Sports Girls Play

Girls youth sports news, tips and resources for raising a happy, healthy athlete

Praise for More Concussion Education

With two athletes in high school now I am so happy to know that our high school and state have placed a priority on concussion awareness and education in all sports at the high school level. I was at the school earlier this week for fall sports night – a night where ALL fall athletes and their parents must attend to get information from the administration on academic eligibility, expectations and concussion awareness.  Every athlete in the school from the cheerleaders to the swimmers to the cross country runners to the football players and everyone in between must go through the ImPACT test when they first join the team so there is baseline data on every athlete in the event they suffer a head injury.

What is the ImPACT test?  From the ImPACT website:

ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is the first, most-widely used, and most scientifically validated computerized concussion evaluation system. ImPACT was developed to provide useful information to assist qualified practitioners in making sound return to play decisions following concussions.

If you have a student athlete who does a “non-impact” sport, you may not think that concussion education is important, but according to our school’s principal, the first athlete they had to retest following a head injury was not a football player or a soccer player, it was SWIMMER who had stood up in the locker room after a hard race and passed out immediately hitting her head on a counter top as she fell. My son also suffered a head injury this spring while swimming when he misjudged the wall and ended up with five stitches in his forehead (no concussion though).  So, really, you just never know and having that baseline data is just so important for managing a head injury when it occurs.

Did you know that 90% of concussion occur without the loss of consciousness? Did you know that the effects of a second and third injury have compounding repercussions if the initial injury is not completely healed? 

When in doubt, as a parent or a coach, if you have an athlete that has sustained ANY LEVEL of head injury – with or without the loss of consciousness – sit them out and get them evaluated! There are more important things in life than playing hurt. 

While it is great to see high schools, colleges and professional sports leagues taking concussion education and monitoring seriously, I would encourage pediatricians offices and/or youth sports leagues to offer baseline testing as well. 

For more information on concussions in youth sports, concussion education and concussion testing, see the following articles:

Office Depot Foundation to Donate 400,000 New Sackpacks This Year

Every day, millions of kids carry their stuff to school in plastic grocery bags because they can’t afford a backpack.  One innovative way to tackle this problem is to put free backpacks or sackpacks into the hands of children who need them the most.  Suddenly, they’re just like other kids.  Suddenly, they have hope. 

During the past 11 years, the Office Depot Foundation has provided more than 2.5 million backpacks to deserving children in local communities across North America and as far away as China through its National Backpack Program.  The Foundation will mark the 12th anniversary of the program this year by giving away approximately 400,000 colorful new sackpacks containing essential school supplies – the most it has ever donated in a single year.  But while these numbers are very large, the sackpacks make an impact on a singular level ? one child at a time.

Every Office Depot store in the United States will receive 50 sackpacks to give to non-profit organizations and schools in the community.  In addition, sackpacks will be donated through approximately 30 “Back-to-School Celebration” events in key Office Depot markets during the summer, as well as to a number of national non-profits serving children in the U.S. and, increasingly, around the world. 

 By the end of this year, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have donated more than 2.9 million backpacks and sackpacks to deserving children.

More information about the National Backpack Program can be found on the Office Depot Foundation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/officedepotfoundation.  For information on the Office Depot Foundation and its initiatives, go to www.officedepotfoundation.org/.  You can also follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/officedepotfndn.

Recommended Reading – January 27

My weeks are sandwiched between weekends filled with the kids’ swim meets, gymnastics meets and team events. The 8 weeks from January 1 – February 28 are undoubtedly the 8 craziest weeks in our schedule. But, its a good crazy – a crazy I wouldn’t trade for anything. So what does a busy, always on the go sports mom read? Below are some of my favorite articles from this week:

  • Youth Basketball – Do you have to be a star to be great?  (StatsDad) I think this article plays to all sports, not just basketball… definitely a good read.
  • It’s always a proud parent moment when the coach asks your athlete to train up with the next level or age group – but is it always a good idea? Moving Athletes Up: Good or Bad Idea? (JBM Thinks)
  • On the ice skating front, twelve year old Jin Baseman’s story is one that gives me goosebumps! Abandoned in a box on the side of a road in China as a baby, Jin was adopted by and American family, started skating at age 5  and immediately loved it. Jin has had lots of injuries and set backs, but her love for ice skating and aptitude for it indicate that she has a very bright future.
  • Determining what and how much your athlete should eat after practice or a game can be a little tricky as there is no simple one-size-fits-all answer. This article by Nancy Clark for Our Game magazine helps take some of the mystery out of it! Remember, if you are an athlete you need carbs.
  • While we are on the topic of nutrition – Chicks Play Sports has a good post about teaching your kids how to read nutrition labels.
  • Any guesses as to who will be the stand out star of the 2012 Olympic games this summer? It looks like there is not a general front runner at this point, however, gymnast Jordyn Wieber and swimmer Missy Franklin are definitely on the top of the list.

Have a great weekend everyone! One swim meet, one gymnastics meet, and one high school swim team bowling event define my weekend and I wouldn’t have it any other way!