Fourteen Legal Duties of Athletic Personnel – Duties #1 and #2 [NIAAA]

By: Johnny Evers, CMAA - Retired

DUTY TO PLAN

Put it in writing:

1. Administrative personnel
2. Coaching staff
3. Support personnel

All members must acknowledge and sign off on proper information in this area.

Develop your plan:

Have a yearly plan, keep it, and follow.

Employ checklists to make sure and cover all bases.

Foster coaching competence. Endorse continuing education.

Monitor professional development.

Prevent or reduce injury and loss by developing responsive strategies in:

1. Medical screening.
2. Proper use of equipment.

Plan for a safe environment for your athletes:

Appropriate activities that consider age, maturity, and environmental conditions.

Develop injury response methodology. Know who is in charge of each step and at all locations.

Deliver warnings to athletes and their families. Communicate to all stakeholders.

Promote child advocacy in cases of alcohol and other drug abuse or family neglect or abuse.

Promote athlete advocacy in cases of treatment by coaches and staff members.

DUTY TO SUPERVISE

The AD must instruct all staff on proper supervision technique and protocol.

Develop guidelines and place them in coaching manuals and/or handbooks.

Instruction should be in person and documented that all staff members have been informed.

A coach must:

1. Be physically present.
2. Never leave an athlete alone at any time.
3. Provide competent instruction.
4. Structure practices that are appropriate for the age and maturity of players.

Prevent foreseeable injuries and respond to injury or trauma in an approved manner.

This duty requires supervisors to ensure that facilities are locked and that students are denied access when a competent staff member cannot be physically present to supervise.

Students must be instructed not to participate unless a coach is physically present.

Students may only use equipment that has been issued and/or approved by athletic staff.

A coach must also supervise the condition, safe usage, maintenance and upkeep of all equipment and facilities:

1. Develop a facilities checklist. Complete and date all inspections.
2. Document requests for maintenance.
3. Follow through on all requests for maintenance.
4. Develop an equipment checklist for every sport.
5. Maintain and update all equipment inventories.
6. Document equipment issues and subsequent actions.
7. Develop a system of receipt, storage and inventory of all equipment.