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Trained coaches help prevent football injuries
Nancy Justis, correspondent
Dec. 14, 2015 3:47 pm
Editor's note: Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and collegiate sports information director. She is a partner with Justis Creative Communications.
If you have been following my column at all, you already know I have a passion for sports — in particular youth sports.
My purpose for writing the column always has been to promote the discussion of various youth sports issues. I fully understand there are two sides to every issue. Because of space limitations, however, only one side of an issue usually can be covered in each column.
The topic of my last column which covered the cons of playing tackle football under the age of 14. It's an issue every parent should think long and hard about. This column is going to give some facts and figures, and expert testimony, on the other side of youth participating in tackle football.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently endorsed limiting contact practices in youth football. It did not make a straightforward recommendation to delay the age at which tackling is introduced. It also refused to support those calling for an outright ban on tackling for athletes below the age of 18.
Writing for AAP's Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, William P. Meehan III, director of The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention at Boston Children's Hospital, and Gregory Landry, a professor specializing in pediatric and adolescent primary care sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, noted safety concerns, especially the risk of concussions and catastrophic injuries, have led to a drop in football participation and an effort to limit the number of full-contact practices, a delay in the age in which tackling begins and even a complete ban on football until the collegiate years.
The AAP actually left it up to the players, parents and organizations to 'decide whether the potential health risks of sustaining these injuries are outweighed by the recreational benefits associated with proper tackling.'
The AAP ended up making eight recommendations regarding tackling in youth football.
— Strictly enforce rules against spearing. A significant number of concussions and catastrophic injuries occur because of improper and illegal contact. As noted in an article printed on www.momsteam.com on Oct. 25, it 'bemoans' what it said was a 'culture of tolerance' of head first, illegal hits and called for a change in that culture to one of 'zero tolerance.' It also calls for 'stronger sanctions' for contact to the head.
— Weigh risks against benefits in participation decision.
— Offer non-contact forms of football. Non-tackling leagues for young athletes who enjoy the game and want to be physically active but do not want to be exposed to the collisions currently associated with the game should be considered by leagues and organizations.
— Limit contact practices. Although the statement said the effect of repetitive head impacts on long-term cognitive function remains 'unclear,' AAP saw 'no clear benefit' in repetitive head impacts to the game or the players' health. Thus, it endorses reducing the number of impacts to the head at the high school and youth levels.
— Consider delaying the age at which tackling is introduced. In doing so, the risk of injuries for the age levels at which tackling would be prohibited would be lessened, but once introduced, tackle football might expose players with no previous experience to collisions for the first time at ages when speeds are faster, and collisions and the risk of injury is greater. If banning tackling at certain ages, the programs 'must be accompanied by coaches offering instruction in proper tackling technique as well as the teaching of the skills necessary to evade tackles and absorb being tackled.'
- Promote neck strengthening. This helps to limit the acceleration of the head after impact.
— Staff games and practices with athletic trainers. Obviously a cost factor.
The Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention recently released findings of a 2014 study that show youth football players in leagues participating in USA Football's Heads Up Football program have a 76 percent reduction in injuries. The program strives to teach and play football safer. It involves USA Football's nationally accredited Level 1 Coach Certification Course — in-person training of Heads Up Tackling techniques, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concussion recognition and response, heat and hydration protocols and instruction on proper helmet and shoulder pad fitting.
The study also found leagues were 57 percent less likely to sustain a time-loss injury, that there was a 34 percent reduction in concussions in practice and a 29 percent reduction in games.
Other findings included:
— More than 90 percent of youth players in Heads Up Football did not sustain an injury in games or practices in the 2014 season.
— Players age 7-and-under had the highest level of safety in the three years of research.
— Youth players of Heads Up Football recorded an average of 2.5 fewer impacts per practice and, during a 12-week practice session with three practices per week, players received 90 fewer head impacts.
' ... coach education reduced injuries and head impacts, and we found that this was the case,' said Datalys Center President and Injury Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dompier. ' ... coach education can have a positive impact on player safety and may serve as a model for youth sports like soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse and others concerned with concussion and head impact risk.'
If I was a parent of a young athlete, I would want to at least have my child play in a program where the coaches have received training in proper techniques.
l Let us know what you think by contacting Justis at njustis@cfu.net