Contact and Collision Sports Okay If Emphasis on Developing Protective Skills, Says Guskiewicz

Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC., Kenan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, argues that, while there are trade-offs, contact and collision sports are relatively safe for younger athletes as long as the coaching emphasis is on protective skill development.  He notes that there are very few catastrophic injuries at the youth level, with most occurring among 16-17-18-year-olds who are playing contact and collision sports without having developed such protective skills.  "We need to find ways to keep our kids physically active so they don't become couch potatoes," Guskiewicz says.