U.S. Soccer Hosts Summit on Head Injury Prevention
One of the most exciting changes in soccer — since we have been covering the sport in the last 7 years — is the new pride and emphasis on coaching education and injury awareness. National Women’s Soccer League, Major League Soccer, and U.S. Soccer worked together to hold the summit on head injury prevention.
“Head Injury in Soccer: From Science to the Field” in New York City was an amazing Concussion Summit organized by U.S. Soccer, NWSL and MLS.
The two-day summit, held on April 21-22, focused on current research, prevention and management of concussions and head injuries.
The sharing of the most up-to-date information on concussions in soccer — the singular, most pivotal topic we can improve upon through discourse — was the focal point of this summit.
Head Injury in Soccer: From Science to the Field was a coming together of great minds and experienced as the summit attracted national and international medical experts discussing concussion guidelines within the game of soccer from the youth levels up to the professional game along side of leaders in the American soccer world.
The information and best practices provided valuable and practice insight designed to generate more than awareness — with the hope of pushing the critical data out to coaches, players, parents and referees, Head Injury in Soccer: From Science to the Field was conceived to improve U.S. Soccer’s mission of promoting player safety.
The event will include a day-and-a-half of presentations by expert researchers and health care professionals knowledgeable on head injury and concussions in the sport of soccer. Co-chaired by a joint MLS and U.S. Soccer medical advisory board of George Chiampas DO, Margot Putukian MD, Ruben Echemendia PhD and Bert Mandelbaum MD, the summit will open with an analysis from the 2016 Berlin Consensus meeting on Concussion in Sport.
Throughout the conference, specialists discussed principles, concepts and innovative treatments for head injuries and concussions specific to the game of soccer for all ages, levels of participation and genders for the sport.
From The Berlin Process; Definition of Concussion to the recognition of injury and whose role is it really — the Athlete, Coach, Officials and Parents, the Summit covered the expansive topic of concussions in depth.
With panel discussions which included Taylor Twellman – ESPN Analyst, Retired due to concussions sustained on the field, the former U.S. Soccer National Team and New England Revolution Player was joined by Jim Barlow – Princeton University Head Men’s College Coach and Previous U-15 Boys’ National Team Head Coach and U.S. Soccer April Kater – U-14 Girls’ National Team Head Coach, U.S. Soccer among others, this Summit was the first of its kind in terms of information exchange.
Confirmed speakers included: Jim Barlow, Head Coach of Men’s Soccer at Princeton University | Steven Broglio, University of Michigan Director of Neurotrauma Research Lab | Rudolph Castellani, Director of the WMed Center for Neuropathology at Western Michigan University | George Chiampas, U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer | Jiri Dvorak, Swiss Concussion Center, Professor at University of Zurich | Ruben Echemendia, U.S. Soccer, MLS and NHL Neuropsycologist | Thomas Faro, US Executive Director of Michigan State Youth Soccer Association | Chris Giza, Director of UCLA BrainSPORT Program | Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer President | Robin Harris, Executive Director of Ivy League | Robert Huggins, VP of Research, VP of Athlete Performance and Safety at Korey Stringer Institute-University of Connecticut | Tom Kaminsky, Co-Director Athletic Training Research Labratory at University of Delaware’s Human Performance Lab | April Kater, U.S. U-14 Girls’ National Team Head Coach | Michael Keating, Director of Medical Services USA Rugby | Don Kirkendall, Duke University Sports Science Institute | Anthony Kontos, University of Pittsburgh Concussion Program Assistant Director of Research | John Leddy, Clinical Professor and Medical Director of the University at Buffalo Concussion Management Clinic | Bert Mandelbaum, U.S. Soccer and MLS Team Physician | Lynn Berling Manuel, CEO of NSCAA | Jesse Marsch, Head Coach New York Red Bulls | Jason Mihalik, University of North Carolina Co-Director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center | John Parsons, Director of NCAA Sport Science Institute | Elizabeth Pieroth, Concussion Specialist for Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Fire and White Sox | Laura Purcell, Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University | Margot Putukian, Princeton University Director of Athletic Medicine, U.S. Soccer and MLS Medical Consultant | Kathryn Schneider, University of Calgary Assistant Professor and Clinician Scientist | Sandra Serafini, PRO Women’s Referee Manager | Ira Smith, Head Team Physician for Toronto FC | Gary Solomon, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt | Gretchen Thomsen, Thomsen Lab at Cedars Sinai | Ryan Tierney, Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Temple University | Michael Turner, Medical Director of The International Concussion and Head Injury Research Foundation | Taylor Twellman, Retired U.S. Soccer and MLS Player, ESPN Analyst.
