She Said: NFL and Heads Up Football Safety Awareness #NFLHealthSafety

With Super Bowl XLVII less than one week away and ProBowl game on January 27, football is in the air. Everything is strategy, discipline and of course winning.  Every year football fans and fanatics like my Dallas Cowboys cheering men look forward to the new season, the championships and of course the Super Bowl, but as a Mami who grew up on futbol instead of football I am concerned about the health and safety policies of the National Football League.

Rock is going to start youth sports this spring and I am so excited to cheer him on but a bit nervous about seeing my little man on the field.

Check out some of these statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on National Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI annually.

TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States.

About 75% of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild TBI.

Children aged 0 to 4 years, older adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, and adults aged 65 years and older are most likely to sustain a TBI.

Almost half a million (473,947) emergency department visits for TBI are made annually by children aged 0 to 14 years.

For additional tables, figures and information about TBI in the United States, see the full report Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002 – 2006.

New Report – Surveillance for Traumatic Brain Injury–Related Deaths — United States, 1997–2007, MMWR Surveillance Summaries

YES,it is terrifying for any parent or concerned adult especially since my little men mimic everything they see in the world around them.

So when Eddy and I got invited to the NFL headquarters earlier in the month for a Youth Health and Safety summit with the NFL, USA Football and concerned parent bloggers I was so happy because I want my sons to play sports, learn sportsmanship but most importantly stay healthy.   I had so many questions to ask like what was being done to make the game safer and if any new concussion monitoring technology was being incorporated into sports equipment.

During the Youth Health and Safety Summit we heard from:

• Jeffrey Miller, Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy –NFL
• Scott Hallenbeck, Executive Director – USA Football
• Michael Brandt, Heads Up Player Safety Coach – USA Football
• Sandriena Brown, Heads Up Football Mom – USA Football
• Dr. Elizabeth Pieroth, PSY.D., AAPB – Head Injury Consultant Chicago Bears

I learned how NFL is committed to youth health and not only has a plan but is executing those plans for healthier youth sports. Commitment like $250 million health and fitness programming grants and PSAs, 4,000 new helmets to the NFL, USA Football, NFL Players Association and over 600,000 coaches, parents, schools and sports league have taken concussion management training.

All the speakers were experts in their field but the most impactful speakers were Michael Brandt and Sandriena Brown two active and very engaged parents in the USA Football and HEADS UP Football.  They talked about how with USA Football and HEADS UP Football program players, parents and league coaches are being trained for a safer game. PLUS they shared their information with other youth sports!

I am happy to report that I really do feel like NFL is committed to a safer game so much so that Commissioner Goodall even showed up to be part of the conversation.  After getting this information I feel like I can breathe a little easier and know that I need to not only learn more about youth sports safety but be engaged and a positive force on the field for a better game.

Thank you NFL, USA Football and HEADS UP 4-Step Game plan for your commitment to youth sports

For more information on the NFL and USA FOOTBALL initiatives visit www.nflevolution.com and www.usafootball.com.

Disclosure: I attended this NFL sponsored event and my accommodations were paid for them but always my post is my unbiased opinions.

About Divina Rodriguez

Divina is a wife, a Mami of 2 boys under the age of four and a full fledged social media butterfly with a Masters in Communications. She writes along with her husband, Eddy, about entertainment, technology, family products as well as their life in CT. In addition to DancingHotdogs.com, Divina unlocks the magic on www.TheDisneyFiles.com and is a founding mother & partner at Trumpeting Media, a social media consulting company that is dedicated to using social media for social good.

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