On September 13, 2016, coaches and youth sports leaders around the world will participate in Team Up Day, a day designed to focus on cutting down on youth sports concussions.
The straightforward, but powerful goal of Team Up Day is to make sure as many athletes as possible hear a simple speech. The core message of that speech is this: athletes have a responsibility to report to a team leader if they notice concussion symptoms in a teammate.
The idea for Team Up Day came from a speech give in 1905 by Harvard University Head football coach Bill Reid. Reid recorded the team doctor’s annual safety speech to the team, in which the doctor said:
“In case any man in any game gets hurt by a hit on the head so that he does not realize what he is doing, his teammate should at once insist that time be called and that a doctor come onto the field to see what is the trouble.”
The creators of Team Up Day conclude that this kind of permission given by coaches or parents to athletes–instructing them to report concussion symptoms in teammates–has been lost. Without this instruction, many players still think they are being a good teammate by covering for a teammate with a concussion.
Here’s what you can do:
SIGN UP
Take the pledge. Invite your players, parents and colleagues to take the pledge as well.
SPEAK UP
Whether you’re in the huddle or on the sidelines, do what you can to make sure the speech is given.
SPREAD THE WORD
Today: Post on social media that you took the pledge using #TeamUpSpeakUp. Tag a friend you think should take the plegde.
On Team Up Day, Tuesday, September 13th: Post a photo or video of the speech being given.
I plan to participate, will you?
Nobody asked me to write this post; when I heard this information, I just felt that it was something that needed to be heard. We must be doing everything we can to make sports safer for our kids! Learn more about the Concussion Foundation.