April is Youth Sports Safety Month. Athlete Intelligence is committed to making sure our youngest athletes are safe and protected. As part of our commitment, Athlete Intelligence will be posting a series of articles and resources this month to help young athletes play smarter and play safer.
Here are seven facts about safety in youth sports that you might not know!*
7. Loss Of Consciousness and Concussions
It might be shocking to learn that 90% of sports-related concussions are NOT accompanied by loss of consciousness. This underlines why it’s so important to monitor a child’s brain health after they suffer a head injury. To simply assume there doesn’t need to be follow-up just because him or her doesn’t lose consciousness could be a devastating mistake!
6. The Most Common Youth Sports Injury
We know about the different types of youth sports injuries…but what about the most common one? According to the Safekids survey, the #1 injury youth athletes visited the ER for were strains and sprains. Fractures were in the 2nd spot, followed by bruises and concussions. That said, the same study revealed that traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of youth athlete deaths.
5. The Sport With The Most Youth Sports Injuries
Basketball (359,000) narrowly edged out Football (354,000) in the Safekids survey, with Soccer (171,000) and Baseball (106,100) coming in a distant third and fourth. Softball (53,300) was fifth, Wrestling (38,900) sixth, and, surprisingly, Cheerleading (35,200) was in 7th place. Rounding out the top ten were Volleyball (34,700), Gymnastics (33,000), and Track and Field (23,900).
4. The Number Of Youth Athletes Visiting The ER
Each year, more than 2.6 million children ages 19 and under are seen in emergency departments for sports/recreation related injuries. These include sports like football and basketball, and activities such as playing on a playground, trampolining, and scooter riding.
3. Sports And Concussion Risk By Gender
Youth athletes seem to suffer more concussions in certain sports depending on their gender. Boys ages 10-19 years get the most concussions while playing football or bicycling. In contrast, girls 10-19 get the most concussions while playing soccer and basketball.
2. When Sports-Related Injuries Occur
One might think that most youth sports injuries might happen during the heat of the game. But that’s not actually true. According to the Safekids survey, 62% of all injuries suffered by youth athletes happen during practice!
1. Youth Sports Fatalities
While there were no reliable statistics regarding sports among younger children, the survey indicated that high-school athletes suffered 24 sports-related deaths. Also, the leading cause of death in young athletes were brain injuries and sudden cardiac arrest.
IMPROVE SPORT SAFETY WITH ATHLETE INTELLIGENCE
Don’t forget that you can also improve sportsmanship with our Athlete Intelligence system. With advanced impact and performance metrics, our sensors can help improve your technique, reduce the risk of injury, and keep playing to your full potential. All the data is translated into what we call Coachable Moments, which provide actionable recommendations for improvement.
To learn more about our system please download our Info Booklet.
