Abstract:
ABSTRACT
ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDE: LEADING COACHES IN
AN ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURY
PREVENTION PROGRAM
by
Nicole Motl
Master of Arts in Education
Educational Leadership and Administration Option
California State University, Chico
Spring 2011
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are prevalent among student
athletes, primarily females. Athletic administrators can play an important role in a high
school student athlete’s career by addressing the importance of injury prevention. The
athletic administrator’s role is to bridge the gap between the knowledge of healthcare
providers and that of high school athletic coaches, parents and student athletes. This
project focuses on the leadership strategies and duties of an athletic administrator for
implementation of programs that optimize the health and potential of student athletes.
The model program within this project addresses the causes, recovery, and
prevention of ACL injuries. The program was developed with the assistance of an
athletic trainer and feedback from high school athletic administrators. A program
consisting of six exercises was created for administrators to have their coaching staff
implement into their practice schedule. The model ACL injury prevention program was
sent to high school athletic administrators along with a survey to gain feedback about
whether their school currently has any injury prevention programs, whether they consider
using this one, and how they would implement it with their coaching staff. Using the
feedback, a plan was created for athletic administrators on how to carry out this program
at their school.
The administrative plan for this project uses a Direct Informational Approach
for educational leadership, which involves eliciting the coaches’ opinions and
participation. This program gives the administration the guidance of how to implement
the program with the coaching staff by using the expertise of healthcare providers or
athletic trainers. Athletic administrators would then take the steps to share the importance
of this program with student athletes and their parents.
