Game over for relaxed attitudes on concussions, initiative says

Are you a coach, administrator or team captain in Canada? And do you care about the health of your players?

Here’s a great way to prove it and maybe save someone’s life some day. Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada, for the second consecutive year, is promoting a campaign for team leaders at all levels of sport nationwide to take one minute to help rid once and for all the lingering neanderthal culture that promotes the potentially life-threatening idea that an athlete somehow shows his or her toughness by playing through a possible concussion.

Wednesday is Team Up Speak Up Day in Canada, as endorsed by the Canadian arm of the Americanbased non-profit group dedicated to preventing concussions in sport through medical research, educational programs, advocacy and other ventures.

What the foundation is hoping for is by Wednesday coaches, trainers, medical staff and captains across the country at all age levels will give a brief speech to players emphasizing three vital points:

1. We’re a team and we look out for each other.

2. A teammate with a concussion needs your help.

3. It is your responsibility to speak up to a coach or athletic trainer if you think a teammate might have a concussion.

And when in doubt, take them out.

Ex-hockey stars Eric Lindros and Hayley Wickenheiser are among this year’s Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada ambassadors.

The foundation has expanded this year’s Team Up Speak Up initiative into Canada’s francophone market. What’s more, all of the head-injury prevention strategies are now available in French.

Some four million athletes across North America in 2016 and 2017 heard a Team Up Speak Up speech.

Among the more than 200 participating organizations were Major League Lacrosse, USA Hockey, USA Rugby and NASCAR.

Detailed advice on how to craft the one-minute speech, along with submitted video examples of coaches delivering it to their athletes, can be found at Teamupspeakup.org.

That’s where Canadian teams and athletes can sign up and submit videos, too.