COACHES
COACHES CORNER
1) It's imperative that parents and coaches focus on effective and positive ways to support kids in youth sports to keep them in the game. This Ted Talk by John O’Sullivan, author of Changing The Game details what has gone wrong in youth sports and what parents and coaches can do to turn it around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXw0XGOVQvw&t=18s
2) Safekids Worldwide has some great resources for sports safety. Check out this Safety Checklist for Coaches.
https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/documents/sports_safety_checklist_for_coaches.pdf
3) When in doubt, sit them out. This guide, created by SafeKids Worldwide and the CDC, is a great way to recognize, prevent, and prepare for concussions.
https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/documents/concussion_guide_for_coaches.pdf
4) Get trained in Concussion Safety for Youth Sports! The CDC provides a free training course for coaches as part of their Heads Up program.
5) Get trained in Concussion Safety for High School Sports! The CDC teamed up with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to provide a free training course for high school coaches.
https://nfhslearn.com/courses/concussion-in-sports-2
6) The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine has created an extremely informative website called Stop Sports Injuries that provides a plethora of information by sport, injury, and role to help educate coaches, parents and athletes on keeping kids safe and healthy.
7) It’s important that coaches encourage kids to try different sports and play multiple sports, especially at young ages, to keep them healthy and engaged. This Ted Talk given by Dr. Nikhil Verma, Director of Sports Medicine at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Hospital details the dangers of early sports specialization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Slxq7qajs
8) Good nutrition is critical to a student-athlete performing their best in school and in sports. TrueSport’s TrueFood nutrition resources are a great offering to fuel the mind and body of student-athletes.
https://truesport.org/true-food/
9) Team sports participation is essential for good mental health. This study, published in Jama Pediatrics in 2019, showed that, among those with adverse childhood experiences, team sports participation during adolescence was significantly associated with better adult mental health outcomes, especially for males, including lower likelihood of having ever received a diagnosis of depression or anxiety and having current depressive symptoms.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2734743