By Stephen Smoot
Tragedy struck Madison Middle School in Boone County late last month when Cohen Craddock, an eighth-grade football player, lost his life as a result of injuries sustained on the field.
Though such a loss only happens rarely, the last time in West Virginia took place in Roane County in 2019, Pendleton County Emergency Rescue has forged a partnership with Pendleton County Schools. Together, they seek to keep student-athletes as safe as possible in all sports.
Mike Alt, training officer for PCER, was joined by Tina Eye, PCER president, and several emergency medical responders last week. They joined the football coaching staff and players to run a preparedness drill as part of the Friday Night Medical Time Out program.
Zac Smith, head coach, told his players to set up on the sideline “just like Friday night” and asked Alt and Eye how to arrange the players for the drill. They simulated one player down on the field with a serious injury.
“It’s important when the county buys in,” said Alt. “Not every county buys in.”
Alt, Eye, and the rest of the emergency responders demonstrated what to do in an emergency situation. They taught players and coaches the proper way to signal for EMTs.
Eye then told the players that “when we have this happen, we want you to make a circle all the way around so that people can’t see in.”
The purpose of the circle lies primarily in shielding the privacy of the injured player from onlookers and especially those inclined to film and post on social media such an incident. “Believe it or not,” Alt stated, “people will be filming.”
Players form a shoulder to shoulder circle as tightly as possible. Additionally, it creates a barrier that keeps out well-meaning individuals who want to help, but could interfere with the work of qualified and trained emergency responders. “Everybody wants to help,” Alt said, “but control is an important thing too.” He urged players to ask parents or others who wish to help to see the head coach first.
Alt urged the players that though they may instinctually want to watch the treatment of a teammate that they care about, he said, “You don’t want to see this.”
The concept comes from The Kyle Group, whose website states that their “team is composed of individuals who share a common dedication to education and small town USA, its unique challenges, and the community spirit that fuels positive change.” On the page featuring the Friday Night Medical Timeout program, they feature an image of a drill conducted at Woodrow Wilson High School in Raleigh County.
“Friday Night Medical Time Out,” the site reads “is designed to prepare emergency medical technicians, paramedics, team physicians, athletic trainers and anyone designated as responsible for the medical well-being of athletes or spectators on game day to simply be aware, prepared and educated.”
Its main purpose lies in reducing chaos by educating all participants, including EMTs, coaches, and players to understand and follow a set of protocols. The “procedure reduces and, in most cases, eliminates chaos and confusion because these professionals simply took the time to be prepared.”
Less chaos and confusion also saves time in cases where minutes – or even seconds – could make the difference.
Emergency responders practiced using specialized equipment, such as automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices. Alt asked the EMTs to run the machine so that players could get accustomed to the sound of the device at work. Players also learned that if the defibrillator is used, that it could create burns if players have body piercings.
He also took care to repeatedly tell the players that “this will be a big, bad traumatic event” and that a person cannot prepare themselves for the impact of that when it occurs. Alt also explained that even minor looking incidents could hit the heart at the wrong time and cause a cardiac event or other serious problem.
Alt told the students that normally an ambulance would come onto the field to save time, but that in the event of rain and mud, six to eight people would have to help to remove the injured player from the field.
At the conclusion, Eye and Alt said, “I appreciate your all’s time” and the players all applauded the presentation.
