Each year thousands of youngsters across the country participate in youth football. And like most physical activities, participating in youth football comes with common bumps and bruises.
To help parents stay tune to recent health & safety news and best practices, USA Football has assembled a team of youth football experts to answer your football questions and share the answers with all users of the site. Recently, USA Football added John Reynolds as a health & safety consultant.
Reynolds is a certified athletic trainer (ATC) working in the secondary school setting in Northern Virginia. ATCs are health care providers who specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses that occur to athletes and the physically active.
Reynolds is also a former high school teacher and while he may no longer spend much of his day in the classroom, education is still an important part of his job. Over the last three years, he has developed a number of educational programs for student-athletes covering topics like steroids/nutritional supplements, principles of strength training and conditioning, and nutrition.
“I think this background makes me uniquely qualified to serve as the Health & Safety Consultant for USA football,” Reynolds said. “My goal is to utilize my background and education in sports medicine to help make all of the programs supported by USA Football as safe and fun as possible.”
Over the next six months, Reynolds will be contributing several articles to the USA Football website and USA Football Magazine. These articles will cover a variety of topics relevant to youth football coaches and parents, including:
- Promoting Safe Participation
- Staying Safe in the Heat and Severe Weather
- Nutrition and Hydration
- Injury Prevention
- Being Prepared: What to do when an Injury Happens
- Equipment Management and Reconditioning
As part of our panel of experts, Reynolds will be answering some of your questions via the “Ask the Expert” feature on the USA Football website.
“I welcome any of your questions and comments and will do my best to respond in a timely fashion,” Reynolds said.
For more information about the role of Certified Athletic Trainers click here: http://www.usafootball.com/articles/health-and-safety/center-articles/17-health-and-safety/88-featured-articles/53-the-role-of-certified-athletic-trainers.php