Photo courtesy of city of Hoover
Dr. Larry Lemak, founder of the Aspire Sports Institute and National Center for Sports Safety, at left, presents officials with the city of Hoover, Alabama, and Hoover Metropolitan Complex with the Safe Sport City and Safe Sport Venue Achievement awards on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
The Aspire Sports Institute and National Center for Sports Safety on Friday presented the city of Hoover and Hoover Metropolitan Complex with its first Safe Sport City and Safe Sport Venue Achievement awards.
Dr. Larry Lemak, a Birmingham-based orthopedic surgeon who founded the National Center for Sports Safety in 2001 and the Aspire Sports Institute in 2018, presented the awards at the Hoover Met baseball fields.
"Their dedication to creating a safe environment for athletes and visitors alike sets the city and complex apart,” Lemak said. “We’re excited to see the positive impact this will have on the facility and its guests. Hoover, as always, is setting a standard of excellence in providing quality service for all those who are within their city limits.”
Lemak said the National Center for Sports Safety and Aspire Sports Institute want to make fields of play safer for youth athletes and to optimize the athlete experience through performance, education, innovation and implementation of safe environments for recreational sports.
“We want to create awareness to keep the importance of this front and center for everybody,” Lemak said. “We have safety courses for coaches. We have safety courses for firefighters and first responders that are sports related. We have courses for maintenance and administrative personnel at sports venues. Education at different levels is very important to us. And then it's not only planning, but refreshing is a very important point.”
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said in a news release that the city of Hoover is honored to be the first city in the nation to receive the Safe Sport City award. “We pride ourselves on customer service and safety in Hoover, and this award encourages us to keep those ideals at the forefront of all we do,” Brocato said.
More than 100 city of Hoover employees have completed a course through the National Center for Sports Safety. That includes employees in park maintenance, public works and the Fire Department.
Also, more than 48 employees at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex employed through Sports Facilities Management have gone through the program as well. The Hoover Met leadership and staff also adhered to specific safety guidelines in collaboration with local coaches, emergency medical service workers and other personnel. They created a comprehensive emergency action plan that is displayed throughout the complex and reviewed annually. Staff members also completed an NCSS course that covers topics such as sports safety, illness prevention and injury management. Additionally, the complex is staffed with emergency medical service workers, sports responders, certified athletic trainers and maintenance professionals.
Hoover Met General Manager Shannon Ealy thanked Lemak and Ellen Garrett for their leadership of the program to ensure that best safety practices are taught and followed.
“I strongly encourage other facilities around the world to participate in the Safe Sports Venue Achievement program to ensure all visitors the safest environment possible,” Ealy said.
Lemak said he wants Hoover, Aspire and the NCSS to be the hub for people and other cities to not only to come in and see the program in action and understand it, but also to be a place where they can bring their ideas and their contributions.
“This isn't a static thing,” Lemak said. “Hopefully this program will grow in communities, and they’ll be inspired to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a good idea, too.’”
