Safety

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Pop Warner Medical Advisory Committee was formed in 2010 to ensure Pop Warner remains proactive on medical issues affecting football and cheerleading.

The Committee is focused on prevention and proper identification and treatment of concussions, hydration awareness, proper nutrition guidelines, and general health and safety issues.

Led by physicians and researchers with expertise in neuromedicine and sports safety, the Pop Warner Advisory Committee meets annually to discuss new research, advise on policy and rule changes and provide expert advice to the Pop Warner organization to benefit the health & safety of our members on an ongoing basis.

Current members include:

Julian Bailes (CHAIRMAN), MD, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and Co-Director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute.
Michael Bergeron, Ph.D., FACSM is the President and CEO of Youth Sports of the Americas.
R. Dawn Comstock, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health.
Arthur Day, MD, Professor and Residency Program Director, Department of Neurological Surgery, Misher Neurologic Institute, University of Texas Houston College of Medicine.
Stefan Duma, Ph.D., Harry C. Wyatt Professor and Department Head, Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
Stanley A. Herring, MD, Clinical Professor University of Washington, Director UW Medicine Sports Health and Safety Institute and Consultant Seattle Seahawks.
Barry Jordan, MD, Assistant Medical Director, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital.
Cynthia LaBella, MD, Medical director, Institute for Sports Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Lawrence Lemak, MD, founder of Lemak Sports Medicine, The Alabama Sports Foundation and the National Center for Sports Safety. He is the Chief Medical Officer for Major League Soccer and Chairman of the Board of Youth Sports of the Americas.
Michael D. Lewis, MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM, FACN, Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army, is the Founder of the Brain Health Education and Research Institute and BrainCARE, an integrative concussion management practice.
Tony L. Strickland, M.S., Ph.D., founder and Chairman of the Sports Concussion Institute, and Program Director of the Memory Disorders and Concussion Management Clinics.

HEALTHY HABITS

SAFETY COURSES

PLAY SAFER

On fields across America, Pop Warner is making our game safer and better, while retaining what makes the sport of football so great for young people. And we’re doing the same for our young athletes in cheer and dance.

We've instituted the nation's most advanced safety measures, including limiting contact to 25% of practice time, eliminating kickoffs and the three-point stance for our youngest divisions, banning full-speed, head-on tackling and blocking drills and mandating that any player who suffers a suspected head injury receive medical clearance from a medical professional trained in concussion evaluation and management before returning to play.

In addition, all Pop Warner coaches are given the tools they need to teach the game the right way. USA Football’s Heads Up Football training is mandatory for all Pop Warner coaches. Similarly, we require our cheer coaches take the YCADA training. And we’re guided by an independent Medical Advisory Committee of neurosurgeons, sports medicine professionals, pediatricians and researchers who are driven by medical science and professional expertise.

Football, cheer and dance offer so much to young person, from a fun, physically active lifestyle and a sense of teamwork to valuable life lessons like perseverance and sacrifice. To make it possible for them to enjoy those experiences we will never stop working to make them safer.

In this section, you will find helpful information for a variety of subjects including concussion awareness, hydration, training techniques, injury prevention, risk management and proper equipment.

CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT

CONCUSSION POLICY

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.

Health care professionals may describe a concussion as a “mild” brain injury because concussions are usually not life-threatening. Even so, their effects can be serious.

CDC Concussions Page I Fact Sheet

IMPORTANT POINT-MEDICAL & CONCUSSIONS

The home team or hosting organization has the responsibility to provide medical coverage at each game or competition. In the absence of a physician and or ambulance on the site, the minimum safety requirement will be the presence of one individual associated with the home team/host organization who is currently EMT qualified or is currently certified in Red Cross Community First Aid and Safety, the P.R.E.P.A.R.E. Course by the National Center for Sport Safety, or their equivalent.

Work together with your local EMTs to establish an emergency plan that fits your specific area and needs. Your emergency plan should include, but not be limited to, the following:

introduce or identify trainer/health care provider to visiting coach;
home team/host organization review emergency plan with visiting team;
designated duties for coaching staff and or athletes;
“how to call EMS” next to phone;
specific directions to your facility for emergency medical service (EMS);
emergency numbers;
injury report forms;
treatment authorization card;
list of administrators that the coach is required to contact.

Practice your emergency plan early in the season, and repeat often throughout the season. A similar plan should be in place for teams traveling to away games.

All teams are recommended to have a staff member carry the entire team’s medical release forms and emergency numbers for all players and spirit participants in case in an emergency their parent(s) or guardian must be reached. Having the family physician’s number opposite the participant’s name is also recommended.

CONCUSSION RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES:

A participant who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or a head injury in a practice, game or competition shall be removed from practice, play or competition at that time based on evaluation and determination by the Head Coach. However, if an official licensed athletic trainer or other official qualified medical professional is on site and available to render such evaluation, that person shall always have final authority as to removal or return to play of the participant.

When an official licensed athletic trainer or other official qualified medical professional is not present, and a parent or guardian of the injured player is serving as head coach, the final authority on removal of a participant shall rest with the league president, association president or the top ranking assistant head coach; whomever is present and highest in the Pop Warner chain of command.

Any Pop Warner participant who has been removed from practice, play or competition due to a head injury or suspected concussion may not return to Pop Warner activities until the participant has been evaluated by a currently licensed medical professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and receives written clearance to return to play from that licensed practitioner.

In the absence of an official licensed athletic trainer or other official qualified medical professional, at regional Pop Warner events, the Regional Director shall be the final authority on removal of a participant for a suspected head injury or concussion. At national events, the National Football Commissioner or National Cheer Commissioner, depending on the sport in which the participant was engaged, or in their absence the Executive Director, shall be the final authority on removal of a participant for a suspected head injury or concussion.

Pop Warner recommends that all decisions be made in the best interest of the children and that when any doubt exists as to the health of the participants, they sit out. Please check www.popwarner.com or www.cdc.gov/concussion for Center for Disease Control (CDC) signs and symptoms chart for concussions.