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NEW
COACHES SAFETY CERTIFICATION
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Joe
Chirico
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Un-named group at an un-known site. Faces have been altered
to protect the public.
NEW COACHES SAFETY CERTIFICATION
NOT A PRETTY PICTURE, |
BUT WORTHWHILE JUST THE SAME |
U.S. Age group coaches who make up the majority
of our coaches will be effected by these new changes. This
year, coaches who renew their safety
certification will be required to don a Speedo and go
in the water to learn deepwater rescue and spinal injury management.
Having just taken the safety certification course, I can tell
you it’s not a pretty picture because coaches and Speedos
don’t always mix! Not only are bell-bottoms back in style
apparently nylon suit are back too. (Several colleagues assured
me that their Mike Peppe suits fit the last time they had
them on.)
Our group got off to a slow start because
most of the coaches were reluctant to leave the hot tub.
Once we got in the water we took the pre-test treading water
for two minutes without using hands. This was easy until
our instructor moved us to the deep end. Next we had to swim
down twelve feet and back up. My first thought was what happened
if I failed no one was yet certified to perform a deep-water
rescue? Luckily, everyone in my group breached the surface
with ease. Had Captain Ahab arrived on the scene his quest
for the White Whale would have ended, many times over.
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Once we were found fit to take the rest of
the water portion of the course, we received a lot of worthwhile
information. We learned valuable information regarding use
of the backboard. I think every coach should go through these
exercises several times until they feel comfortable. With
this new addition to the Safety Certification Course, it is
clear that all coaches will be better prepared to respond
to an emergency situation.
The revised course with the water component
lasted the same amount of time seven hours as the original
course.
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John Bransfield, instructs our group at U. Conn.
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Having a practical curriculum, in addition
to classroom time, makes the time pass much more quickly.
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The class room component used a lot of overheads
and contained a great deal of information. We needed the
full two hours to cover the material. Our experience made
it clear that there is much to be covered and the class could
not afford to get sidetracked, if we wanted to pass to written
test.
The new exam was better written than the first
edition of the original test. There were a few questions
that were ambiguous, but having written an exam this summer,
I know how hard it can be to construct well-written questions.
The best part of the exam was knowing the
result before I left. I hope that we do not loose too many
age group coaches due to the time and cost it takes to become
certified, and thus insured through U.S. Diving. We have
to worker a little longer and harder so we can give out time
away. Most of our coaches are givers. Now we are asked to
give a little more. I strongly believe that the new safety
certification is a great improvement over the past course.
I encourage all my colleagues to take this course (regardless
of what they look like in a Speedo).
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