Ponca City football to participate in statewide safety event

Each year we hear more about injuries in the sport of football.  Concerns about concussions, head and neck injuries, and rare fatalities have brought nationwide attention to the safety of the sport.

Ponca City football, and numerous colleges and high schools across the state, have joined with the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association in sponsoring a statewide “Safety in Football” campaign to demonstrate that “Safety in Athletics begins with having an Athletic Trainer.”

Through Sept. 9, numerous high schools and colleges/universities throughout the state will be donning a small helmet sticker on the back of each player’s helmet. The sticker represents the cumulative efforts of these schools and the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association towards improving the overall safety of all sports in Oklahoma.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2007, more than 920,000 athletes under the age of 18 were treated in emergency rooms, doctors’ offices, and clinics for football related injuries.

According the Korey Stringer Institute, which researches sudden death in sports, 13 high school players and one youth football player died during the 2015 football season. Unfortunately, one of these deaths occurred in Oklahoma.

By contrast, a 2012 study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrated that the presence of athletic trainers in the secondary schools lowers overall injury rates, improves diagnosis and return‐to‐play decisions, and reduces the risk for recurrent injuries.

Come support your Wildcats on Friday as they face their rival, Enid, and demonstrate that “Safety in Athletics begins with having an Athletic Trainer.”

For more information, visit the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association website at www.oata.net.