Key result
Providing youth football coaches with weekly objective data on athletes' head impact exposure led to less time spent on tackling drills and lower overall impact rates compared to control teams.
Why the study?
It is unknown whether providing objective data to coaches relating activities to their athletes' head impact exposure alters practice structure or helps reduce head impact exposure.
Does providing objective head impact exposure data to coaches alter practice structure and reduce head impact exposure in youth football players?
Population
Three intervention teams (56 players) and three control teams (38 players) in youth football
Comparison
Coach awareness via weekly HIE reports vs control
Follow-up
Two youth football seasons
Authors
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Objective head impact feedback may reduce exposure via practice changes in youth football; leaves open confirmation via randomized designs.
Observational (n=94)
Does providing objective head impact exposure data to coaches alter practice structure and reduce head impact exposure in youth football players?
Providing objective head impact exposure data to coaches may contribute to changes in practice structure and help improve head impact safety in youth football.
DiGuglielmo et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Head impact exposure in youth football (n=94). Coach feedback and awareness of head impact exposure vs. No feedback (historical control teams from 3 years prior) was evaluated on Time per drill, impact rate, and impact magnitude across pre-season, mid-season, and late-season time frames. Providing youth football coaches with weekly objective data on athletes' head impact exposure led to less time spent on tackling drills and lower overall impact rates compared to control teams.
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