Local football officials outline safety protocols

Each week, hundreds of Baldwin athletes strap on their pads and take the football field. Whether it’s youth football for the Baldwin Bombers or varsity football for Baldwin High School, kids from 6 to 18 lace up their cleats each week to play a game they love.

But when something unthinkable happens, like the death of high school football player Tom Cutinella, a linebacker and guard for Shoreham-Wading River High School, after a routine play during an Oct. 1 game, the issue of player safety thrusts to the forefront.

BHS Athletic Director Ed Ramirez said his heart goes out to Cutinella’s family, coaches, teammates and school community. “That’s a tragedy that no one ever wants to see or experience,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking as father. It’s heartbreaking as coach and it’s a horrible thing to happen for athletics because nothing positive comes from it.”

At BHS, Ramirez said varsity and junior varsity football coaches undergo training regarding head injuries and overall first aid procedures. Every coach is certified and trained to recognize symptoms of head injuries and knows what to do in the event one occurs. At high school or middle school home games, an athletic trainer is on the sidelines and a Baldwin Fire Department ambulance is on hand with trained personnel inside.

When Baldwin is on the road, Ramirez said, there is either an athletic trainer, doctor or ambulance — or some combination of the three — on hand. Injuries are a part of football, Ramirez said, and the ambulance at Baldwin has been put to use over the years, but never for something as serious as what happened to Cutinella.

The day after Cutinella’s death, Baldwin’s varsity team hosted Port Washington at home. Ramirez met with varisty and junior varsity coaches during the day to address what happened the night before and review the school’s policies and procedures.

“When you read something like that or hear something like that on the news,” he said, “as a teenager it’s a difficult thing to hear and then be expected to go out there and play.”

Any athlete who sustains a concussion is pulled from game, Ramirez said, and needs to be symptom free for seven consecutive days and then cleared by a school doctor before returning to the field.