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Georgia Athletic Directors Association Newsletter
Vol. 2 No. 15 June 2011
Greetings!

Bob Stinchcomb

Thank you for subscribing to our GADA Newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you with ideas that will move our profession forward and help others. Our newsletter will have articles from our state, section and nation. Please take a moment to read through it and see what other ADs are dealing with in sport.

 

The goal for GADA is to assist you in dealing with new innovative ideas. Those of you who were able to attend the GADA Conference in Savannah know how busy we are trying to assist your endeavors in athletics. You are the heart of your school's athletic program. Thank you for what you do for the students throughout our state.

 

Bob Stinchcomb, CMAA

Athletic Director

Darlington School

Rome, Georgia

Regions Directors Cup Final Standings

Regions 

Congratulations to all the winners!  Class 4A had an exciting finish for the Boys division.  By winning the 4A Baseball Championship, Marist moved into a numerical tie with Pope for the 4A Boys Cup.

 

How the 4A Boys tie is broken:

Whichever school won the most State Championships would win the cup.  Marist and Pope each won two championships.  Still tied, we go to the numbers of runners up in championships.  In this case, neither school was a runner up in a championship.  We then look to their next highest championship placings to break the tie. Marist scored 85 in boys Golf, and Pope scored 75 in boys Track. Thus, Marist wins the Regions Directors Cup for 4A Boys.


Class AAAAA

Overall:  Brookwood

Boys: Brookwood

Girls:  Harrison

 

 Region 1:  Tift County

Region 2:  East Coweta

Region 3:  Camden County

Region 4:  Harrison

Region 5:  Walton

Region 6:  Milton

Region 7:  Mill Creek

Region 8:  Brookwood

 

Class AAAA

Overall:  Marist

Boys:  Marist

Girls:  Marist

 

Region 1:   Northside, Columbus

Region 2:   Greenbriar

Region 3:   McIntosh

Region 4:   Lovejoy

Region 5:   Pope

Region 6:   Marist

Region 7:   Chattahoochee

Region 8:   Flowery Branch

 

Class AAA

Overall:   St. Pius X

Boys:  Woodward Academy

Girls:  St. Pius

 

Region 1:   Westover

Region 2:   West Laurens

Region 3:   Washington County

Region 4:   Eastside

Region 5:   St. Pius X

Region 6:   Carrollton

Region 7:   Allatoona

Region 8:   North Hall

 

 

Class AA

Overall:  Westminster

Boys:  Westminster

Girls:  Westminster

 

Region 1:   Thomasville

Region 2:   Vidalia

Region 3:   Bleckley County

Region 4:   Morgan County

Region 5:   Carver, Columbus

Region 6:   Westminster

Region 7:   Calhoun

Region 8:   North Oconee

 

Class A

Overall:  Wesleyan

Boys:  Wesleyan

Girls:  Wesleyan

 

Region 1:   Baconton

Region 2:   Turner County

Region 3:   Savannah Christian

Region 4:   Brookstone

Region 5:   Wesleyan

Region 6:   Darlington

Region 7:   Washington-Wilkes

Region 8:   Athens Academy

 

Researchers Say Used Football Faceshields Break on Impact

By Michael Popke - Athletic Business Managing Editor

Game-worn football faceshields - protective gear affixed to a helmet's facemask to guard against eye injuries and glare - are more susceptible to breaking than new ones when subjected to high-velocity impact, according to new research at The Ohio State University. In the study, researchers used an air cannon to hurl baseballs at new and used polycarbonate faceshields. All new shields withstood the strongest impact tested, which was designed to match the force of a kick to the face, but more than a third of the game-worn faceshields fractured during testing.


In a related survey of college football equipment managers, OSU researchers found that 98 percent of football programs allow faceshield use, while only 18 percent of the players wear a shield. Of the programs that responded, 21 percent require the use of a faceshield for players with poor vision in one eye, and half reported that their school had established a replacement policy for faceshields.


This combination of findings led OSU scientists to recommend that intercollegiate football programs develop a policy for routine inspection and replacement of used faceshields, adding that coaches or trainers should strongly recommend football players with poor vision in one eye wear a faceshield during all practices and games. Because amblyopia, a common vision disorder known as lazy eye, originates in the area of the brain that controls vision, loss of vision in the affected eye can become permanent if it is not treated before age 8, according to the National Eye Institute.


"Any football player who has a vision problem should consider wearing a faceshield," says Aaron Zimmerman, assistant professor of optometry at Ohio State and lead author of the study, whose research was published in a recent issue of the journal Optometry. "Something could happen to their good eye. Why take a chance, especially if there's a way to prevent that?"


In the study, researchers sought to determine how the faceshields performed after the rigors of standard football action, as well as exposure to sun or freezing temperatures. The group also sent a survey to equipment managers at 117 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision programs and received a 50 percent response rate.

 

For the structural-integrity tests, a baseball was used to mimic the hardness and curvature of a fist or the toe end of a cleat. The scientists tested the two most popular collegiate and professional football helmet faceshields by manufacturers Oakley and Nike; the game-worn shields were donated by two football programs. Impact resistance was tested at five velocities ranging from 116 miles per hour to almost 150 miles per hour. At the highest velocity, 10 used faceshields fractured, three shields broke at the middle-range velocities and one shield broke at the lowest velocity.


Zimmerman and his colleagues also subjected 24 new faceshields to sunlight for an average of 3.5 hours per day and five days per week for 10 weeks to mimic exposure to ultraviolet radiation during a football season. Previous research suggested that solar radiation can weaken polycarbonate, but none of these shields broke when impact-tested at velocities of 150 miles per hour. In a small sample of game-worn faceshields exposed to freezing temperatures of 14 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, four of five used shields broke when tested at velocities of about 130 miles per hour.


Many of the shields that fractured showed the most stress on the sides, where the faceshield attaches to the helmet. But a few shattered into multiple pieces that had potential to tear the retina or even penetrate the eye. "Based on the results, we felt that multiple impacts to shields were probably the likely cause for the lower resistance to impact over time," Zimmerman says, adding that no universal guidelines exist for inspecting and replacing faceshields. "No matter what the cause is, you do not want to have a protective device fail and potentially cause a more severe injury."


Faceshields have been recommended for younger football players for more than a decade. The sports safety committees of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a report in 1996 recommending that football helmets be equipped with a polycarbonate faceshield for face and eye protection. They were responding to a 1993 report by Prevent Blindness America, which indicated that football was the fifth-greatest contributor to sports-related eye injuries in patients younger than 25. "Once a week, the shields should be inspected, particularly where they fasten to the helmet," Zimmerman suggests. "But players should be encouraged to glance a faceshield over before each practice and game. And if there's a deep scratch or crack present, it definitely needs to be replaced."


The National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association announced in March that it will no longer accept helmets for reconditioning or recertification that are more than 10 years old. The new policy will take effect Sept. 1  for the 2012 football season.

 

Thanks to David Colvard at Paulding Co. Public Schools for submitting this article. 

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Athletic Director Checklist/Reminders for June
  1. GADA Logo smallMeet with spring sports coaches for season evaluations, equipment inventory and storage.
  2. Make preparations/arrangements for community coach classes as needed.
  3. Schedule end of the year meeting with Principal to review budgeting and fiscal responsibilities.
  4. Turn in budget requests to Principal.
  5. Notify all coaches of their budget for the upcoming school year.
  6. Check with vendors regarding outstanding purchase orders.
  7. Send requests and verify fall sports officials, with schedules.
  8. Attend weekly administrative meeting.
  9. Schedule fall sports parents meetings.
  10. Update school athletic code.
  11. Confirm all fall schedules.
  12. Schedule fall sports picture/media day(s).
  13. Begin fall sports eligibility process.
  14. Notify coaches/parents/student-athletes of needed remediation from 2nd semester grades reports.
  15. Contact fall sports program publication advertisers.
  16. Have completed all faculty/coaching position(s) hires for the upcoming year.
  17. Have completed the end of the year financial report for the Board of Education.
  18. Have completed the Gender Equity in Sports Act report for the Department of Education.
  19. Confirm/schedule school/district wide physical exams for the fall.
  20. Send Athletic student-athlete handbooks to be printed for fall handout.
  21. Schedule date for fall coaches and parent meetings.
  22. Complete scheduling for all summer activities (summer camps), team and individual camps.
  23. Schedule meeting with maintenance personnel and review needs for fall sports.
  24. Review summer camps with coaches and use of school equipment, transportation and facilities.
  25. All lockers emptied, sanitized and disinfected

This should give you a start in your preparation for the month of June. Good luck!

 

Jeff Beggs CMAA

Director of Athletics

Atlanta Public Schools  

 

Click HERE to download the print version. 

 

Have a Great Summer!



We value your comments and feedback. We encourage you to submit articles and items of interest for the newsletter and the new website.

Sincerely,

Bob Stinchcomb, CMAA
Darlington School
Georgia Athletic Directors Association
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Regions Directors Cup Final Standings
Used Faceshields Break on Impact
Athletic Director Checklist/Reminders for June
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"Ideas That Work" from The NIAAA
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AD Involvement in Facility Planning

(Priscilla Dillow - Athletic Director/Assistant Principal - Ben Davis High School - Indianapolis, IN) - In your school district is contemplating a renovation or new construction that will include athletic and/or physical education facilities, it is important that ADs get involved from the beginning of the project. Although this means more responsibility, the end result will be more beneficial to your athletic program. In our particular case, I volunteered to be a leader of the initial school/community planning team and then was assigned as part of my assistant principal duties to be the construction/building liaison with the architects and construction manager. As a result of these roles, I was able to have daily input into what was happening throughout the building and with the outside facilities. The assistant AD and I specified the majority of the athletic spaces with the input of coaches. A key for obtaining maximum footage was to plan for community use.


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Ringgold School in Need

RHS-RMS Athletic Relief Fund

c/o Northwest Georgia Bank

P.O. Box 789

Ringgold, GA 30736

 

Your generosity will always be remembered and our school community will be eternally grateful!

 

Ringgold High School and Middle School Administration and Coaches

 

Sharon Vaughn (High School Principal) 423-903-2847

Mike Sholl (Middle School Principal) 423-653-8342

Robert Akins (Head Coach/Athletic Director) 423-463-2977

David Gann (Football Coach) 706-581-1076

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