February Newsletter from Youth Football Coaches Association

How do you avoid meltdowns when you are coaching youth

football?

First of all, you have to prepare for possible meltdown situations, they can and do happen, not only in youth football, but at all levels of the game. Last year in the Capital One Bowl we saw a prime example of a classic meltdown in the Nebraska- South Carolina game. The Cornhuskers scored first to take a 6-0 lead to then have their PAT run back to make it a 6-2 game instead of 7-0, a 4 point swing. Nebraska totally dominated the first half in yards, time of possession and most importantly physicality. They held South Carolinas offense to a single score. NU was leading 13-9 with just 1 second remaining in the half, with the Gamecocks on their own 49 yard line. South Carolina scored a touchdown on the last play of the half on a Hail Mary bomb. You could see the look of defeat in those Nebraska kids eyes as they had their heads bowed down and slowly trotted to the locker room for halftime. Nebraska never recovered from that, getting shut out in the second half in a 30-13 loss. I saw 2 games this year at the Pop Warner National Championships in Orlando where a team that scored right before the half and was still trailing, won the game. Read More at WininingYouthFootball.com

Specific findings

The study by researchers at Temple University, the Orthopedic Center in Rockville, Maryland, and the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found that:

athletes wearing properly fitted football helmets, as reported by team certified athletic trainers, were 82% less likely to experience concussion with loss of consciousness (LOC);

Helmet age, condition (new vs. reconditioned) or helmet lining type (foam, air, gel) were not significant predictors of amnesia or LOC; Young football player with mouthguard

Air bladder helmet liners pose an increased risk of catastrophic intracranial brain injury (subdural hematoma/cerebral edema), with 84% of the injuries of this type occurring between 1989 and 2001 involving air bladder helmets. The increased risk may be related, the authors said, to decreased maintenance, as air-bladder systems are prone to leaking, and helmet fit may be compromised with an insufficiently filled air bladder; and

The risk of concussion with associated amnesia increased 35% for each increased school grade level, which the authors said may be a function of increased exposure or due to endemic factors.

Signs of a concussion?

There's an app for that!

Specific findings