Why Blog about Sports Safety?

The reasons are simple.

• Accidents happen and athletes get hurt. And I have a lot to say about it. The more we know as parents and coaches about the dangers of youth sports, the better able we will be to protect our kids.
• Some experts say that 90% of injuries to kids playing sports are preventable. From my experience in sports insurance, I agree. Therefore, any steps we take toward improving safety will have a positive impact on minimizing injuries.
• We think it's not going to happen to us. Or maybe we'll just worry about it later and hope our kid's team can dodge the problem this time, even if they're not wearing the right equipment, or thunder is approaching, or we have a funny feeling about the coach (even though he seems really nice).
• Or worse, we just forget about safety. After 22 years in the sports insurance industry, that still happens to me, too. On Saturday, my eight-year-old son joined some other neighborhood friends at the park around the corner for an informal game of baseball (sounds like something out of the 1960's, doesn't it?). And just like the 1960's, my son was not wearing a batter's helmet when he got up to bat. The ball clocked him in the ear, resulting in a ruptured eardrum -- a completely unexpected and preventable accident. Boy, do I feel guilty, but what neighborhood kid brings a batting helmet to the park?

The truth is these days no one has time to think about safety. Coaches are stretched too thin as it is and parents are running ragged trying to find a matching pair of regulation socks and carpool to the field on time so their child can play.

With the rise in the competitive level of sports and the fact that young athletes are being pushed to the limit of their abilities in order to keep up, there should be a proportional increase in safety awareness and planning. Sports organizations are trying to keep pace by setting up safety procedures and establishing best practices, but these important elements are not getting down to the field of play where they are needed.

I have seen first hand, as a mom and as a sports insurance executive, what happens when the safety message slips through the cracks and kids get hurt.  The worst of these incidents come across my desk in the form of claims, lawsuits or other demands resulting from Susie or Timmy's sports injuries. My goal in writing this blog is to get the safety message back on the front burner to put the lid on injuries to kids.

I have created Sports Safety IQ to shed light on the shocking, ridiculous, disturbing and unimaginable reality of what can happen (and has happened) to kids playing sports. Armed with this information, I hope you will join me in my mission to get everyone to take time out for safety.