UFA POLICY ON CONCUSSION AWARENESS AND
RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES
(AS OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2013)
CLICK HERE for a downloadable copies of "UFA Policy on Concussion Awareness & Return to Play Guidelines"
and "Concussion Procedure & Protocol"
GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT
It shall be the policy of United Futbol Academy (UFA) to require that all parents/legal guardians of youth players, along with all registered youth coaches, be informed on the subject of concussive injury to players and to the best practices available for diagnosis and treatment for this potentially serious medical condition. UFA members are required to follow all Federal, State, and local legal requirements including, but not limited to, the removal from play of any youth player suspected to have had a severe head injury of any type.
UFA asks parents, coaches, volunteer and paid staff, game officials, and club administrators to be vigilant in the area of player safety for all potentially serious types of injuries, including head, neck, and spine areas. Concussions, also referred to as traumatic brain injuries (TBI), are particularly dangerous to the youth athlete as the brain is still undergoing significant growth up to and during the teenage years.
At the time of registration, UFA will notify the parents/guardians of youth players of the general signs and symptoms of potential concussive injury, and request parent/guardian acknowledgement. UFA is committed to the safety of all players involved in the sport of soccer.
BEST PRACTICES
UFA has adopted Georgia Soccer’s “Return to Play” policy for all suspected head injuries. When a coach or other league representative suspects any player of having received a possible concussion injury, they must formally report this possibility to the player’s parent or legal guardian using the “UFA Notification of Possible Concussion” form. One form must be submitted to the parent and a duplicate form must be submitted to UFA.
Parents/legal guardians of youth players previously notified of having a suspected concussion by their coach or league official are required to submit a signed confirmation (UFA Return to Play Authorization Form) to that coach/league official that confirms the parent/guardian has “cleared” the player to return to play, including an acknowledgement by the parent/legal guardian that a professional medical opinion should be considered by the parent/legal guardian before submitting such an authorization.
At the time of registration, “Concussion Awareness” information will be made available to the players’ parents/guardians, and will require parent/guardian acknowledgement. UFA is responsible for maintaining the records of the parent’s/legal guardian’s acknowledgement.
UFA will encourage all coaches, new and returning, (paid and volunteer) to take training, as provided by the CDC (available on the Georgia Soccer Risk Management web page for reference) in the area of current concussion awareness practices
Concussion Procedure and Protocol for UFA Soccer Events
Concussion definition: a traumatic brain injury that Interferes with normal brain function. Medically, a concussion is a complex, pathophysiological event to the brain that is induced by trauma which may or may not involve a loss of consciousness (LOC). Concussion results in a constellation of physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep-related symptoms. Signs or symptoms may last from several minutes to days, weeks, months or even longer in some cases.
Concussion Signs, Symptoms and Management at Camps, Clinics, Practices, Games and Other Soccer-Related Activities
Step 1: - Did a concussion occur?
Evaluate the player and note if any of the following signs and/or symptoms are present:
(1) Dazed look or confusion about what happened.
(2) Memory difficulties.
(3) Neck pain, headaches, nausea, vomiting, double vision, blurriness, ringing noise or sensitive to sounds.
(4) Short attention span. Can’t keep focused.
(5) Slow reaction time, slurred speech, bodily movements are lagging, fatigue, and slowly answers questions or has difficulty answering questions.
(6) Abnormal physical and/or mental behavior.
(7) Coordination skills are behind, ex: balancing, dizziness, clumsiness, reaction time.
Step 2: Is immediate emergency treatment needed?
This would include the following scenarios:
(1) Spine or neck injury or pain
(2) Behavior patterns change, unable to recognize people/places, less responsive than usual.
(3) Loss of consciousness.
(4) Headaches that worsen.
(5) Seizures.
(6) Very drowsy, can’t be awakened
(7) Repeated vomiting
(8) Increasing confusion or irritability
(9) Weakness, numbness in arms and legs
Step 3: If a possible concussion occurred, but no immediate emergency treatment is needed, what should be done now?
Focus on these areas every 5-10 minutes for the next 1-2 hours, without returning to any activities:
(1) Balance, movement
(2) Speech
(3) Memory, instructions and responses.
(4) Attention on topics, details, confusion, ability to concentrate
(5) State of consciousness
(6) Mood, behavior, and personality
(7) Headache or “pressure” in head
(8) Nausea or vomiting
(9) Sensitivity to light and noise
Players shall not re-enter competition, training or partake in any activities for at least 24 hours. Even if there are no signs or symptoms after 15-20 minutes, activity should not be taken by the player.
Step 4: If there is a possibility of a concussion, do the following:
(1) The Concussion Notification Form is to be filled out in duplicate and signed by a team official of the player’s team.
(2) Have the parent/guardian sign and date the Form, and give the parent/guardian one of the copies of the completed Form. If the parent/legal guardian is not present, then the team official is responsible for notifying the parent/guardian ASAP by phone or email and then submitting the Form to the parent/guardian by email or mail. When the parent/guardian is not present, the team official must make a record of how and when the parent/guardian was notified. The notification will include a request for the parent/guardian to provide confirmation and completion of the Concussion Notification Form whether in writing or electronically.
Step 5: Return to Activity
A player diagnosed with a possible concussion may return to UFA activities only after their parent or guardian provides a signed authorization to the coach. Coach will forward the form to the UFA office for filing.