Rodney and Maggie Bullard-Marshall: Parents On and Off the Field -- Preventing Youth Sports Injury is a Family Affair

Coach son’s football team.  Swing by the softball field to pick up daughter on the way to see the other son’s basketball game.  Officiate.  Watch.  Cheer.  Feed. Referee.  Wake up in the morning and do it all over again.  That’s life for Rodney Marshall and Maggie Bullard-Marshall of Portage, Michigan, devoted sports parents of three active children—son Devin, 9, son Alex, 14, and daughter Sierra, 15.

“Each member of the family has at least one sport per season--basketball, football, snowboarding, skiing, softball, soccer, baseball.  We've done it all,” said Maggie, 33, a public relations specialist at Bronson Healthcare Group. “Sports have just always been a family affair for us.”

When the kids were younger, Maggie and Rodney coached flag football and soccer together.  As the children grew up and played other sports, Rodney or Maggie was always there as part of the team or cheering on the sidelines.  As a former college basketball player, Rodney still wears many hats in sports—he coaches his daughter’s travel high school basketball team, officiates  basketball, referees football and umpires baseball games, from little league to high school.

“As a coach, referee and umpire, I’ve seen it all.  Overzealous parents who want to keep their kids in the game even if they’re hurt, and on the other side of the spectrum, parents who don’t even know their coach’s name or background,” said Rodney, 39.  “I often see a disconnect between parents, kids and coaches on how players should properly stay safe and take care of themselves while still having fun and working hard.”

For the Marshalls, winning is always fun, but safety is what’s really important.  They say keeping their kids healthy and safe from one activity to the next is part common sense, but also part experience and knowledge.  While playing college basketball, Rodney sustained a debilitating knee injury that, even 20 years and several surgeries later, still bothers him.   So whether it’s making sure everyone is wearing a helmet on a family bike ride, staying hydrated throughout practice, or stretching and warming up before a game, the Marshall kids know the must-dos. 

Still, there are some injuries that can’t be avoided.  Two years ago, Alex was in a snowboarding accident that reaffirmed everything the Marshalls believe about safety.  “He was wearing a helmet, but he still got a concussion.  He didn’t know who I was when we were on our way to the ER,” said Maggie.  “All I could think was, ‘What would have happened if I wasn’t nearby? What if he wasn’t wearing a helmet?’"

For the injuries that can be avoided, the Marshalls make sure they do everything they can to prevent them and step in when necessary.  After pitching a long baseball game, their youngest son’s arm was sore and in need of some serious rest.  Rodney and Maggie had a talk with him about knowing his limits so he wouldn’t develop a long-term overuse injury, something all too common for little-league pitchers.  And when their daughter, Sierra, broke her ankle at softball practice after doing drills on a muddy field, Rodney went to talk to her softball coach and the school’s athletic director.  “Without being overly accusatory, I was able to have a good conversation with the coach about safety protocols.  In fact, he’s now planning on attending one of the local Safe Kids safety clinics that Maggie helps organize.”

The Marshalls are passionate about sharing the valuable lessons they’ve learned through personal experience. Maggie is an active member of her local Safe Kids chapter where she runs clinics to help educate parents and coaches on safety precautions and emergency plans.  Their older son, Alex, has talked to groups of kids and parents on why everyone needs to wear a helmet.  And for every game that Rodney attends, he’s always on the lookout for kids who may be hurt, dehydrated or in need of a break, while making sure he’s educating the players, coaches and parents around him on ways to avoid injury.

“My advice to parents is this—after a practice or a game, whether you were there or not, ask your child how they’re feeling.  An open-ended question like that is the best way to approach it, because kids may not want to say they’re necessarily hurt,” he advises.  “This way, you can gauge what it is they need—food, drink, sleep, ice, whatever.  Just checking in with them is what matters, and it’s so easy for us all to do that.”