Every day, hundreds of thousands of young athletes across the United States participate in practices and competitions on playing fields, ice rinks, and in gymnasiums. While sports provide excellent opportunities for kids to stay active and healthy, medical research has shown that young athletes—particularly children and teenagers—often fail to recognize their own physical limits, even when experiencing a concussion. It is therefore the responsibility of coaches to identify potential concussions and make the critical decision to remove an athlete from play if they suspect a concussion may have occurred.
