As Americans, we live in a sports-minded country. We greatly value sports as a form of entertainment and exercise. With millions of fans paying unreasonable amounts of money to go to a baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and any other competitive sporting event, parents overlook the risk of injuries. These injuries can vary from anything as little as a hairline fracture to a life-threatening situation. Of these sports-related injuries, the most common sports related injury is a concussion. Knowledge and awareness of concussions have improved at the professional, college, and high school level. However, in youth sports confusion is still present. Parents and athletes involved in youth athletics lack the knowledge and awareness of the most common sports related injury.

A concussion is defined as a "traumatic brain injury occurring after an impact to the head." (Turner) During an impact, the brain is pushed against the skull which can result in bruising of the brain. The number of reported concussions consistently increases each year, “3,800,000 concussions reported in 2012, double what was reported in 2012.” (Turner) Repetitive head impacts and multiple concussions may result in a decrease in "cognitive function" such as memory loss and changes in "brain physiology." (Erdtmann) Traumatic concussions to the brain can be hard to detect, it cannot be seen. “The only way to check for a concussion is by assessing the signs and symptoms and performing functional testing such as ImPACT testing, balance testing, occulomotor testing, etc.” (Edrtmann) Many athletes who do not see a health care professional can be unaware they have this injury. 

According to Frederick Erdtmann, there is a lack of medical information regarding youth age athletes getting concussions. Participants of an experiment proved that parents of youth aged athletes "don't really understand concussion protocols, and therefore, mainly trust the “coaches” knowledge in return-to-play protocols."(Edrtmann) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DoD) stand behind Edrtmann's argument. The NIH and DoD support further research on "concussion diagnosis, prognosis, and recovery in youth and to inform the creation of age-specific, evidence-based guidelines for the management of short- and long-term health consequences of concussion in youth." (Edrtmann) As sports continue to grow in popularity, further research on concussions in youth athletics is required to insure maximum safety for all athletes. Concerned coaches, school officials, and parents have raised questions about the effects of concussions and how to avoid these injury outcomes. Concussion education must have an increased awareness due to the fact that only a general understanding of "how to identify concussion symptoms" is present.

Bonny Bloodgood performed an experiment to determine “how these athletes and their parents view this injury and how much they know about it.” (Bloodgood) To obtain his results, youth athletes and their parents, filled out a survey online to determine their specific views on concussions. Bloodgood found that, “more than four out of five youth and parents reported that they had heard about concussions, although awareness was significantly higher for some subgroups.” (Bloodgood) He also explains how traumatic concussions are to the brain, “contributing to a significant number of injury-related deaths and cases of permanent disability. Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain a TBI.” (Bloodgood) Concussion education must have an increased awareness due to the fact that only a general understanding of "how to identify concussion symptoms" is present.

Parental concern has allowed companies to increase safety in sports equipment. Many parents refuse to place their son or daughter into contact sports due to the risks of injuries. The amount of participation in youth football has declined in many states across the United States. "The severity of brain injury is one of the hottest topics in sports media today, and it is creating a storm of near-panic in youth sports—especially football." (Maroon & Bailes) Eventually, parental fear of contact sports may become detrimental to youth sport organizations at the youth level which will then cause a decline in high school contact sports. Throughout the years, sports have become much more dangerous causing safety equipment to be improved. Companies have been certified to design safety equipment that especially protects the athlete. According to a study conducted by Joseph Maroon and Julian Bailes, there is limited evidence that "helmets actually reduce the risk of concussions and barely any evidence that mouth guards reduce concussion risk.” (Maroon & Bailes) Designing more effective safety equipment will help to protect athletes, especially youth age from concussions. 

There is much debate on concussions in the youth sports industry and whether or not children should participate in contact sports at such a young age. This experiment focused on how the benefits of children being involved in youth contact sports outweigh the big risks. Neely and Holt performed an experiment to “examine parents’ perspectives on the benefits of sport participation for their young children.” (Neely & Holt) To obtain their results, “Twenty-two parents (12 mothers, 10 fathers) of children aged 5–8 years participated in individual semi structured interviews.” (Neely & Holt) Neely and Holt found that, “children gained a range of personal, social, and physical benefits from participating in sports because it allowed them to explore their abilities and build positive self-perceptions.” (Neely & Holt) Their argument also explains that being a part of a team at such a young age provides children with many social benefits. Holt explains many direct quotes that parents’ have reported about their children. One parent that participated in thestudy explained how her daughter met other children and made friends. This parent mentioned, “sports teach them how to get along with other kids and to make friends with the people that they don’t really know or see as often as they would in school.” (Neely & Holt) Most readers are unaware how hard it is for some children to make friends especially outside of school. Neely and Holt believe that the benefits of youth sports outweigh the risks. They also believe that without youth sports children wouldn’t receive as many physical, personal, or social benefits at such an early age.

Rules throughout the nation should be the exact same and not include variety. "Parents and athletes shouldn't be allowed to make decisions concerning when to return to play due to lack of knowledge." (Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, & Pond) Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, and Pond performed an experiment to determine that, “legal mandates consistent with up-to-date scientific understanding are necessary for successful enforcement of concussion protocols.” (Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, & Pond) Throughout their study they reviewed laws and concussion policy to come up with a goal. Their ultimate goal is, “protection of student-athletes from the medical consequences associated with concussions.” (Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, & Pond) Ludwig discussed, “necessary legal mandates to support the primacy of the athletic trainer serving as a health care provider in determining the return-to-play status of a student-athlete with concussions.” (Ludwig) The authors’ argument also provides an emotional information on how traumatic concussions are to the brain, “this type of brain injury may lead to bleeding in or around your brain, causing symptoms such as prolonged drowsiness and confusion. Such bleeding in your brain can be fatal.” (Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, & Pond) This causes the reader to experience fear because most readers are unaware how traumatic brain injuries really are. Ciccoella, Ludwig, Van Ness, Sailor, and Pond provides research on traumatic brain damage caused by concussions, how concussions affect the youth sports industry, and the current legal mandates surrounding the injury.

If further research is conducted to ensure and improve safety standards and equipment design, the risk of concussions in youth sports will be reduced. Coaches also believe in performing an information session on concussions before practices start. Everyone should understand the health risks of not allowing proper healing time, which could result in further brain damage by returning too soon. Parents and athletes shouldn't be allowed to make decisions concerning when to return-to-play due to lack of knowledge. Parents may view youth athletics as they are in charge. They can sometimes have the mindset of only winning which takes the fun out of the sports and may cause injuries to be disregarded. Parents can also view youth athletics as a way of “living through their child.” This causes parents to avoid their child’s injuries and make the call if their child should return-to-play. Improving concussion knowledge, safety equipment and standards, and changing social norms surrounding concussions can help reduce these mild traumatic brain injuries.
