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National Center for Sports Safety and CDC Team-Up on Youth Sports Concussion Initiative

Author: NCSS Information Team

New Tool Kit Provides Essential Concussion Recognition and Response Information for All Youth Sports

(Birmingham, Alabama, October 1st, 2007) - The National Center for Sports Safety today announced they have joined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help promote a new initiative to protect participants of all youth sports who may be at risk of concussion. The campaign entitled, “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports,” expands efforts of previous CDC campaigns which were designed to protect teenagers at risk of concussion to athletes of all youth sports, regardless of age.

“We are committed to the safety of young athletes and know that concussions are serious — and very common in youth sports,” said Matthew Lemak, Executive Director of the National Center for Sports Safety. “The tool kit developed for this campaign will get the right information about how to identify and manage a concussion directly into the hands of the people that need it the most — our youth sports coaches, parents and the athletes themselves.”

A concussion is a brain injury caused by a bump or blow to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. It is estimated that as many as 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year.

The new “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports,” initiative includes a tool kit to help coaches, parents, and fellow athletes recognize the symptoms of a concussion and provides actions that need to be taken when an athlete is showing signs of a concussion. The tool kit is free-of-charge and includes a clipboard with essential and easy to use information about recognizing and responding to a suspected concussion.

It is the campaign's goal to equip each and every coach and parent of youth sports with the information needed to recognize and respond to concussions. In addition to the clipboard, the new tool kit also contains:

  • A fact sheet for coaches;
  • A fact sheet for athletes;
  • A fact sheet for athletes;
  • A magnet with concussion facts for coaches and parents;
  • A poster with concussion facts for coaches and sports administrators; and
  • A poster with concussion facts for coaches and sports administrators.

Since youth sports administrators play a vital role in sharing educational materials with their coaches, the campaign encourages youth sports program administrators to order and distribute the tool kits to the coaches in their programs at the beginning of the sports season.

Youth sport administrators and coaches are encouraged to order as many tool kits as needed and/or download extra copies of the concussion fact sheets. CDC's aim is to get the information into the hands — and heads — of all coaches, parents and athletes. The “Heads Up” tool kit can be ordered or downloaded free-of-charge at: http://www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports.

For more information about the National Center for Sports Safety, visit www.sportssafety.org or call 866-508-NCSS (6277).

Additional copies of the fact sheets for athletes and parents can be ordered at: http://www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports.

For more information about concussions, traumatic brain injury, or injury in general, visit the CDC Injury Center's website at www.cdc.gov/injury.

 
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