Online tools to help youth soccer coaches and parents track concussions announced at Headliners Newsmaker

Several experts on youth sports and sports medicine used a Nov. 14 National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker press conference to announce online tools to help track head injuries from youth soccer

The online tools, called the US Youth Soccer “Athlete Incident Management System,” comes at a time when concern about concussions is increasing, especially as an evolving body of research shows that head injuries from sports can lead to lifetime health issues. While not as violent as football, soccer also is a contact sport.

At the same time, concussions and other head injuries are harder to assess because they’re not as visible as a broken leg or other external injuries.

The partnership to provide the tools was announced by Chris Moore, chief executive of US Youth Soccer; Jennifer Wethe, a Mayo Clinic neuropsychologist and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Arizona Sports Neurology and Concussion Program; Charlie Wund, president and chief executive of InjureFree, a technology service involved in risk management for youth sports organizations and school districts; and Shellie Pfohl, president and chief executive of the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

“Evaluation and management of concussion has changed drastically in the last decade, contributing to anxiety and confusion among athletes, parents, and even medical providers,” Wethe said, “Through this collaboration, US Youth Soccer athletes, coaches, and parents will have ready access to current, evidence-based concussion education and management information provided by Mayo Clinic experts. This will include concussion risk and prevention, identification of athletes who should be removed from play due to suspected concussion, what to do and expect in the early stages of recovery, and return to play.”