ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 15, 2016 – In their longstanding commitment to young athlete health and welfare, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Youth Sports Safety Alliance hosted today the seventh annual Youth Sports Safety Summit in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s program built on the foundation of prior summits and reinforced the theme: Stay Ahead of the Game: Preventing Catastrophic Injury in Youth Sports, with a focus on several sports health conditions and a collaborative approach to safety. U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., (NJ-09), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, provided the keynote address on brain injuries and the national discussion that has emerged, to an audience of parent advocates, school administrators, educators, health care professionals and others.
The NATA-founded Youth Sports Safety Alliance comprises nearly 260 organizations committed to preventing catastrophic, chronic and acute injury and illness in youth athletes. More than 7.8 million high school athletes participate in youth sports today; there were more than 50 sport-related deaths of young athletes in 2015; in 2014-2015, 59.2 percent of injuries reported to an athletic trainer by high school athletes were sustained in competition; the remainder occurred during practice.
“Over the past seven years we have seen terrific strides in youth sports safety education, research and legislation,” says NATA President Scott Sailor, EdD, ATC, who moderated today’s program. “Each year, we collectively address leading health conditions and challenges regarding student athlete sports safety and bring together the country’s leading experts to share challenges, successes, research and trends, to ensure the right protocols and best practices are in place. At the end of the day, it is all about ensuring the safety of the athlete.”
Summit topics ranged from new insights regarding concussion recovery; mental health considerations for secondary school athletes; opiate abuse; preventing pediatric overuse injuries; and a collaborative approach to safety.
Athletic Trainer Initiative
The NFL Foundation, NATA, Gatorade and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) announced the winners of the Athletic Trainer Initiative, a national contest to provide high schools across the country much-needed funding for athletic trainers. The 15 winning schools will receive $50,000 to be used toward an athletic training program. The contest is an extension of the partners’ athletic training outreach program, aimed to expand access to this valuable resource and improve youth athlete safety.
New Study News on Age Differences after Sport-Related Concussions
NATA released a study, “Age Differences in Recovery After Sport-Related Concussion: A Comparison of High School and Collegiate Athletes,” published online today in the in the March Journal of Athletic Training, NATA’s scientific publication. Lead author Lindsay Nelson, PhD, ATC, assistant professor of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin and her colleagues studied high school and college athletes and found that there is no clinically significant age difference in recovery following sport-related concussion, and therefore separate injury management protocols for high school and collegiate athletes are not needed. The findings differ from current consensus guidelines suggesting that more conservative injury management practices may be needed for child and adolescent athletes versus adult.
Second Annual Youth Sports Safety Ambassador Awards Announced
The association also unveiled its second annual Youth Sports Safety Ambassador Awards, presented to individuals and/or entities that have made a significant contribution to advancing athlete safety based on two criteria: providing exemplary youth sports safety protocols and care that set a precedent and/or model that others can follow; or, by advancing youth sports safety in one of the following areas: provision of appropriate medical care, research, policy change and/or resource allocation.
Recipients include: Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) for its work with high schools to prevent sudden cardiac arrest through education and lifesaving programs and to assist schools in acquiring AEDs; U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09) for his significant leadership role in the U.S. Congress in advocating for student athlete safety and his dedication to educating others about the dangers of traumatic brain injury (TBI); and USA Football for its commitment to the safety of young athletes through its leadership, including innovative, comprehensive approach to teaching and playing the sport, addressing how coaches are trained, athletes are taught, parents are informed and safety is handled.
Safe Sport School Award Presented to Washington, DC Schools
The NATA Safe Sports School Award was presented to 11 high schools in the Washington, DC school district. The award recognizes secondary schools that provide safe environments for student athletes and reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment. Awarded schools include: Anacostia High School, Cardozo Educational Campus, Columbia Heights Educational Campus, Coolidge Senior High School, Eastern Senior High School, Frank W. Ballou Senior High School, H. D. Woodson Senior High School, McKinley Tech High School, Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School, Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School and Woodrow Wilson High School.
Nationally Acclaimed Speakers Address Concussion, Mental Health, Opiate Abuse, Pediatric Overuse Injuries and Collaboration among Youth Sports Governing Bodies
Call to Action Issued
The summit included a full day of presentations and discussions featuring several nationally prominent youth sports safety medical experts and advocates. Amy Jorgensen, NFL senior manager, Health and Safety Policy, updated the group on NFL sports safety initiatives; Jennifer Weiss Burke, executive director, Healing Addictions in Our Community, Serenity Mesa Youth Recovery Center discussed opiate abuse among teenage athletes; and Tamara McLeod, PhD, ATC, FNATA, professor of athletic training, Endowed Chair of Sports Medicine, AT Still University, addressed the prevention of pediatric overuse injuries.
In the afternoon session, Tim Neal, MS, ATC, assistant professor, Health and Human Performance, Athletic Training Program clinical education coordinator, Concordia University, provided new insight on mental health concerns and strategies for student athlete wellness; Nailah Coleman, MD, FAAP, FACSM, assistant professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University, addressed the American Academy of Pediatrics’ statement on tackling in youth football; Rebecca Stearns, PhD, ATC, chief operating officer, Korey Stringer Institute, gave a progress report from a recent youth sports governing bodies meeting that addressed health and safety recommendations for youth athletes; Kelli Jantz, RN, transplant coordinator and parent advocate spoke about advocating for safety in sport from the parent’s perspective; and Jillian Urban, PhD, research assistant professor, Wake Forest Baptist Health, discussed sports safety for all ages and one institution’s experience with youth football.
The event concluded with a formal Call to Action:
- Ensure that young athletes have access to health care professionals who are qualified to make assessments and decisions.
- Educate your family about the symptoms of musculoskeletal and neurologic injuries.
- Ensure pre-participation exams take place before play begins; and that sports equipment and playing surfaces are checked for safety and best conditions.
- Contact federal legislators to support national sports safety resolutions.
- Support further research into youth sports injuries, mental health and their effects.
“Today’s summit has helped us set the course for the year ahead in an effort to reduce catastrophic injury in youth sports and ensure that student athlete health and welfare is paramount,” said Sailor. “Ensuring best practices are in place and communication among sports medicine teams, athletes, administrators, parents and coaches can help save lives. We leave here with a renewed purpose and commitment to reducing risk of injury and the acute, chronic or catastrophic outcomes that can follow.”
Additional speaker information or interviews are available upon request. For more information please visit: www.youthsportssafetysummit.org
About NATA: National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & Sport
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association represents and supports 43,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org
About the Youth Sports Safety Alliance:
Since 2010, the Youth Sports Safety Alliance has worked to raise awareness, advance legislation and improve medical care for young athletes across the country. High school athletes suffer 2 million injuries; 200,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations every year. The alliance is committed to reducing those numbers and improving the health and safety of young athletes. The YSSA was founded by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and comprises more than 200 member organizations. Visit: www.youthsportssafetyalliance.org