HYFA is committed to ensuring a positive youth football experience and advancing player safety by providing league-wide coaching education and teaching resources that benefit players, parents and coaches through USA Football's Heads Up Football program.

USA Football is the official youth development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. HYFA is comprised of more than 130 players and 35 coaches throughout Hillsboro, OR.

Every HYFA coach will be trained in Heads Up Football techniques before leading their teams this season. All HYFA head coaches and assistant coaches will complete USA Football's accredited Level 1 Coach Certification Course, which includes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concussion recognition and response protocols; proper helmet and shoulder pad fitting; and Heads Up Tackling techniques, which aim to take the head out of the line of contact.

Through Heads Up Football, Coaches will be trained to implement, evaluate and monitor all Heads Up Football player safety protocols within the organization. Our Player Safety Coach will work with league commissioners, coaches, parents and players throughout the season to provide on-site clinics and mentoring to ensure that coaching and player safety best practices are used.

Adopted in 2013 by HYFA and by youth leagues on a national level, Heads Up Football requires four primary elements:

Some parents are new to the sport of football and are sometimes apprehensive about their child playing football. Injuries can occur in any sport. Below are links to studies on head injuries between football and soccer. The information is not what you would think:
The Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal Of Trauma
Soccer and The Brain

WHAT IS A CONCUSSION?
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Even a "ding," "getting your bell rung," or what seems to be mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.

Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity. So, all coaches, parents, and athletes need to learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion occurs.

CONCUSSION TRAINING
New this season, we recommend that parents also complete the training given to our coaches to recognize the sign of a concussion. This training can be found at http://program-activecoach.orcasinc.com/.

FAST FACTS

• A concussion is a brain injury and all are serious.
• Most concussions occur without loss of consciousness.
• Recognition and proper response to concussions when they first occur can help prevent further injury or even death.

HOW DO I RECOGNIZE A POSSIBLE CONCUSSION?
To help recognize a concussion, you should watch for the following two things among your athletes:
A forceful bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body that results in rapid movement of the head.
AND
Any change in the athlete's behavior, thinking, or physical functioning.
Athletes who experience any of the signs and symptoms listed below after a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body should be kept out of play the day of the injury and until a health care professional, experienced in evaluating for concussion, says they are symptom-free and it's OK to return to play.

Remember, you can't see a concussion and some athletes may not experience and/or report symptoms until hours or days after the injury. Most people with a concussion will recover quickly and fully. But for some people, signs and symptoms of concussion can last for days, weeks, or longer.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF A CONCUSSION OCCURS?
If you suspect that an athlete has a concussion, implement your 4-step action plan:

1. Remove the athlete from play. Look for signs and symptoms of a concussion if your athlete has experienced a bump or blow to the head or body. When in doubt, keep the athlete out of play.
2. Ensure that the athlete is evaluated by a health care professional experienced in evaluating for concussion. 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, recording the following information can help health care professionals in assessing the athlete 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)
3. Inform the athlete's parents or guardians about the possible concussion and give them the fact sheet on concussion. Make sure they know that the athlete should be seen by a health care professional experienced in evaluating for concussion.
4. Keep the athlete out of play the day of the injury and until a health care professional, experienced in evaluating for concussion, says they are symptom-free and it's OK to return to play. A repeat concussion that occurs before the brain recovers from the first-usually within a short period of time (hours, days, or weeks)-can slow recovery or increase the likelihood of having long-term problems. In rare cases, repeat concussions can result in edema (brain swelling), permanent brain damage, and even death.