2010-2011 RYHC Board Members
John Vilade, President
Joe Corcoran, VP
Kevin Tartaglione, Treasurer
Jim Kemp, Secretary
Al Loges
Mark Balzarotti
Bryan Jaeger
Glenn Bullett
Chris O'Gwen
Kevin Kirkwood
rotated off for season/emeritus: Mike Kirkwood, Chuck Harcourt, Andy Kapp
welcome Glenn, Chris and Kevin to the RYHC Board
RIDGE YOUTH HOCKEY CLUB (RYHC) INFORMATION AND BENCH POLICY REGARDING CONCUSSIONS
Dear Ridge Youth Hockey Club Families,
We hope this note finds you well as we head into the RYHC season! Like last season, The RYHC Board wants to take a few minutes by letter to address something we'd all like the entire club to be continually cognizant of and educated on --- concussions. The unfortunate and occasional incidence of concussions can happen at any time as a regular part of play or sports activity in a child's or adult's life. The RYHC would like to make sure that coaches, players and parents alike have some key information regarding the prevention and management of concussions. We have linked three very useful websites below to our www.RYHC.Teampages.com website, as well as a PDF document regarding concussion baseline-testing (added to our RYHC site’s documents section).
Here are just a few important tips and policies for everyone in our club:
- be sure your child's helmet is properly fitted and carries an updated HECC certification sticker (most helmets do, but check - especially if the helmet is older or handed down from a sibling or friend)
- mouthguards are strongly suggested at mite and squirt levels and mandatory at checking levels of PW and above
- consider "base-line testing" your child (see IMPACT PDF document attached)
- when a player has received a blow to the head/contact of some unusual force to the head or shows or complains of concussive symptoms, the player will be removed from a game or practice and the parent will be consulted immediately (this is a cooperative effort and responsibility between coach-player-parent ... parents will be signaled to attend to their child in these instances … if a parent is not available, the player will unconditionally be removed from the game by coaches)
- consult a physician and follow "return to play" guidelines closely
What Happens When Someone Gets a Concussion - what we as coaches, players and parents need to look out for .... ?
How a person acts after a concussion depends upon how forcefully the brain was jarred inside of the head. Sometimes a person loses consciousness, or is knocked out, for a few seconds or minutes. A person may have a milder concussion and not be knocked out. Despite being awake, some people might be unable to remember what happened right before or after the head injury. This is called amnesia. Most people who have a concussion will feel groggy and dazed for at least a little while. They may feel like they are in a fog. They may be shaky or dizzy if they try to walk or do normal activities right away. Some people experience nausea or may even vomit immediately after a concussion. Many people will have a mild headache that lasts for a few days or longer. Sometimes, with a severe concussion, there may be bleeding inside of the head or bruising of the delicate brain. Usually people with a bad head injury will be knocked out for longer than a few minutes, act very confused (unable to remember the names of people or places, and sometimes even their own name), vomit repeatedly, or have a bad headache.
Concussion safety is VERY important, let's take our own knowledge and management to the next level!
The Ridge Youth Hockey Club (est. 2003) was officially chartered as an independent, USA Hockey affiliated, 501c3 youth hockey organization and program on 12/8/08. The establishment of a charter, installation of a board of directors and non-profit status essentially "formalized" the existence of an already established and growing Ridge youth hockey body playing local hockey since 2003. The RYHC Board of Directors orchestrates, provides strategy and decision-making for recreational ice hockey teams at the mite, squirt and pee-wee levels in Basking Ridge. The RYHC is an independent, "family-run" hockey club not affiliated with the Basking Ridge town recreation department. The RYHC works hand-in-hand (albeit, not under any formal organizational structure) with the Ridge Ice Hockey Assocation (RIHA), which is the formal organizing body of Ridge Ice Hockey at the Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity HS levels. The RYHC has enjoyed much success in player development, team play and has substantially advanced the growth of youth hockey locally.
TO SPONSOR RIDGE YOUTH HOCKEY ANNUALLY, A 501c3 NON-PROFIT YOUTH HOCKEY CLUB, PLEASE CONTACT:
JOHN VILADE, PRESIDENT
vilade@optonline.net
(or)
KEVIN TARTAGLIONE, TREASURER, kevint@advancerealtygroup.com
For more information about the RYHC, please e-mail your inquiry to vilade@optonline.net