Are you ready for the 2007 Season?

What is the best way to prepare for your season?  First, make the decision if your teams will advance beyond your qualifying competition to Region and/or National Championships and align the team structure to allow for advancement.  Make sure your league is up to date with all the new AYC changes and obtain the necessary paperwork to meet all the deadlines.  Second and most important know the rules.  AYC has in place a set of safety rules for our youth teams and at competition found at www.myayf.com, but for the most part AYC follows National Federation of High School (NFHS) safety rules.  Recently I attended the NFHS rules interpreters meeting and came away with not only the new rule change interpretations but also some valuable information for coaches to decide if they are actually presenting a mount, pyramid, transition properly.  If your coaches do not a have a copy of the NFHS rulebook, they are available for purchase at www.NFHS.com .  I would recommend that all coaches acquire a copy of this book. 

During the meeting Diane Wolf, the outgoing chair of the NFHS Rules Committee, presented some valuable tips for coaches to determine whether the team is following the safety intended for the rule by “interpreting stunt families”.  The NFHS safety book layout has been designed for easy access to the rules; Rule Changes/ Points of Emphasis/ Index/ Philosophy. 

v     Rule 1 – Definitions

v     Rule 2 – General Risk Management  (including situations)

v     Rule 3 – Dance

v     Pictures / responsibilities (focus more on high school team developments)

Although the book’s responsibilities is primarily for the high school interscholastic teams, many youth organizations follow the safety rules covered in the book. 

When a coach is in doubt and questions whether the stunt she is attempting is safe an legal under the NFHS rules a simple process can be used to analyze the stunt in question. 

As an example Inverted Mounts (rule 2-8-2-b):

                                    Checklist

§         Is the top person in a weight-bearing inverted position on the floor?

§         Is the top person moved immediately into a non-inverted position shoulder height or below?

§         Is there someone (base/spotter) who is no a position to protect the top person’s head/neck if she falls?

I was able to get a glimpse inside the National Federation of State High Schools governance process.  This governing body gathers input from 51 member state associations and the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to create the NFHS Spirit Rules book.  The members of this committee take their responsibility seriously to keep all participants of this activity safe.  

It is the coach’s responsibility to follow the three R’s:  Responsibility/ Readiness/ Risk Management.