Sport-related concussions are receiving a significant amount of attention in professional sports and have become one of the main topics of discussion in sports media.
The seriousness of this sport injury continues to impact professional athletes, specifically those who compete in the National Football League and National Hockey League, but the effects of concussions are also experienced by athletes at the high school, middle school, and youth sport levels.The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 4 million concussions occur in sport-related activities in the U.S. annually. With millions of Americans experiencing the effects of concussions each year, the need to effectively prevent and manage concussions is of great priority in the sports profession.
The United States Sports Academy is taking the initiative to educate coaches about sport-related concussions.
A grant supplied by the Association of Applied Sport Psychology has helped the Academy donate concussion screening tools, facts sheets, manuals, and testing devices to local schools and youth organizations. So far, the Academy has reached out to Mobile County Training School, Clark-Shaw Magnet School, Phillips Preparatory School, and Leflore Magnet High School with these tools.
The Academy has also given presentations to youth organizations such as the Southern Youth Sports Association in Pensacola, Fla. and the Municipal Football Organization in Mobile, Ala.
One of the main benefits of this concussion program is the donation of an effective and reliable concussion screening device known as the King-Devick Test, an objective, rapid sideline screening test for concussions that can be administered by coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic support personnel.
Leflore Magnet High School running back Robert Henderson (pictured above) had the opportunity to demonstrate the King-Devick test to his classmates. Henderson noted that “the information presented to us was valuable and will be used accordingly. I enjoyed being a part of the presentation.”
The Academy will continue these efforts for schools and youth organizations starting in January 2014. To learn more about the Academy’s concussion program, contact Doctoral Teaching Assistant Brandon Spradley at bspradley@ussa.edu or 251-626-3303.
Brandon Spradley is a Doctoral Teaching Assistant at the United States Sports Academy.