Football players practice last year at Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Ariz.

—Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic/AP-File

Governing bodies target football players

Emerging research on head injuries among young athletes is causing a sea change of policies—particularly for football players—aimed at reducing the number of impacts and the severity of such hits.

The National Federation of State High School Associations now requires youth-football players to leave the field for one play after losing their helmet. USA Hockey has banned full-body checking in leagues for children 12 and younger. And the Minnesota State High School League recently adopted stricter penalties for checking and head contact, after two teenagers were hospitalized from being hit from behind during hockey games.

Many of the new policies focus on reducing concussion risk factors in game-day situations. Far fewer, however, address practice, which can be more injurious.

A new joint study from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Wake Forest University, for example, found that unlike in high school and college football, the hardest hits for youth-football players typically occur during practice.

The researchers placed instruments in the helmets of seven football players, ages 7 and 8, and examined a total of 748 impacts that they endured. They found that roughly 60 percent of all head impacts occurred in practice.

Interactive Map

Of the 38 high-level impacts (forces that were 40 or more times the pull of gravity) examined, 29 took place during practice.

Preliminary findings from the study were released back in October, and suggested that the frequency of the most-severe hits was substantially lower than in adult football. According to the latest findings, released last week, however, youth-football players endured "head accelerations in the range of concussion-causing impacts measured in adults."

The study's authors suggest changing the structure of youth-football practices to eliminate "high-impact drills that do not replicate the game situations." Instead, they suggest youth-football coaches focus on "practicing fundamental skill sets needed in football at these young ages."

The study, "Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football," was published online in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

Helmet Fit

The national federation recently changed eight rules for high school football, including one that requires players to leave the field for at least one down if they lose their helmet during a play.

That new rule does not apply, however, if a player loses his helmet as a direct result of ,,,

Click here to continue reading.

Vol. 31, Issue 22, Page 8