Opinion: What can we do to prevent head trauma in youth sports?

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Football:

We can take actions to prevent severe head trauma in youth  ports. Together we can put an age limit on playing tackle Football, meaning the person needs to be a certain age in order to play in the more aggressive leagues otherwise known as Tackle Football. The most common head trauma occurs in the sport American Football. According to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, “In the United States, severe head injuries in sports are most commonly associated with American football, and a reported 90% of cases are ASDHs.” An ASDH is where you get a clot of blood between the outer lining of the brain and the brain itself.

Soccer:

Not all head trauma occurs in American football, it also occurs commonly in soccer, specifically when heading the soccer ball. On November 10, 2015, a rule was placed that children 10 and under were no longer allowed to head soccer balls during practices or games. Children between the ages 11 and 13 years old are allowed to practice heading at practice, but not in the games. Even with this rule in place, head trauma is still continuing to happen throughout youth sports. Head trauma in soccer can be reduced if kids are taught to head the ball appropriately and only use it as a last resource.

To The Parents:

To all of the parents out there. If your child plays an aggressive sport such as the ones listed above, here are some precautions you can take to avoid minor to serious head trauma: your child can wear padded headgear to avoid head injuries, and also you can enforce the rule of telling the children not to hit each other in the head when playing football or any other sport.