Youth Sports Safety

A 2008 survey by The National Council of Youth Sports found that over 44 million children participate in some youth sports program. Safe Kids USA reports that 3.5 million children under 14 years of age receive medical treatment for a sports injury each year. With this many children experiencing injury, it is imperative that parents, coaches and the athletes themselves learn how to maximize youth athletes' health and safety.

Youth Sports Safety by Sport

Football is the youth sport with the highest injury percentage. Safe Kids USA finds that 28 percent of football players incur an injury during the season. This is followed by 25 percent of baseball players, 22 percent of soccer players, 15 percent of basketball players and 12 percent of softball players.

Heat Related Illness and Prevention

Dr. Amadeus Mason of the National Center for Sports Safety (NCSS) says heat related illnesses, such as dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, are among the most common youth sport injuries and affect thousands of athletes every year. Heat-related illness is also one of the leading causes of athlete death. Dr. Mason states that heat-related illnesses can be prevented by avoiding high temperatures, especially if there is also high humidity, and maintaining hydration. Youth sport athletes need to drink plenty of fluids such as water and electrolyte beverages while playing sports.
Symptoms of heat-related illness include confusion, lightheadedness, excessive fatigue and unexpected irritability. Any athlete with these symptoms should cease activity and move to a cooler environment where she can rehydrate under the supervision of a medical professional.

Concussion

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there are as many as 3.8 million sports and recreational concussions every year. A concussion is an injury to the head resulting from some type of impact. The CDC maintains that all concussions are potentially serious injuries and need to be diagnosed and treated as such. An athlete suffering from a concussion may experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity and confusion. A parent or coach observing the injured athlete should look for memory loss, confusion, loss of consciousness and a dazed appearance. Athletes suffering from a concussion should be evaluated by a medical professional.

Overuse

Overuse injuries are the result of repeated stress over time. Two examples are stress fractures and tendinitis. Information from the NCSS says over half of all youth sports injuries are from overuse, the result of too much stress placed on young athletes' bodies without sufficient recovery. Overuse injury rates have risen as youth athletes specialize in one sport at earlier ages.

What Parents Can Do

Each sport has its own safety risks, and the NCSS recommends parents educate themselves on biggest safety issues their child's sport poses. The coach the child plays for should be trained in first-aid and how to safely coach the sport. Parents can lower the risk of overuse injuries by having their children play different sports throughout the year. It is also important that the facilities and equipment children use meet recommended safety standards.
A child should be prepared to meet the physical requirement of his sport and play at an appropriate level for his current fitness. Safety equipment that fits correctly and can be properly used by child is also an important step in maximizing safety. If the safety equipment does not properly fit or is not used then it is not improving safety. This is also why proper adult supervision is a key to youth sports safety.

Youth Sports Safety