September 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 46

of people talking about concussions,
do they really think it's important as
it pertains to their life, their kids and
their activities? Are parents of athletes
equipped with the information to make
the appropriate decisions if faced with
a concussed child? Should park and
recreation agencies be in the business
of providing concussion education and
training? Given the wealth of knowledge and information available, there
is a very significant and important role
that park and recreation agencies can
have as leaders in expanding the campaign to educate families and communities about sports- and recreation-related concussions.
Educating parents when their
children are young can play a vital
role in the campaign for concussion
awareness. Teaching parents early on
when their children are involved in
youth recreational sports allows for
maximum exposure about the risk of
concussion during play. Awareness
of the risk then becomes standard
practice as children get older and
more competitive. " Making concussion education a routine requirement
for youth sports players, parents and
coaches in the park and recreation
setting can accomplish a great deal, "
says Dr. Neal McGrath, a nationally recognized neuropsychologist and
the clinical director and founder of
Sports Concussion New England.
" Though the incidence of concussions in youth sports is fortunately
not as great as in high school because
younger athletes are smaller and
slower, it is invaluable for children
to have a foundation of concussion
awareness from an earlier age for
their own safety. Park and recreation
programs have the opportunity to begin the concussion education process
for younger athletes as a routine part
of their sports participation. That ed-

ucation therefore begins at an earlier
point for their parents as well. "
In addition to providing education
and training for coaches at the recreational level, it is important for park
and recreation agencies to address
the need for broad-based community awareness as well. Although youth
sports concussions are generally associated with high-impact sports such as
football and hockey, the statistics tell a
different story. Third only to bicycling
and football, concussions on public
playgrounds are a little-known but
common occurrence. Between 2001
and 2007, there were 16,706 reported
emergency department visits for nonfatal traumatic brain injuries occurring
on playgrounds in the United States.
Creating and implementing policy can be a straightforward, simple
process. In Brookline, Massachusetts, a three-pronged approach to
concussion education has been implemented, including promoting a
marketing campaign called " Heads
Up Brookline " and a service offering
free baseline concussion screening to
all student athletes in the community.
Last spring, the agency created a concussion policy mandating Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) training for
all sideline coaches and volunteers of
organizations seeking facility permits.
To receive a field or facility permit,
the sports organization must verify
that all coaches have completed the
20-minute online concussion training
course offered by the CDC. The agency had very little debate on the implementation of the mandate and reports
a 100 percent compliance record.
Taking an approach similar to the roll
out of " zero tolerance " and " code of
conduct " policies, a concussion policy
review committee was formed with
youth sports organization representatives, which ensured buy-in from

stakeholders from creation to implementation and compliance.
Al Davis, president of the Brookline
Youth Soccer Organization, says, " It
was such an easy thing to implement
- we just tied receiving the annual
coaching card renewal to taking the
easy and quick online training. With
a few gentle reminders, we achieved
100 percent compliance. " When
asked how the education and training
affected the organization's process, he
said, " It was a sense of relief, actually. Assessing an injury and pulling a
player who doesn't want to come off
is the most difficult thing there is for
a coach. By clearly setting parameters
and training coaches, they now have
the tool set to act decisively. I had a
coach thank me last week because
a kid suffered a concussion, and he
knew exactly what to do. "
As promoters of health, wellness and
physical fitness, and as the gatekeepers
of the public space accessed for that
purpose, there is an inherent responsibility for park and recreation agencies
to provide information and resources
to the public to deal with the issue of
concussion prevention, assessment and
treatment. " We depend on our recreation department for field permits and
authorization to play in our town. They
set the standard for licensing, and we
complied. Simple. Everybody wins, "
says Davis. There is an abundance of
both resources and information available to create and implement policy
and provide education to communities.
By capitalizing on that knowledge base,
park and recreation agencies have the
ability to become leaders in expanding
education and awareness about one
of the most important and compelling
health issues of our time.
Lisa Paradis is the Director of Recreation in
Brookline, Massachusetts (lparadis@
brooklinema.gov).

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