Cumulative effects of high school football and CTE (study)

Unique study explores cumulative effect of hits in prep football (Via SI.com)

This report echoes threads that was brought up in the hockey story posted yesterday. Be sure to watch this episode on PBS of Purdue University's study on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for two high school football teams. The researchers used accelerometers in the helmets to measure cumulative g-force effects from collisions.

Of the 31 times that the researches brought in non-concussed players to do neurocognitive testing, 17 produced impaired scores. "That's 17 players who were not expected to be impaired," said Tom Talavage, a Purdue associate professor of biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering.
The fMRI data has backed up the results from the first season as well, in that the pattern of brain activity in impaired players changes when they are asked to do a task that requires mental focus.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Danger On The Ice

OTL: Danger On The Ice - ESPN Video - ESPN

Here's a great video piece on concussions a checking in minor league hockey and USA Hockey's Minnesota Fair Play Points, which essentially is like Hellison's Personal and Social Responsibility system (affective domain). It essentially adds another point to each team at the start of the game, and if you stay smart and don't violate the principles of fair and safe play - you get another point.  Here are some of the rules, but for more details, hit up the previous link for much more details.

- less than 12 minutes in penalty box (PeeWee level)

- points accumulate in standings

- coaches must also behave

Related articles

• Debate on Hits to the Head Divides the Hockey World (nytimes.com)
• Raise hockey bodychecking age: U.S. expert (cbc.ca)

High intensity exercises reduce CVD risk factors better than aerobic activities in adolescent youth (study)

Image by Jett Loe via Flickr
Some questions for you:

• Do you provide activities that are of high intensity or do we primarily focus on moderate levels of activity?
• How might you take advantage of this new study and create more high intensity activities?
• How will you deal with the fact that children do not have high cardiovascular fitness levels and then you're asking them to work extra hard? 
• Do you know how the body (especially youth) responds to movement and the bioenergetics involved in exercise?  
• Have you taken EXS 387, EXS 397 prior to student teaching?  
• Do you think it's important to have this knowledge and skill set in human movement to be a great and transformative educator?

This article examines the effects of brief, intense exercise in comparison with traditional endurance exercise on both novel and traditional markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in youth.


The effects of time and intensity of exercise on novel and established markers of CVD in adolescent youth - Buchan - 2011 - American Journal of Human Biology


DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.21166


Related articles

• Better a sprint than a marathon: Brief intense exercise better than endurance training for CVD (physorg.com)
• Short, intense exercise can also improve heart health: study (canada.com)
• A quick sprint beats a long run when it comes to your health (dailymail.co.uk)

Concussion rates increase for girls. What will you do?

Image via WikipediaHere is a revealing ESPN E:60 report on sports concussions in girls.  What do you make of the reports' claims about increasing head injuries especially in lacrosse?  What should be done to slow down the rate of traumatic injuries? Mouth pieces? Helmets? New rules?  What are the implications for you as a coach/ teacher/ parent?

What 's your Sport?

Everyone is good at something in terms of a sport or physical activity, but are there commonalities between each person's strength?

We will be examining and studying three fundamental skill themes: stability, locomotion, and manipulative.

Do sports skills have common themes running through them?

Leave a comment on how important it is to be proficient at the more basic skills in order to gain proficiency in the more complex and specialized skills and actions.

No Limits - Hardcore Sitting

Abigail Branson sees not limits in what she can do. As a teacher you will have to find ways to help your students learn no matter what their level of ability. Listen how positive she is and how compelled and inspired her parents are to help and advocate for others with spina bifida SB. Where and how are you building your students competence (perceived or real), self-confidence, and above all self-concept. Are you providing motivating environments and engaging tasks that are developmentally appropriate for your students or is everyone supposed to do the same thing? Which is the better way to help your students? It takes work. No one said that teaching is easy. You have to have heart, dedication and be willing to put the time in to find ways to reach your students. It's all about them. No go out and find inspiration, be inspired, and most of all be inspirational. Carpe Diem!





Aaron enters the Guiness Book of World Records. Congrats Aaron!

A2B Tricycle

Shabtai Hirshberg from Hadassah College (Jerusalem) designed this tricycle to encourage physical activity among kids suffering from neurological or muscular disorders. And here is the rest of it.

[Yanko Design: Trike for Disabled Tikes... and Project page: A2B trike...]

Adaptive Actions Sports

Adaptive Actions Sports was created by Amy Purdy (and two other co-founders) after having her legs amputated below the knee due to a complications from Bacterial Meningitis. AAS "creates opportunities for individuals with permanent physical disabilities to participate in 'action sports' and or the art and music scene that follows them."

"Having autism doesn't mean you can't live your dreams,"

By the now, the story of Jason McElwain from nearby Greece Athena High School in Rochester is well known. And here is the rest of it.

Murderball becomes Wheelchair Rugby

The loud thud of colliding chairs and the competitive juices of athletes battling for the Canada Cup...this is 2008 Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament We want our teachers to look at their students abilities and what they can accomplish. This sentiment is echoed throughout this ESPN clip of the only full-contact sport for athletes with a disability.

Michael Spriggs - Wrestling Blind

Michael Spriggs, a high school wrestler born visually impaired, made it to the Maryland State Championships with perseverance and complete dedication to achieving his goals. Focus on what the individual CAN DO and not what they can't do.