Mississippi High School Activities Association The place for high school sports in Mississippi Related Articles
I. Duty to Plan
II. Duty to Supervise
III. Duty to Assess an Athlete’s Readiness for Practice and Competition
a. Access the health and physical or maturational readiness skills and condition of athletes … develop a packet for every athlete, develop student-athlete handbooks for students and parents,
Packets should include: official physical examination form, medical clearance forms required by MHSAA, emergency contact forms for parents, permission to participate forms, proof of insurance,
any other forms required by your school and/or state association
b. Protocol for injury to an athlete … keep accurate records of all injuries and practice attendance, develop methodology for return to practice and/or play, remember catastrophic insurance if needed
c. Athletic transfers … transfers must comply with school and state association rules, parents and student go through principal’s office / enrollment first, develop protocol to track athletic transfers,
develop policy for coaches contact with transfers within rules, work with guidance department to develop communication for a smooth and legal transfer
d. Academic Tracking … develop protocol to track all grades for all athletics (coach responsibility as well), develop protocol for reporting grades to state association, develop protocol for certification
of grades for eligibility purposes
e. Legal issues …develop policies for tracking illegal activity of athletes, develop protocol for tracking violation of code of conduct, protect the privacy rights of all student-athletes
IV. Duty to Maintain Safe Playing Conditions
a. Develop safety rules and communicate to ALL parties that enter or use your facilities … laminate rules, post rules, share in preseason parent meetings, place in all coaches/personnel handbooks
b. Checklists should be developed for safety and security inspections of ALL facilities … game and practice facilities, parking lots and restrooms, locker rooms, weight rooms, public areas in venues
c. Reporting systems must be developed to respond to safety issues … reporting forms shared with staff, report all issues to appropriate maintenance staff, communicate completed work to all staff
d. Develop an emergency plan for all sites … protocol for communication during severe weather, communication of any dangerous activity or events, emergency information to all media, parents and
public, communication system for each venue practice and games, communication system with coaches and athletes in transit to events, communicate with game officials and workers, develop
effective emergency management and safety plan to minimize all risks associated with the venue and the event
Best Practices – Fourteen Legal Duties of Athletic Personnel, edited by Bob Stinchcomb, CAA and John Evers, CMAA reviewed in Fall 2016 issue of Interscholastic Athletic Administration.
