Head Injury

V

VegasParent

SILVER ELITE
This happened in a game (06 girls) last weekend at a tournament. Two defenders go to head a ball out of the box and their heads collide. Both players go down. CR blows the whistle to stop play. One player gets up quickly and is holding her head. The other stays down. The coach is waved to come out and check on the player. She tries to get up, staggers and drops to her knees. She is helped off the field and sits on the bench. No trainer is called over. The other player, still with her hands on her head stays on the field and the game is restarted. Is there a rule regarding head injuries or is it the ref's decision whether or not a player has to leave the field? I've seen in leagues where the player has to get cleared by the trainer to reenter the game after a head injury. But I'm not sure if that was the league, the ref or a general rule that has to be followed.
 
The referee should have at the very least checked her for signs of a head injury and then, if seemingly OK, should have then kept an eye on her throughout the rest of the game. The referee can decide when a player has to leave due to head injury, but depending on the league, cannot prevent the player from entering again.
 
For organizations that fall under US Youth Soccer, or US Soccer, there are stated procedures. The process is generally universal, in that the player must be evaluated by either an athletic trainer, or a qualified medical doctor, before they can return to the field. The statement 'when in doubt, sit them out' prevails. The US Soccer Player Development Initiative states:

Per U.S. Soccer’s Concussion Initiative, if a player is suspected to have a head injury the referee* is instructed to stop play to allow for treatment/evaluation as needed
If the player leaves the field of play for additional evaluation, a substitution can be made in that moment
The player with the suspected head injury may not return to the game unless a Health Care Professional (HCP) or Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) has cleared the player
Any coach or parent insisting on returning the player to the game without approved clearance will result in the referee* ending the game.
 
BTW, in California, there is another item that needs to be paid attention to, State Law. California Assembly Bill 2007 focused on Concussion procedures for youth players. State law states:

Article 2.5. Youth Sports Concussion Protocols
124235. (a) A youth sports organization that elects to offer an athletic
program shall comply with all of the following:
(1) An athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or other head
injury in an athletic activity shall be immediately removed from the athletic
activity for the remainder of the day, and shall not be permitted to return to
any athletic activity until he or she is evaluated by a licensed health care
provider. The athlete shall not be permitted to return to athletic activity until
he or she receives written clearance to return to athletic activity from a
licensed health care provider
 
outside! said:
The referee crew and coaches should be sanctioned. The parents should do some soul searching.
Click to expand...

Fully agree. Every parent in Cal South has to complete the concussion waiver. Why did no one - parent, team manager, coach, not do something? The tournament field marshal should have been notified and refs should have pulled both players and done an assessment. Sounds like a major safety fail. Hope both players are ok and at the very least, their parents looked for concussion signs and get the kids seen by a healthcare professional.
 
umeweall said:
BTW, in California, there is another item that needs to be paid attention to, State Law. California Assembly Bill 2007 focused on Concussion procedures for youth players. State law states:

Article 2.5. Youth Sports Concussion Protocols
124235. (a) A youth sports organization that elects to offer an athletic
program shall comply with all of the following:
(1) An athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or other head
injury in an athletic activity shall be immediately removed from the athletic
activity for the remainder of the day, and shall not be permitted to return to
any athletic activity until he or she is evaluated by a licensed health care
provider. The athlete shall not be permitted to return to athletic activity until
he or she receives written clearance to return to athletic activity from a
licensed health care provider
Click to expand...


Athletic trainers are NOT licensed in CA.
 
Keepers_Keeper said:
Fully agree. Every parent in Cal South has to complete the concussion waiver. Why did no one - parent, team manager, coach, not do something? The tournament field marshal should have been notified and refs should have pulled both players and done an assessment. Sounds like a major safety fail. Hope both players are ok and at the very least, their parents looked for concussion signs and get the kids seen by a healthcare professional.
Click to expand...
Why? Because they were trying to win a state cup. Can't take your star out when the holy grail is at stake. In defense of coaches, I have seen the last few weeks a collision happen, the ref send them to the tent, only for the tent to be too busy to tend to them. It is confirmed they are ok as everyone thought, but in the two cases I saw one missed 75% of the game and the other the second half.
 
Socal United said:
Why? Because they were trying to win a state cup. Can't take your star out when the holy grail is at stake. In defense of coaches, I have seen the last few weeks a collision happen, the ref send them to the tent, only for the tent to be too busy to tend to them. It is confirmed they are ok as everyone thought, but in the two cases I saw one missed 75% of the game and the other the second half.
Click to expand...

Better to error on the side of player safety and have the players checked out and cleared than risk they actually have a concussion. The parents and coaches should not care if a kid misses any of the game to get evaluated. The player’s physical well being should always come first.
 
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