Youth Soccer in New Jersey has taken a step towards improving the safety of youth soccer players by partnering with a sports technology company that specializes in implementing concussion protocols.
On Tuesday, the football organization announced a partnership with Headcheck Health, making it the first statewide football association to partner with the Canadian company. The organization, which serves Major League Soccer as a client, will provide the NJYS with digital software to enable real-time implementation of existing concussion protocols for use by players, coaches and staff.
“We are delighted to partner with Headcheck to expand our commitment to athlete safety,” said NJYS Executive Director Evan Daby. Our goal is to provide the football community with a fun and safe football experience, and this partnership is a perfect fit.”
The software will initially be used by members of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and will be made available to all NJYS teams and players, officials said. This non-profit is affiliated with US Youth Soccer and the US Soccer Federation and has over 100,000 players, over 20,000 coaches, and thousands of volunteers from age 5 to age 19. I’m here.
This partnership was born when the conversation about concussion safety and prevention evolved from being just an issue for professional leagues like the NFL and NHL to now include all levels of the sport, including youth athletes.
Harrison Brown, co-founder and CEO of Headcheck Health, said the company was formed in 2013 to streamline the implementation of concussion protocols due to the explosion of concussions. Its implementation is more appropriate at lower levels of sport.
“The reaction of everyone in the industry has taken a knee. Just as every team on the planet has come up with a concussion policy that lists out exactly what needs to happen, who needs to do it, etc. No one gave much thought to how they were going to be implemented,” Brown said.
headgear:Do women’s lacrosse need headgear? This New Jersey dad was very adamant about designing a helmet
more:Girls are more likely than boys to have concussions in sports, especially soccer
“When you walk into these amateur sports organizations, it’s the volunteer parents, like mothers and fathers, who are coaches and managers of the teams who really have to enforce that policy.”
As a result, there is increasing demand to educate parents and volunteer coaches about concussion protocols and injury prevention. According to Brown, the goal of the software provided by Headcheck is to make it easier for organizations to implement existing protocols through technologies such as mobile phone applications and computer software.
The company was founded in 2013, but it took three years to create its first software. By 2016, the organization had its first client. The group works with sports leagues such as Major League Soccer and the Canadian Football League, as well as with True Lacrosse and USA Cycling.
Around 2018, the company began shifting its focus from professional leagues to working with young athletes, starting with athletes in academies and elite level clubs, and eventually reaching youth leagues like the NJYS. Earlier this year, Headcheck partnered with the state’s governing body for high school sports, the New York Public High School Athletic Association (equivalent to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association).
“We now want to go downstream where the masses are for our company to have a greater impact. [there are the] These are the kids who won’t be professional athletes,” Brown said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a good player or a bad player. You need to provide proper care in terms of concussions, and we want to be the company that develops that.”