Posted: December 2, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The United States Soccer Federation today introduced a player health and safety program called Recognize to Recover. The first-of-its-kind program aims to reduce injuries in soccer players of all ages and promote safe play by those on and around the field.
Recognize to Recover was developed with the help of medical experts and will provide coaches, players, parents and referees with information, guidance and educational materials to improve the prevention and management of injuries.
“Recognize to Recover will lead to better awareness and understanding of player health and safety initiatives and strengthen the role parents, players, coaches and officials play in preventing, protecting and addressing injuries,” said U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer George Chiampas. “While U.S. Soccer is launching the framework of Recognize to Recover today, this is just the beginning as more information around specific areas of focus will be rolled out in the coming months.”
Information about head injuries, including new guidelines regarding concussions, will be included in the program, along with other important player health and safety topics such as heat-related illness and dehydration, heart health, nutrition and injury prevention.
“As the national governing body of our sport, U.S. Soccer is committed to being the leader in lasting change that has a positive impact on the game,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “We created Recognize to Recover to elevate player health and safety and bring players, coaches, parents and officials together to help ensure safe play at all levels of our sport.”
As part of Recognize to Recover, U.S. Soccer recently presented overall concussion guidelines that include rule changes that will reduce the possibility of head injuries while preserving the nature of the game. Players suspected of a concussion will be given plenty of time for evaluation by a health care professional without penalty or loss of a substitute. U.S. Soccer is also recommending that heading the ball be prohibited for children 10 and under, and to limit the activity to practice only for children ages 11 to 13.
“We know that the vast majority of concussions occur when there is contact between players trying to head the ball,” said Chiampas. “Whether that is head-to-head contact, elbow-to-head or their head hitting the ground while challenging for the ball in the air; by reducing the number of those aerial challenges to head the ball, we believe we will decrease the incident of concussions.”
“While the science on head injuries is still developing, these rule changes and recommendations are based on the advice of the U.S. Soccer medical committee. As we continue to learn more, we’ll have the flexibility to adapt to the findings and make the appropriate changes.”
As part of Recognize to Recover, U.S. Soccer will be working directly with current and former players to spread the message about the importance of player health and safety. More information about those player ambassadors will be provided in the near future.
Source: “U.S. Soccer Announces ‘Recognize to Recover’ Player Safety Program.” Soccer Wire. N.p., 02 Dec. 2015. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Posted: November 16, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Lawsuit, Player Safety, Soccer | Tags: lawsuit, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By PETER TORNCELLO
Source: Torncello, Peter. “U.S. Soccer Federation Settles Youth Concussion Lawsuit.” The National Law Review. N.p., 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Posted: November 13, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Coaching, Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
Player safety and well being in any sport should take precedence over all other considerations. It’s common sense. However, the latest decision by the U.S Soccer Federation to eliminate heading for children 10 and under has stirred the usually dormant waters of football regulations.
The restrictions came to life as the result of a settlement from a lawsuit that was filed against the leading youth soccer groups last year. A group of players and parents filed a class-action suit citing that player concussions were not being taken seriously by the authorities ruling the game.
The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, requiring the USSF to initiate standard protocols to follow when a player is deemed to have suffered a concussion. However the USSF is taking it a step further and have announced that they will be implementing a widespread initiative aiming to:
- “Improve concussion awareness and education among youth coaches, referees, parents and players”;
- “Implement more uniform concussion management and return-to-play protocols for youth players suspected of having suffered a concussion”;
- “Modify the substitution rules to insure such rules do not serve as an impediment to the evaluation of players who may have suffered a concussion during games”;
- “Eliminate heading for children 10 and under and limit heading in practice for children between the ages of 11 and 13”
In a statement from USSF, CEO and Secretary General Dan Flynn said: “We are proud to be leaders in the area of concussion education and management.” He also informed the public that the “player safety initiative was under way before the current lawsuit was filed”.
Flynn also shed light on the process that led to this decision: “USSF sought input from its medical science committee which includes experts in the field of concussion diagnosis and management, as well as from its technical advisors, to develop a true consensus based program.”
However, in a recent article on CBS News, Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson mentioned that “it’s unclear what degree heading causes concussion and long standing injury.” The Executive Director of Digital Health at Seattle Children’s Hospital, also noted that there is no agreed upon consensus by pediatric experts on whether heading the ball does cause damage to the brain.
It remains to be seen how the US Soccer Federation will be able to implement the initiative. Heading is an integral part of the game, and the notion that limited headers will be allowed per week during practice will be difficult to monitor. Other considerations come up as well: should a striker let a golden opportunity to score a goal pass by if they had reached their limit for the week? Should a defender under pressure, not head the ball back to the keeper and instead risk putting the keeper under more pressure by using their feet? How would players defend a set piece?
There is no arguing that concussion should definitely be addressed and prevented in youth soccer. But the USSF needs to also make sure that youth development is not hampered by the new decision.
Source: “US Soccer Federation Making Moves To Decrease Concussions In Youths.” SportTechie. N.p., 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Posted: November 13, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Football, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Hockey, Youth Sports | Tags: Concussions, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By NICK CALOWAY
SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) – During football season, we hear about concussions all the time. At the high school level, all the way up to the NFL, players are being hit with the invisible injury.
Other youth sports are high risk, too, such as cheerleading.
Spirits were high at last year’s UCA National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando. The Stewarts Creek High School JV team won state last year, but one cheerleader was on the sideline.
She couldn’t cheer because of a serious injury she suffered during practice.“I was out for three months from cheer. I couldn’t do any physical activity,” Anna Smith told News 2.
“We had to do a front flip off the stunt and I ended up landing on my head,” Smith said. “I got a concussion and three compression fractures in my vertebrae.”
To many, that sounds like more like a football injury, but not to concussion experts.
Dr. Colleen Vanderkolk, a neurologist at Saint Thomas West, emphasizes in headaches and epilepsy.
“And the highest ones that we see, of course football is No. one, but then you also have hockey, we have cheerleading, soccer is actually very high in concussion, and gymnastics,” Vanderkolk said.She said sports other than football are also high risk for concussion.
Doctors say when it comes to concussions, early identification is key.
“The symptoms that you look out for is any headache, nausea, feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness, just feeling off. Those types of symptoms you have to look out for,” Dr. Vanderkolk told News 2.
Mot concussion patients recover in about 3 or 4 weeks.
Smith has since recovered from her injuries and is back to doing what she loves. Now she knows the risk better than anyone.
The Stewarts Creek JV co-ed team is competing for state again this weekend at the state championships in Murfreesboro.
Source:Caloway, Nick. “Football Not the Only Sport with High Risk of Concussions.” WKRNcom. N.p., 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Posted: November 11, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By PAUL HARRIS
RENO, NV — The United States Soccer Federation recently released new guidelines stating children 10 and under should not be heading the ball.
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study in September 2015 that says out of nine youth sports studied (boys’ baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and wrestling and girls’ basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball), the girls’ soccer concussion rate was second highest and the boys soccer rate was the fifth highest.
These guidelines will be mandatory for youth national teams but the USSF does not have the authority to implement these regulations at the local level.
Josh Etchegoyhen is a soccer coach and runs camps at the Reno Sportsdome and is in favor of the the new rules. “I know college female players that play soccer that have concussions on the same rate as NFL players. We need to protect these kids as long as we can as they are developing in these sports,” said Etchegoyhen.
And he doesn’t think it will impede the development of young players.
“There are a lot surfaces on the body that you can bring the ball out of the air with and heading is not necessarily the best surface for that,” said Etchegoyhen. “I see heading as passing and shooting so that can be taught later in life.”
Shari Whalen, a mother to three children who play soccer, agrees.
“It is a lot more important to me that later on in life my kids’ brains still work,” Whalen said. “It is less important that my eight-year-old is winning every soccer game because they have this particular skill.”
The new rules—which also include changes to substitutions—were released in response to a class action lawsuit.
Source: Harris, Paul. “US Soccer Limits Headers For Youth Players.” KOLO RSS. N.p., 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Posted: September 7, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Coaching, Little League, Soccer, Volunteer, Youth Sports | Tags: Positive Coaching, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By BEAU DURE
Parent coaches. Soccer club board members.
These people are volunteers. Be nice. If you disagree with their vision, do so politely.
Referees make a tiny bit of money. Be nice to them, too.
Dealing with referees can be tricky. Through a certain age (in our area, U8), we have no referees, and coaches are responsible for making games fair and safe. Then coaches hand over that responsibility to referees who are often young, inexperienced and timid. These referees might not call the fouls that would have made coaches stop the game and talk to the kids. They might not even understand the simple mechanics of keeping a game running smoothly.
Most youth clubs — and certainly most referees — will tell coaches to say nothing to the refs other than “thank you” after the game. And that should be the goal. But you’ll run into some practical problems.
Some young refs don’t make clear signals — which team takes a throw-in, whether a free kick is direct or indirect, and so on. Many a U9 coach has yelled instructions to his team for how to take a free kick, something not often covered in practice, only to find that the other team is the one taking the free kick. Oops.
The bigger concern is safety. What do you do when a ref isn’t controlling the games, and the fouls are getting harder? What do you do when a kid gets bonked in the head, and you’re caught between obeying your licensing course’s concussion protocols and your club director’s admonition against yelling at the ref?
I’ll give two situations from my experience — one of which I’ll apologize for, one I won’t.
We had an All-Star tournament in which our guys were getting fouled a good bit. In the second game, with our second laissez-faire referee, I had to go out on the field to check on an injured player. I made a sarcastic comment to the ref: “You know, you can call fouls at U9.” He chirped back that they were 50-50 plays. Things went downhill from there. The ref could’ve handled it better, but I could’ve, too. When I surveyed youth referees about what I should’ve said in this situation, the responses ranged from “nothing” to “Pardon me, but this is a little more physical than we’re used to.”
Back in our House league, a hard shot nailed one of my players in the head. Somehow, he didn’t fall. He just held his head and started crying. Play continued. I screamed to stop play. The ref didn’t, the other team didn’t, and our team did. After the other team’s inevitable goal, I went out to check on our team’s injured player, and I yelled to my team not to worry about the goal they had conceded.
I’m not apologizing for the latter. My responsibility for my player’s safety trumps my responsibility to let refs build up their self-esteem.
The ref and I had a good conversation afterward, so all was well. Some of the other team’s parents might’ve thought I was a freak, but they could deal with it.
But that is, of course, a rare situation. Don’t yell at refs over offside calls. They’re going to get those wrong. And it’s often tough to see who played the ball before it went out of play for a throw-in. No harm will come from getting those plays wrong. Give the poor kid or well-intentioned adult a break.
So to sum it up: Safety first; shut up otherwise.
Source: Dure, Beau. “Youth Soccer Insider: When You Disagree with Volunteers and Refs — Do so Politely.” SoccerAmerica. N.p., 07 Sept. 2015. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.
Posted: July 17, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: Concussions, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By MIRANDA ROGLIANO
Dear Editor:
Due to the recent United States Women’s World Cup victory, high intensity contact sports have once again been brought to the public eye. These contact sports have become a lifestyle — with the competitive demands of the sport increasing with a child’s age.
Children today are asked to choose one sport to invest all of their time and energy in hopes of a ticket to college or becoming a professional. However, are children capable of making a decision that will affect their lives long-term?
Recent discoveries have shown that serious brain damage is occurring in the form of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. With modern technological advances, we are now able to recognize and record cases of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disease that has previously been unacknowledged. It is caused by trauma and impact to the head.
As a result, it is most commonly found in individuals involved in the military and contact sports such as American football, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. This disease attacks the regions of the brain that control emotion and memory, but effects differ based on age.
The players’ safety needs to be prioritized rather than validating the controlled brutality of the sports. Because children and parents struggle to make unbiased decisions, the ruling bodies of contacts sports, such as the NFL, have created some regulations.
Nevertheless, further measures need to be taken. Increasing the playing field’s size and reducing the number of players on the field would help to decrease the amount of head trauma.
Source: Rogliano, Miranda. “Letter: Player Safety a Priority.” The Sentinel. N.p., 17 July 2015. Web. 17 July 2015.
Posted: July 13, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: Concussions, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By ALEX FELSER
Heading a soccer ball during a match comes with risks, but colliding with another player on the field poses a much greater danger of causing a concussion among high school athletes, according to a report JAMA Pediatrics released Monday.
The national study of 2 million high school soccer practices and games from 2005-14 found player-to-player contact is the leading cause of concussions in the sport.
“Although banning heading from youth soccer would likely prevent some concussions, reducing athlete-athlete contact across all phases of play would likely be a more effective way to prevent concussions as well as other injuries,” the study concludes.
A sample of 1.4 million female cases revealed 627 concussions from all soccer-related causes, or a rate of about 4.5 concussions per 10,000 cases examined. Of the 1.6 million male athlete cases studied, 442 concussions were recorded, a rate of roughly 2.78 per 10,000.
When broken down into how the concussions occurred, about 69 percent of concussions among males were the result of running into another player. During a soccer-specific play, 30 percent resulted from heading the ball. Among females, 51 percent of concussions resulted from running into a player. Twenty-five percent resulted from heading the ball.
“Heading is a part of the game,” said Dr. Sam Akhavan, an orthopedic surgeon at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side. “You just have to be careful how you do it.”
Akhavan is a team physician for the Riverhounds, USA Rugby and the Pirates. He was not involved in the study and said he is skeptical of the authors’ conclusion that eliminating heading from soccer would “have limited effectiveness” in reducing the number of concussion.
“I’d call a 30 percent reduction significant,” he said.
PA West, the local state association under the U.S. Soccer Federation, announced a partnership with Allegheny Health Network earlier this year to offer baseline concussion testing for $10.
“It’s giving our members another opportunity to make sure if there is a head injury there is a baseline for them,” president Randy Lowden said.
Lowden said the increase of concussion awareness in all sports led to the partnership. Some teams encourage players to wear protective helmets or padded headbands during games, but Akhavan warned that might make some players overconfident.
“Players feel more protected, which might make someone more reckless,” he said. “There’s nothing shown that they reduce (concussions).”
He recommends leaving the game unchanged.
“There’s not enough data (to change the game),” he said.
Source: Kelser, Alex. “Study: Collisions Cause More Concussions in Soccer than Heading Ball.” TribLIVE.com. N.p., 13 July 2015. Web. 13 July 2015.
Posted: July 5, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: Concussions, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By JIM TUNNEY
There is currently much dialogue about concussions in contact sports. The National Football League has been a leader in developing and enforcing what is termed “concussion protocol.”
“Concussion is an important injury for the professional player, and the diagnosis, prevention, and management of concussion is important to the NFL, its players and member Clubs (read: teams) and the NFL Players Association. The NFL’s Head, Neck, and Spine Committee has developed a comprehensive set of protocols with regard to the diagnosis and management of concussions in NFL players.”
Every parent should be knowledgeable about, or at least aware, of the types of injuries that may occur due to such simple and normal risks when youngsters fall off their bikes or skateboards, even while wearing protective head gear. Such head gear may prevent cuts and bruises, but not necessarily concussions. NFL players wear technically advanced helmets, yet concussions — the result of the brain colliding with the interior of the skull — occur with some frequency. The symptoms can be difficult to observe externally and further masked by a kid insisting he’s OK in order to continue playing. This topic will not, and should not, go away. Awareness is key!
Of concern here is the 2015 Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, and the extensive use of “headers,” the soccer term for airborne balls redirected by a leaping player’s head. Almost every player does it, and one can imagine the impact of a 1-pound leather ball traveling at speeds of 30 to 60 mph. Every time I saw it happen the word “concussion” flashed through my mind. There’s a growing concern expressed by medical experts and soccer legends that this sport needs to “use its head” when it comes to player safety.
Recently a group of California parents filed a class-action suit that would limit how many times children under 17 can “head” the ball. As if there were a “safe” number. You kiddin’ me? How about none? “Why are we turning our kids’ heads into battering rams?” said the executive director of the Sports Legacy Institute.
Scientists say repeated blows to the head, whether from collisions with other players or simply heading the ball, can lead to memory loss, confusion, aggression or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Yes, eliminating headers from the game of soccer will change its nature, and maybe rightly so. New rules in football have changed the game — for the better. Basketball, especially the NBA, needs to follow suit.
Will you be able to convince others that safety rules need to come first?
Source: Tunney, Jim. “Jim Tunney: Soccer Should Use Its Head regarding Safety.”Jim Tunney: Soccer Should Use Its Head regarding Safety. N.p., 05 July 2015. Web. 07 July 2015.
Posted: July 2, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Concussions, Player Safety, Soccer, Youth Sports | Tags: Concussions, player safety, Safety Tag, Youth Sports |
By STACI KLEMMER
The discussion about concussions has been around for a few years and, helped in no small part through the efforts of people like Taylor Twellman, it’s an issue club and school soccer have finally started to treat more seriously.
Every coach in my club has to take the concussion test offered by EPYSA. My eldest son, as a incoming 9th grader, was required to take the baseline concussion test in order to play at the high school. My husband, who is a licensed referee, is also required to take a concussion test. In doing research for this article, I found to my surprise, that the Pennsylvania state legislature passed a bill in 2011 establishing standards for managing concussions known as the Safety in Youth Sports Act.
This rise in awareness is evident outside of the playing field. I’ve noticed it in my high school classroom. The first time I had heard of a student being out of school for an extended period of time due to a concussion was 2010. Now, it is not uncommon to have multiple students out for weeks with concussion symptoms. I’ve also had kids play the system and say they can’t take a test or turn in an assignment because they think they may have a concussion.
What gives me angst is that even with all of this testing, we’re still struggling with developing reliable protocols to determine, during a game, if a concussion has occurred. We’ve seen this time and time again in the professional leagues. The incidents with Oscar in the Arsenal-Chelsea match, and Germany’s Christoph Kramer in the 2014 World Cup final, are two examples that come to mind.
Professional rugby has implemented a policy that allows players with suspected concussions to be temporarily subbed out while medical professionals assess the player. If the player passes the test, they are allowed back onto the pitch. This sensible rule will help to prevent players continuing to play even after a head injury because the coach or the player wants to continue.
In soccer, the discussion on whether to allow a “short-term” sub so that a player can be evaluated, or allow teams an additional sub for the sole purpose of a concussion related injury, has gone nowhere. But if experts believe the three-minute period that is allowed in the World Cup for medical staff to evaluate a player for concussion is inadequate for a true diagnosis, what can be done at the youth level where, more often than not, a doctor won’t be on the sideline?
I know that for the most part, youth soccer errs on the side of caution. In games that my sons have played in, any hint of a head knock typically results in the player being pulled. Last year, my son came down hard and hit his head on the ground during a school practice. The coach called that evening to let us know what had happened. Being a teenager, our son didn’t say anything to us.
Still, in another game, the goalie took a kick to the back of the head, play continued, and the referee never stopped the game to evaluate the player. It took the coach yelling at the ref repeatedly for the whistle to be blown. Who is responsible for making these decisions? The referee? The coach? Someone else?
To my knowledge I’ve never had a concussion — well maybe once when I got mowed over by a runner when I was catching at home plate, but never to the extent that I was unable to function for an extended period of time. But, as we now know, suffering even a “slight” concussion increases the chances of the next concussion. In other words, there really is no such thing as a “minor” concussion.
Concerns about concussions coming from contact in the run of play have resulted in some school districts requiring players to wear protective head gear — much like USWNT defender Ali Krieger has been wearing at the World Cup — and there have long been calls to ban heading the ball in certain age levels, whether to minimize the chance for head-to-head contact, or over awareness of the cumulative effect heading the ball can have.
Despite the seriousness of concussions, whether coming from a kind of “When I was kid, I was told to just ‘suck it up,’ and I turned out fine” mentality, or in recognition of how overprotective we’ve become as a society, it can be hard sometimes when talking about concussions not to wonder if responses like requiring head gear or banning heading the ball are an overreaction.
The prescription for concussions is rest, no TV screens, no reading, and no strenuous mental work. As parents, coaches, referees, and administrators involved in youth soccer, we’ve come a long way in recognizing the dangers of concussion. But we can’t rest now, we still have a lot of work to do.
Source: Klemmer, Staci. “The Philly Soccer Page.” The Philly Soccer Page. N.p., 02 July 2015. Web. 07 July 2015.
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