Friday, April 30, 2010
Youth football leagues and concussions
With the new rule that is going into effect at the high school level, I now question what many youth football leagues will do to try to comply with the rule. It will be a significant liability to simply volunteer as an Athletic Trainer to clear a kid to return to play. I imagine that if any ATC does volunteer to do it, they would certainly maintain a very conservative stance on allowing a kid to return, even more so than for the high school student athlete. (If being more conservative is even possible.) Our local youth league is already looking into various options and I plan on consulting to offer them insights as this develops.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Youth Sports Injuries
I am glad to see that there are some positive role models stepping up and starting to state that youths specializing in one sport all year long is not going to guarantee future success. The fact that these high profile athletes are stepping forward and telling eveyone that it is okay to participate in more than one sport while growing up.
Friday, April 16, 2010
NY Times article from March 30, 2010
This is an interesting article posted in the NY Times. I would like to say that I found this one on my own, but I will call it a "reblog" (I guess that is the blogging equivalent of retweeting) from Joe Przytula's blog.
I am not entirely sure what to think of this since I have my own opinions of the national debates, but I am not ready to apply them to such a specific case here.
I am not entirely sure what to think of this since I have my own opinions of the national debates, but I am not ready to apply them to such a specific case here.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
On the lighter side of things..
Today I was talking to a few parents about people that I have encountered during my career and how potentially serious problems became fairly humorous situations once the truth was known. I guess the best way to explain this situation is to give a couple of examples.
The first one realtes to an individual who was up in arms about how the school district is trying to cut budgets, but I was somehow able to order "personalized coolers" at some unknown high cost tothe district. The Athletic Director, who was at the center of a long list of questions about how the district was spending money, was able to respond very quickly top this accusation. The A.D. simply explained that we found a stash of older football helmet stickers that we weren't using anymore since we had changed the emblem on the sides of our helmets. He also stated that he would pass on the information to me the following day about this conversation. When it was toild to me, I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be feel complimented that it looked so professionally done or if I should feel like I was reprimanded. The best part was that the A.D. wasn't sure either.
The second instance occurred during a track meet and softball game. The parent of the injured girl was upset that I was not immediately on scene and had to be called in to attend to their daughter. They even went so far as to accuse me of being sexist. Nevermind I left a girls' softball game for that. The A.D. also thought that the accusation was extremely unfounded and in poor taste.
The first one realtes to an individual who was up in arms about how the school district is trying to cut budgets, but I was somehow able to order "personalized coolers" at some unknown high cost tothe district. The Athletic Director, who was at the center of a long list of questions about how the district was spending money, was able to respond very quickly top this accusation. The A.D. simply explained that we found a stash of older football helmet stickers that we weren't using anymore since we had changed the emblem on the sides of our helmets. He also stated that he would pass on the information to me the following day about this conversation. When it was toild to me, I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be feel complimented that it looked so professionally done or if I should feel like I was reprimanded. The best part was that the A.D. wasn't sure either.
The second instance occurred during a track meet and softball game. The parent of the injured girl was upset that I was not immediately on scene and had to be called in to attend to their daughter. They even went so far as to accuse me of being sexist. Nevermind I left a girls' softball game for that. The A.D. also thought that the accusation was extremely unfounded and in poor taste.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Timing is everything
It seemed unusual that no sooner had I read an article about the young pitcher in California who was hit in the head with a baseball, that I had a near miss at one of our first games of the year. The pitcher in our game was hit in the left shin with a line drive and, despite being able to remain standing, was in obvious pain. He tried to minimize the injury and continue to play, but his coach (they were the visiting team) decided he didn't want him to continue. (Fortunately, I would have recommended the same.) The young man spent the rest of the game on the bench with ice on his leg.
What I found most interesting was the conversation that ensued. An older gentleman who was watching the was horrified "to see this happen again" and wondered why the metal bats were still permitted in the game. To say that this person was a traditionalist would be an understatement. He continued to complain until a couple of younger fans accused him of being "outdated, out of touch and being an alarmist." I found it disconcerting to see the younger fans with such a lack of concern for the potential severity an injury. I assume that it was primarily because I have been around the game long enough to see some terrible injuries from line drives. It also demonstrated for me the "invincible attitude" that adolescents possess and use in their decision making process.
While I am not convinced that the metal bats have increased the number of injuries that have occurred from the line drives, I do feel that the severity of the injuries are certainly greater. I also understand that the home run makes the game much more exciting, but I question if it is worth the risk of injury.
What I found most interesting was the conversation that ensued. An older gentleman who was watching the was horrified "to see this happen again" and wondered why the metal bats were still permitted in the game. To say that this person was a traditionalist would be an understatement. He continued to complain until a couple of younger fans accused him of being "outdated, out of touch and being an alarmist." I found it disconcerting to see the younger fans with such a lack of concern for the potential severity an injury. I assume that it was primarily because I have been around the game long enough to see some terrible injuries from line drives. It also demonstrated for me the "invincible attitude" that adolescents possess and use in their decision making process.
While I am not convinced that the metal bats have increased the number of injuries that have occurred from the line drives, I do feel that the severity of the injuries are certainly greater. I also understand that the home run makes the game much more exciting, but I question if it is worth the risk of injury.
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