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Jaws dropped throughout the nation as Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. Trainers immediately rushed the field and began administering CPR. Fast action from the NFL trainers has been credited with essentially saving Hamlin’s life.
While the shock of watching a healthy, professional athlete fall to cardiac arrest on national television is enough to raise apprehension for local coaches and student athletes, Rockbridge County High School athletic director Adam Haynes believes that these are situations athletic directors and trainers constantly consider and prepare for.
“You always know [something like this] can happen… these are things that can unfortunately happen at any time and those are things we try to protect against,” Haynes told The News-Gazette. “[Hamlin’s incident] has put [athletic safety] on the forefront for everybody [with] how serious it is and how quickly things can happen and go wrong at an event like that, but these are [plans] we’ve had in place for a long time.”
At the Rockbridge County School Board meeting on Jan. 10, Superintendent Phillip Thompson asked Haynes to talk to the Board about those plans.
He prefaced Haynes’ remarks by pointing to the Hamlin’s collapse and asking, “Are we prepared if, heaven forbid, something like that were to happen to one of our players or coaches or someone in the stands or what have you? What procedures do we have in place to mitigate something like that? It’s wildly accredited that the folks that were there and took quick action contributed to saving [Hamlin’s] life, so what process do we have in place to hopefully be able to do the same?”
Haynes was able to answer Thompson’s questions by presenting important aspects of the district’s athletic emergency action plan The action plan is a multifaceted collection of school athletic policies from the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia High School League (VHSL), first aid protocols and step-by-step safety procedures, and emergency directions relative to every on-campus or off-campus athletic facility used by the district. Copies of the plan are accessible at each practice and game location.
Haynes and RCHS athletic trainer Courtney Simpkins extensively collaborate to develop strategies enabling them to quickly respond to a variety of medical emergencies.
“The safety of our kids and our student athletes and coaches is something that we talk about continuously to try to make sure that we are offering as many activities that we can, but at the safest possible manner that we can,” Haynes said.
Simpkins, who was unable to attend last Tuesday’s meeting, has attended seminars at the University of Virginia and has used these resources to further the development of the athletic protocols, Haynes commented. While much of the plan remains the same from year to year, Simpkins and Haynes reevaluate the emergency action plan with each new school year.
“We’re always tweaking it as things are passed down from the state or Board of Education. It’s something we always have in place, but it’s fluid. We look at it yearly to see if anything needs to change,” said Haynes.
As an athletic trainer, Simpkins is responsible for packing emergency kits, which are used at home games and off-campus practices. The kits contain an automated external defibrillator (AED), a splint kit, and other first aid necessities. Simpkins also prepares water coolers and water bottles for each team and sporting event.
“Many moons ago when we played, water was used a reward – that’s not something that’s acceptable anymore. Water is provided for each sport. Each coach gives ample water breaks; there are water coolers, and water bottles that are easily accessible,” Haynes said.
Additionally, all coaches are required to undergo training and certifications for concussion response, sudden cardiac arrest, heat illness, diabetes, first aid and CPR. Athletic administrators and coaches are constantly being recertified to qualify for their positions, Haynes noted.
Simpkins and Haynes also host informational meetings to educate each athlete’s parents through fliers, presentations, and videos. As the meetings conclude, parents sign forms indicating that they attended an informational meeting and acknowledge the school’s athletic policies.
Haynes hopes that the district’s intricate action plan is comforting for coaches and parents, but he feels confident that the RCHS athletics crew has taken all the necessary measures to protect its student athletes. He told The News-Gazette, “We’ll continue to monitor and make the changes that we feel we need to make to try and make everybody in the event as safe as possible.”
