Bleacher Inspection for Youth Sports: When to Inspect, Who Does It, and What the Report Should Say

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

15 Min read

B

A bleacher inspection has two published benchmarks. Federal safety guidelines recommend a thorough inspection by trained personnel at least quarterly, plus an inspection at least every two years by a licensed professional engineer, a registered architect, or a company qualified to provide bleacher products and services. The 2017 edition of the industry standard, as published in draft and as one...

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Youth Sports Event Security: A Game-Day Plan for Fights, Threats, and Gunfire

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

15 Min read

Y

Youth sports event security comes down to two decisions a league makes before the season: who has the authority to stop a game, and how players and families get out. Both decisions fit on one page. On September 4, 2026, a police officer at a high school football game in Jacksonville, Florida, overheard someone threaten to “shoot up the place”. The officer and game officials ended the...

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Athletic Trainers and Ambulances at Youth and JV Games: What’s Required and What to Plan For

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

15 Min read

A

No single national rule we could find requires an athletic trainer at youth games, or an ambulance. The rules that exist come from three places: the state, the state high school association, and the league’s own governing body. Those rules vary, and many community leagues fall under none of them. Four football cases in the news this season opened the question for many boards. In none of the...

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Should Coaches Text Players? A Model Electronic Contact Policy for Youth Sports

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

15 Min read

S

Should coaches text players? Yes, under one condition: a second adult is on every message. A coach has no program reason to hold a private, one-on-one conversation with a player on any app. Three criminal cases made public in August 2026 show why boards are asking. All three coaches are charged, and none has been convicted. In Iowa, police arrested a 56-year-old Cedar Rapids bowling coach on...

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AED Requirements for Youth Sports: Does Your Program Have to Have One at Practice?

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

12 Min read

A

AED requirements for youth sports depend on two things: the state, and whether the program is a school team or a community league. The 2026 laws described in this article apply to schools. A community league that practices on a park field may fall outside them. In late August 2026, a 13-year-old in Greensboro, North Carolina, went into cardiac arrest after running a lap at the start of middle...

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Five Youth Sports Treasurer Theft Cases in Six Weeks, and Three Controls That Address the Pattern

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

13 Min read

F

Youth sports treasurer theft is rarely a clever crime. In five cases that led to arrests between late July and mid-September 2026, the alleged amounts ran from about $6,300 to about $411,761. The reports describe a similar pattern: one treasurer with access to the money, and alleged activity that ran for months or years. Every person in these cases has been arrested or charged. None has been...

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Are Coaches Mandated Reporters? Hazing, Team Parties, and the Duty to Report

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

14 Min read

A

Are coaches mandated reporters? The answer depends on the state, and sometimes on the league. Mandated reporting law is state law, and each state writes its own list of who must report suspected child abuse. One federal law adds a reporting duty for adults in certain sports organizations, and that federal law doesn’t reach every youth league. This article isn’t legal advice, and the...

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How to Check the SafeSport Banned List, and How Often to Re-Check

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

13 Min read

H

The SafeSport banned list is a free public database. Many youth sports programs that search the database check a coach’s name once, at signup. One check is the gap. In February 2026, the U.S. Center for SafeSport ruled a Texas club volleyball coach permanently ineligible. ProPublica and The Washington Post reported that he was training his club’s players again the next day. The...

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Wet Bulb Globe Temperature for Coaches: What the Number Means and When to Stop Practice

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Risk Management, Safety and Injury Prevention

15 Min read

W

Wet bulb globe temperature, or WBGT, is one number that combines air temperature, humidity, wind, and sunlight, and published heat policies use that number to tell a coach when to add breaks, remove equipment, shorten practice, or stop. The thresholds differ by region, so a coach needs the table for the right part of the country. Four news stories from July and August 2026 show why the reading...

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Heat Acclimatization in Youth Sports: The 14-Day Schedule, Who Requires It, and What to Put on Paper

By Gemma-Leigh Garner

In Safety and Injury Prevention, Risk Management

12 Min read

H

Heat acclimatization is the two-week ramp that lowers a young athlete’s risk of exertional heat stroke, and the first practice of the season is where it matters most. Two football players died in August 2026 after collapsing at or after that first practice. A 17-year-old senior lineman at Lake Travis High School in Texas collapsed at about 8 a.m. during the team’s first practice on...

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