An examination of concussion education, management, and safety practices of girls’ high school soccer coaches

ABSTRACT

The concussion rate in girls’ soccer is among the highest in high school athletics. As such, coaches have a professional and ethical responsibility to reduce and properly manage concussions. The primary purpose of this study was to examine concussion education received, presence of athletic trainers, awareness of organizational concussion policy, concussion safety practices based on the presence of athletic trainers and coaches’ demographic/professional background. Participants included 140 head coaches who voluntarily completed a survey. Results revealed the NFHS’s Concussion in Sport (93.6%) was the most popular educational training received. Approximately 63% of coaches responded from schools where athletic trainers were present during all soccer games. A notable percentage of respondents did not know their high schools’ concussion policy such as concussion education requirements (27.1%) and penalty from non-compliance (23.6%). This exploratory study informs stakeholders on the current status of concussion management policies and practices in high school girls’ soccer.

KEYWORDS:

• risk
• youth sport
• head injury
• interscholastic
• education
• policy
• athletic trainer
• traumatic brain injury‌

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sungwon Kim

Sungwon Kim, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Sport Management at St. John’s University, NY. Kim’s research centers on law and policy issues in sport with a particular emphasis on injury prevention. His recent research has focused on understanding awareness and perceptions of youth sport stakeholders (e.g., coaches, parents) regarding concussions in an effort to improve interventions (e.g., education, risk management practices) that promote safety of young athletes.

Daniel P. Connaughton

Daniel P. Connaughton, Ed.D., is a professor in the Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida. His research focuses on the study of law, policy, and risk management in sport and physical activity programs. The American Heart Association funded his research investigating implementation constraints and risk management practices related to automated external defibrillators in sport/recreation programs. Since 2008, he has served as the principal investigator of the Bicycle Safety & Risk Management Project, funded by the Florida DOT – Safety Office.

Michael Sagas

Michael Sagas conducts research on athlete development and founded the Laboratory for Athlete Development Research (LADR) at the University of Florida. The LADR aims to be a catalyst in bringing together interdisciplinary researchers to generate and disseminate knowledge that advances insights to on elite athlete well-being and success away from sport.