Football Parents' Resolutions for 2014

#2 Parent, Don’t Coach:

Players play, parents support, and coaches coach. So let the coaches coach. Simple rules and complex roles. Football parents won’t agree with every decision the coach makes. You may not like the coach, the offensive scheme or personnel decisions. But if you trust the coach with your kid’s physical and mental welfare then let them coach. They earned the title “coach” through hours of unpaid time on the field away from family, paying for coaching and player safety clinics and studying game film on the weekends.

While parents are primarily focused on their own child, the coach is looking at the big picture which may include up to 20-30-40 players some seasons. That’s a lot of responsibility and decisions to make. If you want to work with your son on technique outside of practice, definitely talk to the coach ahead of time and find out what to focus on so you are in lockstep with what is expected.

Ten New Year's Resolutions for Football Parents

Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Football Parents

Another youth football season is in the books. With the holidays over, spring conditioning up next, and then summer camps around the corner, it’s a good time to reflect back on what worked, what didn’t, and set some football parenting resolutions for a productive 2014 football season. In this ten-part series, I’ll list some ideas from my experience as a youth football coach and divorce attorney:

#1 Align Goals: Not every kid plays football for the same reason. For some it is a passion. For others, it’s a chance to hang out with friends. Ask questions. Find out why your youth-athlete wants to play and then align your goals to support their goals. It doesn’t matter if you were all-state or a support player back in the day because this is their season. Football is just not the sport to force on a kid; being tentative gets players hurt.

On the other hand, if they are passionate about football they must play through the end of the season after committing to the team and creating time and financial expenses on the parents. Communicate this expectation in advance.

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Youth Sports & Concussions: When in Doubt, Sit Them Out

My article on youth sports and concussions published in the King County Bar Bulletin ("Lystedt Law - Return To Play").

http://www.kcba.org/newsevents/barbulletin/archive/2013/07/article11.htm

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When In Doubt, Sit Them Out: Youth Sports & Concussions

3.9 million – that’s the estimated total number of sports and recreational-related concussions every year in the U.S., according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The problem though, is that unlike a broken ankle, you can’t see a concussion.  Because diagnosing concussions is difficult, The CDC says that the real danger with concussions is the premature “return to play” before the injury has healed resulting in the chance for a repeat concussion.

And it’s estimated that US high school athletes sustain 300,000 concussions per year; 67,000 from interscholastic football alone.  The risk of concussions is highest in the 15-19 year-old age group among all age-groups nationally.  Most youth-sports concussions are in football and hockey, followed by soccer, wrestling, basketball, field hockey, baseball, softball and volleyball, reports The CDC.

And with the recent increased attention on head injuries and concussion awareness, from the NFL down to Pop Warner football and other youth sports, it’s a good time for sports-parents to review concussion prevention, symptoms and management as local kids head off to summer sport camps and practices.

Sports-parents (and youth coaches) can educate themselves about concussion prevention, symptoms and management through The CDC, USA Football, football’s nation governing body, and at The California Interscholastic Federation (the rule-making body for high school athletics).      

www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports

www.USAFootball.com

www.CIFState.org