Clubs and Schools

As a club / school, Headway is asking you to lead the way in ensuring everyone in your club and school is concussion aware. A bang to the head is serious and playing with a concussion can lead to long term problems. It can even be fatal. Headway wants to support you and your club/school to help recognise concussion so that you can make the call to pull your player off of the field if you think they might have one

Signs to look for as a coach/referee

  • Appears dazed or stunned (such as glassy eyes)
  • Is confused about assignment or position
  • Forgets an instruction or play
  • Is unsure of score or opponent
  • Moves clumsily or poor balance
  • Answers questions slowly
  • Loses consciousness (even briefly)
  • Shows mood, behavior, or personality changes
  • Can’t recall events prior to hit or fall
  • Can’t recall events after hit or fall

Download your pocket concussion recognition tool here.

What Should I do if I Suspect a Concussion ?

When in doubt sit them out

No matter whether the player is a key member of the team or the game is about to end, a player with a suspected concussion should be immediately removed from play. You will most likely not have access to medical expertise so you will not be in a position to diagnose the situation.

Ensure that the player is evaluated by a GP

Again do not try to judge the severity of the injury yourself. Health care professionals have a number of methods that they can use to assess the severity of concussions. As a coach or parent , recording the following information can help GPs in assessing the player after the injury:

  • Cause of the injury and force of the hit or blow to the head or body.
  • Any loss of consciousness (passed out/knocked out) and if so, for how long.
  • Any memory loss immediately following the injury
  • Any seizures immediately following the injury
  • Number of previous concussions (if any).

Keep the player out of play the day of the injury and until the GP says they are symptom-free and it’s OK to return to play

After you remove a player with a suspected concussion from practice or play, the decision about when to return to practice or play is a medical decision.

If you already have this knowledge and protocols in place for your club or school please start publicising that!

Research carried out by Headway shows that the 7 out of 10 parents do not believe that schools and clubs have protocols in place, meaning that many parents don’t trust you to do the right thing by their child.

Change that now.  Download your club’s concussion aware poster today & personalise by sending us your team photo or crest and our team will get it back to you. Show to the world that you are #concussionaware.

You can also download your Concussion Aware supporters poster and edit it with Adobe Reader which you can download here.

The use of the Concussion Aware poster and/or concussion aware supporters badge or other Headway materials is in no way an endorsement by the charity of a club or organisation’s approach to concussion in sport, nor does it guarantee a club will follow appropriate protocols

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