more than 50-75 pitches /outing.
• It is also important for the manager to stress
  ice for the pitcher after each outing. The arm
  muscles are swollen after throwing, and ice will
  control the pain and swelling.

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Little League Rules

• PITCHING RULES HERE

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Inclement Weather

• LIGHTENING AND STORMS
• The average lightening strike is 5-6 miles long
  and travels from cloud to ground in less than a
  tenth of a second.
• The average thunderstorm is 6-10 miles wide and
  travels at a rate of 25 miles per hour.
• Once the leading edge of the thunderstorm
  approaches to within 10 miles, you are in
  immediate risk due to the possibility of
  lightening coming from the storms overhanging
  anvil cloud. This is the reason that many
  lightening deaths and injuries occur with clear
  skies overhead.
• On average, the thunder from a storm can only be
  heard over a distance of 3-4 miles. By the time
  you hear the thunder, the storm may already be
  right over you!
• The sudden cold wind associated with the approach
  of a thunderstorm is the result of downdrafts
  from the leading edge. By the time you feel the
  wind, the storm is less than 3 miles away.

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Inclement Weather

• If you can HEAR, SEE OR FEEL a thunderstorm,
  SUSPEND ALL GAMES AND PRACTICES IMMEDIATELY.
• Walk to a car for shelter, and wait for a
  decision to continue with the game.
• Dugouts DO NOT provide protection from lightening
  strikes.
• One way of determining how close a lightening
  stroke is to you is by the flash bang method.
  With this method, a person counts the number of
  seconds between the sight of a lightening flash
  and the thunder that follows it. Play should be
  halted and evacuation called for when the count
  between the flash and the thunder is 15 seconds
  or less.
• The ultimate truth about lightening is that it is
  unpredictable and cannot be prevented. Therefore,
  a manager, coach or umpire who feels threatened
  by an approaching storm should stop play and get
  the kids to safety regardless of whether the
  flash bang proximity measure applies.

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Injury Reporting

• Little League Standards Expectations
• Medical Release
• Injury Reporting
• Doctors Release to Return

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Injury Reporting

• What to report- An incident that causes any
  player, coach, manger, umpire or volunteer to
  receive medical treatment and/or first-aid must
  be reported to the Director of Safety. This
  includes even passive treatments such as the
  evaluation and diagnosis of the extent of the
  injury or period of rest.
• When to report- All such incidents described
  above must be reported to the Director of Safety
  within 48 hours of the incident. The Director of
  Safety for 2004 is Bill Best, who can be reached
  at
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail wabest_at_comcast.net
• How to make the report- Reporting incidents can
  come in a variety of forms. Preferably the
  involved manager completes a had copy or
  electronic version of the report and forwards it
  to the Director of Safety. In some instances
  reports can be made through phone conversations.
  At minimum, the following information must be
  provided
• The name and number of the individual involved.
• The date, time and location of the incident.
• As detailed a description of the incident as
  possible.
• The name and phone number of the person reporting
  the incident.

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Outline

• Why is safety important?
• Injury Prevention, Treatment Reporting
• Your Role
• Review of Resources
• Questions Answers

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Your Role In Summary

• Obtain Medical Releases
• Field Equipment Checklist
• Warm-up Drills
• Be aware
• Follow pitching rules
• Provide protective equipment
• Render first aid
• Report Injuries

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Outline

• Why is safety important?
• Injury Prevention, Treatment Reporting
• Your Role
• Review of Resources
• Questions Answers

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Resources

• ESLL Safety Manual
• Safety Rule/Review Reminder (this slide deck)
• Warm-up Demo Sheet
• Pre-practice/pre-game checklist
• Medical Release Forms
• Injury Report Forms
• Handouts for Parents

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Questions Answers
??????
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Remember

• Play Ball !!
• (Be Safe)