Football Coaches Can Highlight Player Safety With Sports Team Websites

Football is one of the most widely adored sports in the country and has also been a staple of youth athletics for many years. It’s seen as a way to encourage teamwork and discipline. It’s also a way for kids to make friends and stay out of trouble.

However, this sport also poses a number of serious health risks. Concussions, ligament tears, bone breaks and sprains have become a great concern for both parents and general football fans. As a result, college football and the NFL have implemented a wide range of new policies related to the injuries. Meanwhile, parents know that they must be aware of these issues.

While mom and dad play a very important role in talking to their kids about player safety, coaches also have a responsibility to do the same. Through sports team websites, they can talk about safety measures that can allow young people to enjoy football in the safest way possible.

Real threats should be understood

When a young athlete wants to play football, they need to understand the risks of the game. By knowing the potentials dangers of football before stepping onto the field, a player could adjust their style of play accordingly. A report by Boston Magazine takes the time to focus one of the most common maladies of the sport - head injuries.

“The sheer volume of cases, I think, is going to just overwhelm anybody that wants to be in denial about the existence of this problem,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, co-director of Boston University’s CTE Center, according to the news source. “Roughly 80 percent of all people with histories of hits to the head showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE in short, which results in gradual degradation of brain tissue.”

A coach could provide this information by Dr. Cantu on a team website and, in turn, encourage young athletes to tackle opponents the right way, instead of helmet-to-helmet.

Big Ten focuses on player safety with new concussion protocol

The Big Ten conference recently announced new concussion standards which penalize football teams that don’t comply with the protocol. The release of the guidelines shows the conference’s interest in focusing on these serious issues, which young athletes should clearly understand.

“The enhanced concussion protocols will be incorporated by reference into the existing conference-wide concussion management policy and will include reporting requirements, disciplinary action for non-compliance and a higher level of accountability for conference member institutions,” the Big Ten said in a release.