Pop Warner implements concussion-awareness program for kids

SHARE Pop Warner implements concussion-awareness program for kids
fblraiders_eva_080612_01_28158455.jpg

Chris Giella, 10, (left) practices a tackling position on Darron Brammer, 10, of both of Evanston, during a drill at practice of the Evanston Raiders Pop Warner football team at Evanston High School. | Michael Schmidt/Sun-Times Media

Pop Warner, the country’s largest youth football program, is implementing a concussion-awareness initiative aimed at educating young athletes about how to recognize symptoms of a head injury.

The program is called CrashCourse and was developed with Stanford University education, engineering and medical researchers. It uses an interactive online video of a high school football game and a symptoms simulator.

RELATED: Minimum age for tackle football gets initial OK

Pop Warnerhas 325,000 participants in its youth football leagues, including cheerleading and dance, with about 225,000 players. Pop Warner officials plan to promote and encourage use of the program to its coaches and local leagues organizers through social media and email.

In recent years, Pop Warner has modified its rules to limit contact to no more than 25 percent of practice time and eliminate kickoffs for certain age groups.

The Latest
The acquisition of Tamarack Farms makes Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge a more impactful destination and creates within Hackmatack a major macrosite for conservation.
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.