Vancouver United Football Club

Concussion Management

Learn everything you can about Concussion Management

Cattonline (https://cattonline.com/coach-course/ ) currently provides a free online concussion toolkit: Concussion Awareness Training Toolkit for Parents, Players, and Coaches. The website provide up-to-date education, tools and resources to help prevent, recognize, treat and manage concussions as well as support decreasing the impact of concussion when they dooccur.These resources are updated on a monthly basis and will provide the latest evidence on how to deal with concussion. Cattonline.com provides up-to-date concussion education for parents and coaches. It includes video lessons and resources to effectively prevent, recognize and manage a players recovery.

Parents and Coaches can access the online learning tool here: CATT MODULE.

You can download "Return to Soccer Following A Concussion" information sheet here.

Beautiful British Columbia permits one to engage in a variety of sport, recreation and leisure activities throughout the year making injury prevention a year-round priority in this region. The leading types of sports injuries are related to cycling (25%), skiing/snowboarding (16%), ATV (10%), and playground (8%), followed by hockey and skateboarding (6%, respectively). 1 The greatest number of sports injuries occur among those aged 10-19 years.

BC Soccer Concussion Policy

BC Soccer Concussion Policy(190kb)

BC Soccer document – Players’ Health: Head Injuries & Concussions(609kb)

SCAT3 - Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3(552kb)

SCAT3 – Sport Concussion Assessment Tool Child(455kb)

Team First Aid Liaison/First Responder Role(100kb)

Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool CATT - Concussion Awareness Training Tool

Quick Facts & Stats

Causes:

Skateboarding poses the highest risk of injury to 10-19 year-olds.
Drowning poses the highest risk of injury to 1-4 year-olds.
Playground injury poses the highest risk of injury to 5-9 year-olds.
Cycling, rollerblading and tobogganing pose the highest risk of injury to 10-14 year-olds.
Football/rugby, soccer and hockey pose the highest risk of injury to 15-19 year-olds.
Skiing/snowboarding poses the highest risk of injury to 15-24 year-olds.
Snowmobiling poses the highest risk of injury to 30-49 year-olds.

Occurrence:

Males (~3287/year) incur over 3x the number of sports injuries than females (~1045/year). The leading types of sports injuries are cycling (25%), skiing/snowboarding (16%), ATV (10%), playground (8%), other sports (28%) (football/rugby, soccer, ice skates, hit by ball, snowmobile, rollerblades, scooter, diving into water, baseball, drowning, tobogganing, hit by bat) followed by hockey and skateboarding (6%, respectively). The greatest number of sports injuries occur among those aged 10-19 years.

Ready for the season?

At your children’s annual check-up, make sure they are fit and safe to participate in their chosen sports. Discuss any concerns with your doctor. Fitness and conditioning prevent injuries. Children should be active 30 to 60 minutes each day, in addition to participating in a particular sport. Kids should eat a balanced diet from each of the four food groups and drink plenty of fluids. Kids should not use athletic supplements. Provide the coach with emergency contact information for your child, as well as details of any medical condition or allergies. Ensure that the coach is prepared to handle emergencies and is trained in first aid and CPR.

Set to Play?

Get the right gear for each sport, make sure it fits, and make sure kids wear it properly every time they play.
Correctly fitted equipment is the key to preventing injury.
Kids should warm-up and stretch before every practice and game.
Ensure the league provides adequate practice time. Practice builds skills and conditioning, as well as gives kids time to learn to play safely.
Kids should remove all jewelry before playing, including watches, rings, earrings, and necklaces.
Coaches and parents should inspect the playing grounds and equipment before each practice or game to make sure everything is safe.

Play safe to keep playing

Ensure kids drink plenty of fluids before, during and after play. Kids should have a fluid break at least every 15 to 20 minutes.
Supervise actively. Coaches and parents need to help kids play by the rules, for safety and fun.
Injuries can happen at practices as well as during games. Keep safety in mind every time kids play.
Don’t “play through” an injury. Injured athletes should be examined by a physician, preferably one with experience in sports medicine.