Safety
Nothing is more important to PTFC than the safety of all of our Titans. We want you as a concerned parent to make informed decisions about what sports you allow your child to participate in. We also want you to understand how serious PTFC takes your Titans safety with the investments, polices and procedures we have put in place to ensure a safe place for your child to play.
Football & Cheer
For Football: We will continue to follow the USA football safety guidelines which limit the amount of full contact/live play per week and implement practices focusing on using the five levels of contact to guide practice planning, with particular emphasis on proper tackling technique to maximize safety. You will be hearing a lot around heat preparedness, hydration techniques, and proper skill development as we approach the season in August.
For Cheerleading: The focus this season will be on the continuing development of our coaches in both safety and technique. Proper technique leads to safe cheerleading. The focus of "crawl, stand, walk, run" will be at the heart of our development. This will help develop our cheerleaders fundamentally and their confidence with it.
We win trophies, yes, but the goals are always to teach, develop and enjoy.
Concussions
WHAT IS A CONCUSSION?
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. Concussions are caused by a bump or blow to the head.
Signs and symptoms of concussion...
Some may experience symptoms right after an injury but signs and symptoms aren't always immediately. Symptoms from an injury may not appear or be noticed until days or sometimes even weeks after the injury. If your child reports any symptoms of concussion, or if you notice any symptoms yourself please, seek medical attention right away.
Symptoms of a concussion.
- Double or blurry vision
- Headache or “pressure” in head
- Confusion
- Nausea or vomiting
- Balance problems or dizziness
- Sensitivity to light and or noise
- Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy, or groggy
- Concentration or memory difficulties
PTFC has partnered with Peak Physical Therapy to provide Concussion Baseline Testing for ALL Peewee and Midget football and cheer participants. The PTFC board unanimously voted to absorb the cost of this service to our athletes. Safety is first and foremost and this will provide a baseline in the event your child does sustain a suspected concussion and needs evaluation and treatment following the return to play protocol.
-Peak Physical Therapy will have 4 clinicians on site at PHS to perform testing. The date is TBD. Unless you do not wish to have your child tested, all peewee and midget athletes will be screened. PTFC will coordinate timing of when each athlete will be tested but as of now we plan to screen athletes as follows...
-TBD- All Midget and some Peewee football players.
-TBD- All remaining football players and All cheerleaders.
- PLEASE PRINT AND SIGN THE WAIVER BELOW -
(If you do not wish to have the concussion baseline screening done please reach out to your head coach.)
Dear Parents,
BASELINE CONCUSSION SCREENING
This is an overview of the services Peak Physical Therapy and Sports Performance will be providing on August 13th and 18th during your son’s/daughter’s practice. Peak is excited to be a part of the Pembroke Titans Football/Cheerleading program/family. Pre-season screening will consist of the following:
- Pulse oximetry monitoring
- Postural stance assessment
- Range of motion and strength of the neck/shoulder muscles
- Reflex assessment
- Ocular function assessment (eyes) for tracking objects
- Balance and coordination assessment on even and uneven surfaces
- These evaluations are baseline assessments prior to the season. If at any time during the season your child sustains any type of injury, another evaluation will be performed by one of our many physical therapists trained in concussion management. We will provide services quickly for an assessment and treatment in one of our clinics. We’re conveniently located in Pembroke, Hanover, Scituate, Norwell, Braintree, and Quincy. We interact collaboratively with the primary care physician/specialist in order to safely return your athlete to his/her sport.
- Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
- Thank you,
- Al Blaisdell, ATC, PTA al@peaktherapy.com
www.peaktherapy.com
Why should I let my child play football?
Football teaches cooperation and team work, helps develop positive social skills and teaches respect for others. It helps build self-confidence, a positive self-image and self-worth. It enables a child to develop and improve upon a broad range of motor skills like throwing, catching, running, kicking, balance, agility and coordination. Because a large variety of skills and physical abilities are required on a football team, there is a position for every child to play.
Consider this from a parent of PTFC player sent to us via email at the end of the 2015 season:
"My son has image issues that I was not prepared for. He hates his size and that he isn't 'skinny', he has low self-confidence and he is very insecure. Then he started football. Suddenly everything he didn't like about himself was an advantage. My favorite part of the season was getting to practice and seeing his team huddled around him chanting his name. He had just won some drill and I think he felt like a hero. He walked out of that practice glowing. He hasn't cried about his weight and he isn't ashamed of his size and strength anymore. What I have been trying to accomplish in 11 years you did in a few weeks. Please let the other coaches know how much I appreciate every encouraging word. There is no way to put a price tag on that."
This is why we love the game of football!
What is PTFC doing to ensure my Titans safety?
- Every football coach on the field is USA Football Tackle Certified annually with no exceptions. This ensures each coach has a baseline knowledge of football, understanding of the game, player skills, heat awareness and equipment fitting.
USA Football Coaches Certification
- Every coach is CDC certified this helps them understand what a concussion is and the potential consequences of this injury. They are able to recognize concussion signs and symptoms and how to respond to them.
- We issue the highest rated youth football helmet on the market the Riddell Revo Speed. We also send out every helmet annually to be reconditioned by Riddell and not some 3rd party vendor. We do this to make sure our helmets remain in the safest and best possible condition.
- For the first time ever we are extending an option to players to purchase a helmet from Riddell with the Riddell "InSite" liner in it. PTFC will purchase the software and monitors to utilize this safety technology which will alert a coach of an impact registered to the head. We will host a "safety night" to review all the options around this and Riddell will be present to answer your questions as well as fit your Titan.
- We teach "Hawk Tackling" (we refer to it as Titan Tackling) which was named after Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll who has released a series of videos on "rugby style" tackling which removes the head from the game. This technique is revolutionizing how tackling is taught and we are in second year of teaching this method and we pride ourselves in teaching this safer approach to tackling.