Daily Herald opinion: Paying attention: Disciplined approach is fundamental to improving school sport safety

In a story about football injuries we carried last Friday, the CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations declared that tackle football is “probably the safest it’s ever been.”

There is a reason behind the conditions that give her such confidence.

“We started to pay attention,” Karissa Niehoff told our David Oberhelman, “and through coaching education, we modified rules, we shifted how we practice and how we play, and obviously elevated our medical response, resources and awareness.

Niehoff noted that in 1968, 36 deaths were reported in high school football. Last year, counting middle school, youth football and college as well as high school, the number was 16 from the organization on which Niehoff’s organization bases its count. So far this season, the NFSHSA has counted 12 deaths.

In any discussion of this nature, whether involving football or any other school activity, it’s important to remember that these numbers apply to a wide range of causes — many of which, such as undiagnosed heart conditions or physical ailments, would have posed undetected risks in almost any physical activity the person participated in. And while the comparatively high number of football deaths so early in the season may stir some concerns about the trend for this year, local coaches and athletic directors emphasize the need for consistent focus and strict safety practices.

“Any time you have any activity that the human body is being tested, sometimes whether it’s genetics or whether something is not working right with that person, we’re just hopefully equipped and trained to help them if something severe happens,” said Sarah Anderson, head athletic trainer at St. Francis High School in Wheaton.

Greg Garofalo, athletic trainer at Hoffman Estates High School, similarly emphasized the importance of preparation.

“Having a venue-specific emergency action plan is probably the biggest thing you can do,” he said

That kind of attention to detail is a fundamental expectation in our state’s approach to sports safety. All coaches, including assistants, must be trained in first aid, CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

“I will say, for Illinois, they are one of the states in the country that is the most educated and the most proactive when it comes to keeping kids safe, emergency action plans, whatever resources need to be put into schools,” Niehoff said.

As she also said, “you hate to use the word, ‘safe,’ because it’s football, and it’s sports,” so we’re slow to suggest that the positive signs in Illinois absolve high school football from worry. Indeed, as nice at may sound to consider that football or any other high school activity is safer than it has ever been, the more important question to remember is, is it as safe as it can be?

We can see that Illinois’ aggressive approach has been a factor in the degree of confidence we can have in school sports safety. The larger question about ultimate safety will depend on maintaining that disciplined, focused philosophy.