April is Youth Sports Safety Month

March is ending and National Athletic Training Month (NATM) has come and gone for another year.  As NATM ends, Youth Sports Safety Month (YSSM) begins.  This awareness focus provides a continued opportunity to help youth and adolescents participate in sports safely.  NATM focused on appropriate medical coverage and care for athletes by advocating for athletic trainers, particularly at secondary schools, while YSSM provides a broader focus in youth sports safety.  One organization working to promote YSSM is the Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention Sports Injuries campaign.  Better known as STOP Sports Injuries, an initiative started by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and other key groups in 2007, has worked to prevent injuries of all kinds in young athletes. 

To learn more about what STOP Sports Injuries is doing to promote YSSM, check out THIS link.  The group is encouraging everyone to get involved in YSSM by holding your own event, getting involved in their photo contest and participating in their sports safety tweet chats.  Chats are scheduled for April 10^th and April 24^th.  You can get involved at #SportsSafety, check out their twitter page for more information.  These chats are great ways to connect with experts and other parents who are concerned about protecting their children. 

STOP Sports Injuries is also great for expanding the ideas of safety and prevention beyond the traumatic (and potentially catastrophic) concerns of concussions, exertional heat illness, and sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).  They have resources that bring attention to minimizing overuse injuries in youth athletes, female athlete triad, and sports nutrition as well.  Resources are available based on specific sports, specific issues and for specific stakeholders ranging from parents, athletes, coaches, and health care providers.  For more information, check out the Sports Injury Prevention section of their website. 

STOP Sports Injuries is not the only group does work regularly to make youth sports safer on some level.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know A4IA continues to work to educate high school athletes through the ASA® program and other public advocacy.  The continued focus on youth sports safety should continue to educate us all on how we can allow children to take advantage of the positives that come from participating in sports while minimizing the negatives of chronic injuries and the potential for long-term disability.  According to recent information published by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) the awareness and education is beginning to have a positive effect; for athletes between the age of 5 and 14, sports injuries decreased 12% between 2000 and 2010. 

Some of the other organizations that have gotten involved in the youth sports safety education mission include:

MomsTeam

Youth Sport Safety Alliance

SAFE Kids USA

National Athletic Trainers’ Association

Korey Stringer Institute

Matthew Alan Gfeller Foundation

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Medical Society for Sports Medicine

National Strength and Conditioning Association

Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America

Sports Physical Therapy Section

This list is not an all-inclusive list of professional organizations and non-profits that have had some role in improving youth sports safety, but it is a sampling of some of the major national organizations.  As always, you are encouraged to get involved in your local community with your local organizations.  With a little help from the Internet, you may find there is a non-profit in your area that is working to improve safety in one way or another.  If you find something, find a way to get involved and make a change in your community.

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC

National Athletic Training Month Helps Kick Start Fundraising for A4IA

As National Athletic Training Month (NATM) is now officially here I thought it would be interesting to find out what people are doing to raise awareness about athletic trainers and their important role in athletic health and safety.  I did not have to go far.  Stephenville High School in Stephenville, Texas and the Athletic Training Club at The Ohio State University has taken it upon themselves to help raise funds for A4IA.  Given A4IA’s mission of promoting the profession of athletic training and this year’s motto of “Everybody Needs and Athletic Trainer” it seems a natural fit.

I had the opportunity to speak with Kendall Goldberg, one of two athletic trainers, along with Mike Carroll at Stephenville High School who put together a t-shirt sale as part of their promotion of NATM.  Both Mike and Kendall are not only advocates for A4IA, but are very active within the NATA and Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association (SWATA).  Their idea is to sell t-shirts that include on the front, “I 'HEART' My Athletic Trainer” in an effort to promote the need for athletic trainers in high schools.  If you are interested in a t-shirt, you can download an order form and contact Mike or Kendall (their information is available via the Stephenville HS link above).

While speaking with Kendall I learned that there is a small athletic training student program at Stephenville which includes a basic sports medicine class as well as first aid and CPR.  Additionally, Mike and Kendall work with all the athletes on campus.  It is commonplace for older students to advocate for the athletic training staff to the younger students who are hesitant to seek help or are unsure of what Mike and Kendall do.  There is another type of advocacy happening at Stephenville because of this t-shirt sale; Stephenville students are realizing how fortunate they really are to have Mike and Kendall.  They often return from away trips where there is no athletic trainer surprised and disappointed that athletic trainers are not available to them or their opponent.  These high school athletes are beginning to understand at a very young age the importance of athletic trainers.  I would argue that this awareness and understanding could lead to future parent advocates for athletic trainers at more high schools.

At The Ohio State University Alexis Heimert, Vice President and the rest of The Ohio State University Athletic Training Club are planning and participating in the 4^th annual Running with the Buckeyes, a 5K race coordinated by the group.  Each year the event promotes NATM and happens on March 24, 2013.  You can register in advance or race day.

Alex and the rest of the group found out about A4IA through the Facebook page and Tommy’s video.  They did more research to learn about the organization and its goals.  The club, impressed by A4IA’s desire to promote the profession of athletic training, a primary purpose of the club, decided to help.  They felt it was their responsibility as future professionals to advocate for organization that promotes their profession through public education, pushing for increased access to athletic trainers, and the important role athletic trainers play in athletic health care.

These are only two examples of athletic training advocacy happening this month that could use your support.  These two groups decided to help A4IA by raising money on its behalf.  If after reading this, you want to get involved it can be as simple as saying thank you to your athletic trainer for all their hard work, supporting one of the events above or checking with your local, state or regional athletic training organization to see what events they have planned.  Other events to consider:  1) write your state representative in California to support passage of AB864, state licensure for ATs, 2) check out the Far West Athletic Trainers’ Association (FWATA) site for a variety of events, or 3) come up with an event of your own! 

Grassroots advocacy can make a difference as the students at Stephenville High School and The Ohio State University have shown us.  Every little bit helps, so what will you do? 

Happy National Athletic Training Month!

Submitted by Heather L. Clemons, MS, MBA, ATC