SAFETY FIRST:

HCYFL Commissioners know that safety comes first — both for the players on the field and their parents on the sidelines. Having a Heads Up Football program in place, with teams led by USA Football certified coaches, goes a long way toward showing that youth football is being taught the right way and that parents feel confident about your league.

Heads Up Football is the safer way to practice and play. USA Football has worked with leaders in both medicine and sport across the country to create a full-featured program that any league or school can use to address key safety issues — and ensure that every coach understands and knows how to implement each component of the program.

Injury Prevention & Control: Concussions:

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.

Health care professionals may describe a concussion as a “mild” brain injury because concussions are usually not life-threatening. Even so, their effects can be serious.

Did you know that youth football is safer than soccer? Youth football has 12% fewer injuries per capita among 5-15 year olds than organized soccer in the same age range! (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, NEISS)