Q

IS FOOTBALL SAFE?

A

Every sport our kids love to play offers an abundance of physical, emotional and social advantages. Enjoying any sport comes with a chance for injury. However, sports today – including football – are taught and played smarter and safer than ever before. It begins with trained coaches and forward-thinking developmental frameworks.

Q

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COACH IS PROPERLY TRAINED?

A

USA Football’s Youth Coach Certification provides your child’s coaches with a fundamental education in heat and hydration, sudden cardiac arrest, concussion recognition and response, age-appropriate Football Development Model modules, tackling, blocking and equipment fitting (for tackle football coaches) and abuse prevention and reporting.

All youth coaches must earn their certificate annually to be certified. Coaches who earned their certification in 2020 would not be certified for 2021 until they complete their 2021 certification requirements

Q

HOW COMMON ARE CONCUSSIONS?

A

There is insufficient data on the frequency of

concussion in youth football (pre-high school) to accurately answer this question due to a number of factors like restrictions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, availability of funding, use of human subjects and others. USA Football encourages more robust research in the area of concussion occurrence so the medical community can better assess the prevalence of the issue.

Q

WHAT'S THE BEST HELMET AVAILABLE?

A

A properly fitted helmet - regardless of manufacturer - is a key step in reducing the risk of concussions, facial lacerations and fractures.

TVYFL partners with USA Football and Riddell to educate coaches on properly fitting helmets as part of USA Football's Youth Coach Certification and to help parents by providing helmet fitting guidelines, available here. Coaches and parents should continue checking helmet fittings frequently throughout the season to ensure the helmet is still properly fitting the player.

Also, helmets should have a National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) seal. All TVYFL Associations are encouraged to follow the reconditioning guidelines of the helmet manufacturers.

Q

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF A CONCUSSION?

A

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), concussion symptoms reported by an athlete in any sport include:

• Headache or “pressure” in head
• Nausea or vomiting
• Balance problems or dizziness
• Double or blurry vision
• Sensitivity to light
• Sensitivity to noise
• Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy or groggy
• Concentration or memory problems
• Confusion
• Just not “feeling right” or is “feeling down”

Across all sports, the CDC cites the following concussion signs observed by parents/ guardians:

• Appears dazed or stunned
• Is confused about assignment or position
• Forgets an instruction
• Is unsure of game, score or opponent
• Moves clumsily
• Answers questions slowly
• Loses consciousness (even briefly)
• Shows mood, behavior or personality changes

For more information, check out the CDC’s “Concussion Fact Sheet for Parents.”