Mar 14, 2017NATM 2017: Safety in Youth Sports
As part of our celebration of National Athletic Training Month 2017, Training & Conditioning is highlighting five significant contributions that have tremendously impacted the profession. This week, we are focusing on safety in youth sports.
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Keeping athletes in youth sports safe has become increasingly important. As a result, a number of organizations and initiatives have been introduced to help athletic trainers and other professionals as they work with young athletes. This blog focuses on three that have led the charge.
The Youth Sports Safety Alliance (YSSA) was introduced in 2009 by the NATA with the goal of making sports programs safer for young athletes. One way the YSSA is working toward this is with its National Action Plan that gives specific recommendations for policymakers.
Another way the YSSA works toward improving safety for youth sports is through the annual Youth Sports Safety Summit (YSSS). This event provides a full day of information delivered from sports safety leaders and focuses on current issues for youth sports.
The 2017 YSSS focused on, “Less Risk, More Reward: Emphasizing Safety and Encouraging Success.” Attendees learned about pre-existing conditions and potentially dangerous practice habits relating to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, heat stroke, and cardiac arrest. Along with sharing this information and relevant case studies, the summit provided resources to help mitigate risks.
This year’s YSSS also released new recommendations titled, “The Inter-Association Task Force Document on Emergency Health and Safety: Best-Practice Recommendations for Youth Sports Leagues, for national governing bodies to make sure that best policies and procedures are in place for young athletes. As outlined in a press release
