More than 90 percent of youth tackle-football players avoided sustaining an injury that restricted their participation during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, according to preliminary results released today by USA Football.

The organization, which serves as the official youth-football development partner of the National Football League, commissioned the Datalys Center in February 2012 to conduct a sweeping two-year study of injures in youth tackle-football programs. USA Football picked 10 youth-football leagues in Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia for the nationally representative study.

The Datalys Center placed athletic trainers at the leagues' practice and game fields to monitor and document player health. The results released today are considered first-year findings, with final results expected early next year.

Of the 1,913 youth-football players examined (ages 6-14), 9.7 percent sustained an injury that caused them to miss a game or a practice, according to the study. Of the players who did sustain injuries, 64 percent were minor enough that they returned to play on the same day.

The most serious injury reported was a fracture that required emergency surgery, Tom Dompier, president of the Datalys Center, told Inside Indiana Business' Gerry Dick. He also mentioned that youth-football players, based on the first-year results, seemed to be about four times more likely to be injured during a game than in practice.

Contusions (bruises) were by far the most common injuries reported, representing 35 percent of the total number in the study. Ligament sprains (15 percent) were the second-most common injury reported. Only 3.6 percent of the youth-football players in the study suffered a concussion.

"The health and safety of every youth-football player is our No. 1 priority," said USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck in a statement. "For the millions of children across the country who gain the physical, social, and psychological rewards that youth-football provides, this ground-breaking research will enable us to make the sport better and safer with scientifically gathered information."

About 2.8 million youth-athletes ages 6-14 play organized youth tackle football, according to the organization.

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Now that nearly every state has passed some form of youth-concussion law, what's next?

A study published online Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health compared the slate of youth-concussion laws enacted between 2009 and 2012 to see where states stand to improve.

In that four-year timeframe, 44 states and the District of Columbia passed youth-concussion laws, according to the study. A handful of other states have since passed such laws in 2013, with Montana and West Virginia being the two most recent to join the youth-concussion-law club.

The study found that most states' laws contain all three major provisions of the National Football League's model legislation, Washington state's Lystedt Law, which was passed back in May 2009. Those three provisions are: Requiring parents to sign a concussion-information form before their student-athlete can participate in sports; requiring any student-athlete suspected of a concussion while playing sports to be immediately removed from practice or a competition; and mandating that any student-athlete who sustains a concussion must obtain medical clearance from a health-care provider before returning. (As you'll soon see, the meaning of "health-care provider" tends to vary on a state-by-state basis.)

To break it down by each provision:

• 41 states and the District of Columbia require any student-athlete suspected of a concussion to be immediately removed from practice or a competition. All of those states besides Wisconsin and Ohio require removal for at least 24 hours.

• 40 states and the District of Columbia require any student-athlete who suffers a concussion to obtain medical clearance before returning. Fourteen of those states allow health professionals who lack traumatic-brain-injury-specific training to perform the medical clearance.

• 33 states and the District of Columbia require parents or guardians to sign a concussion-information form on an annual basis before their child is allowed to participate in interscholastic sports.

Only 25 of the 45 jurisdictions included in the study require some form of concussion training for coaches. None of the laws "define exactly how such coach-education efforts should be structured," the study found.

Moreover, 16 states' laws include some form of liability limitation or exculpatory provision, which provides legal immunity in states where student-athletes and/or families could sue schools, coaches, or health professionals based on a response (or lack thereof) to a youth-sports injury.

Next Steps

While many states' laws mirror the major provisions of Washington state's Lystedt Law, there's clearly some variation throughout.

The study notes that generally speaking, youth-concussion laws have "generally taken a one-size-fits-all approach," failing to incorporate "scientific consensus that youth concussion vary on the basis of age, the type of sport, and whether the athlete is male or female." Previous research has suggested that girls and teenagers may be more prone to suffering headaches months after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI), for instance.

Also, no state's youth-concussion law currently targets sports-specific rules, such as prohibiting certain types of contact. Certain youth sports organizations have taken matters into their own hands, however.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association recently decided to restrict coaches from holding more than half of preseason practices in full pads and more than one-third of regular season practices in full pads. Texas' University Interscholastic League will take up a proposal next month that would limit the amount of full contact allowed in high school football practices per week. A study released last year suggests that the hardest hits for youth football players typically occur during practice.

Football isn't the only sport affected by emerging head-injury research. Earlier this month, the National Federation of State High School Associations toughened a handful of ice hockey rules for the sake of reducing the number of injuries student-athletes suffer.

Because states' youth-concussion laws haven't yet begun including sports-specific rule changes, the study concludes that they're "only part of a comprehensive youth sports-TBI-prevention framework." Sports-specific rule changes, advancements in technology, and "identifying the best education programming" could also contribute to such a framework, the study suggests.

"The legislative response has been rapid, but it remains a work in progress," said study author Hosea H. Harvey, an assistant professor of law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, in a statement. "These laws admirably focus on secondary-level prevention, but more should be done to address primary prevention in vulnerable youth athlete populations."

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Both Montana and West Virginia have enacted youth-concussion laws within the past month, becoming the 47th and 48th states to do so, respectively.

The Montana law, signed by Gov. Steve Bullock on April 22, contains all three major provisions of the National Football League's model legislation, Washington state's Lystedt Law. It requires parents and prospective student-athletes to sign a concussion-information form before the student-athlete can participate in sports; any student-athlete suspected of a concussion while playing sports to be immediately removed from practice or a competition; and any student-athlete who sustains a concussion to obtain medical clearance from a health-care provider before returning.

Additionally, the Montana law requires each coach, athletic trainer, and official to complete a concussion-training program at least once each school year. It went into effect immediately on being signed.

The West Virginia law, signed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on May 1, largely mirrors Montana's. It contains all three of the key provisions of youth-concussion legislation and requires all head sports coaches in middle and high schools to complete an annual concussion-training course.

Also, all member schools of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission must submit a report to the commission within 30 days of a student-athlete sustaining a concussion or being suspected of suffering a concussion. The report "must state whether an evaluation by a licensed health-care professional verified that a concussion or head injury was actually suffered, whether the athlete received written clearance to return to play or practice, and, if written clearance was given, the number of days between the incident and the actual return to play or practice." The commission will then submit those reports to "appropriate state and national organizations or agencies."

The law goes into effect 90 days after being passed, so student-athletes will be affected by it starting in the 2013-14 school year.

With the actions taken by Montana and West Virginia, only two states now lack any form of enacted youth-concussion law: South Carolina and Mississippi. South Carolina's youth-concussion legislation, after being passed by the state House on March 21, was sent to the state Senate committee on education. It spent nearly two months there before the committee offered a favorable report (with an amendment) on May 13.

Mississippi alone is not considering any form of youth-concussion legislation. A handful of youth-concussion bills were introduced during the 2013 legislative session, but none made it past committees.

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At one suburban Chicago high school, certain students are now being separated into what some call "fat gym" based on their fitness level, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Mt. Pleasant, Ill.-based Prospect High School adopted a new physical education curriculum at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year, according to the Tribune, and it's drawn a mixed reaction. Students assigned to the "lower"-level class are taught the new curriculum.

"It was weird at first—they're separating us," sophomore James Farquharson told the paper. "It was like a division of the fat kids and the thin kids."

Sophomores, juniors, and seniors at the school take a fitness assessment at the end of the fall and spring semesters that determines whether they'll be placed in the regular phys. ed. class or the "lower" class during the next semester. Those placed in the regular phys. ed. class have the freedom to choose their sports and activities each day, according to the paper, while students who score lower on the fitness assessment face a mandatory cardiovascular-focused program for three days per week.

Roughly half the school's 1,800 students are in the lower class, school officials told the paper.

On Monday, FOX Chicago News asked its Facebook fans to share their thoughts about such a curriculum. Supporters raised the point about students being separated based on aptitude in academic classes such as math, history, or English, and asked why the same shouldn't happen for physical education. Critics, meanwhile, suggested that separating students based on fitness level could stigmatize those in the "lower" phys. ed. class, creating easy material for bullies to target.

Forbes.com's Bob Cook summed up the debate well the other day:

"If separating kids into gym and 'fat gym' helps students overall get in better shape, then I don't see a problem with it. If you design school curricula around the fear of who gets teased when, you'll never be able to come up with anything, what with how creative kids are in ragging on each other."

What say you, readers? Do you think the potential benefits of creating separate phys. ed. classes based on fitness level outweigh the potential negatives?

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If two Republican lawmakers in Michigan get their way, the Michigan civil rights department could soon be out $3 million for raising concerns about the use of Native American mascots and imagery in K-12 schools.

Two bills introduced today in the Michigan House would require the state's department of civil rights to cover any expenses for schools forced to change their American Indian mascots.

The department initially filed a complaint in February with the U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights (OCR) asking for a ban on the use of American Indian mascots and imagery in K-12 schools that receive federal funds. The department charges that the use of such imagery denies equal rights to American Indian students.

The legislation introduced Wednesday by Reps. Bob Genetski and Dan Lauwers would create a $3 million "school mascot reimbursement fund" that would cover the cost of changes to mascots, uniforms, billboards, gym resurfacing, and other expenses generated if the OCR approves the Michigan civil rights department's complaint. The money would be earmarked from the Michigan civil rights department's budget.

"The civil rights department filed its complaint independently, without input from local citizens, so it can pay for any necessary changes it may have caused," said Genetski in a statement.

Lauwers echoed Genetski's comments in a statement of his own, in which he called the complaint from the Michigan civil rights department "misguided."

"If a state-funded department is going to arbitrarily issue a complaint that could hurt our public schools, then it's only fair they pick up the tab for any potential costs," said Lauwers. "Every school dollar possible should be going into the classroom to teach our children, not be spent on the new paint and letterhead needed to change mascots."

Vicki Levengood, a spokeswoman for the state civil rights department, told the Detroit Free-Press that it would model its policy after Oregon, whose state board of education voted in 2012 to ban K-12 public schools from using Native American mascots. Any school affected by the new policy has five years to make the change.

The legislation from Genetski and Lauwers was referred to the House committee on appropriations.

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Andrew Wiggins, the consensus No. 1 men's basketball recruit in the class of 2013, announced today that he'd be playing for the University of Kansas Jayhawks this coming fall.

Within minutes of his announcement, his Twitter mentions were flooded with an endless wave of hate speech.

A number of fans from the schools Wiggins spurned (the University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Florida State University) took to Twitter to express their frustration with his decision, to say the least. Bloguin.com captured a sample of those very-much-not-suitable-for-work tweets, for anyone who's morbidly curious.

More than one person told the 18-year-old budding star that they hoped he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, simply because he wasn't attending the school of their choice. Others called him basically every vile name you can possibly imagine.

These Twitter critics aren't necessarily representative of their overall fan bases, of course. A number of fans from those schools took the classy route by sending their best wishes to Wiggins via Twitter, despite their disappointment.

It's no secret that athletes of all ages face this type of backlash from disgruntled observers. Many find it particularly deplorable when it's targeting a youth, however. Would you want someone calling your 18-year-old child every curse word in the book just because of his or her college choice?

If not, let that be some food for thought the next time you see someone fire out a derogatory tweet aimed at a student-athlete wading through the already murky waters of the college-recruitment process.

Photo: Huntington Prep basketball player Andrew Wiggins, with his mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins at his side, announces his commitment to the University of Kansas during a ceremony on Tuesday at St. Joseph High School in Huntington W.Va. The Canadian star, a top prospect, averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season for West Virginia's Huntington Prep. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch/AP)

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Cross-posted from the Rules for Engagement blog. Written by Nirvi Shah.

Parents and teachers often find themselves fighting to preserve recess, and physicians say it's a critical part of students' daily life.

But can these short play breaks, already deemed invaluable, be made even more so with a little more organized activity?

Perhaps. New research shows that children whose recess time is accompanied by coaches directing their play are a little more active than kids with comparatively unstructured recess.

The research released Tuesday about Playworks, a nonprofit that provides recess coaches to low-income schools, shows that children at schools with Playworks coaches spend a little more time engaged in vigorous physical activity than peers at schools without these coaches.

To determine this, kids were fitted with accelerometers, which measure physical activity. At Playworks schools, students spent an average of 14 percent of recess being very active. Students at other schools spent 10 percent of recess being as active.

Schools pay Playworks up to $25,000 a year—using federal Title I money for disadvantaged students—for a full-time recess coach. Many of the coaches are Americorps volunteers. The organization has full-time coaches in 367 schools in 22 cities and is in the midst of expanding.

The physical activity findings, by researchers at Mathematica Policy Institute and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, are part of a larger study. Would the increase in physical activity be worth the price at your school, considering the childhood obesity epidemic and the fact that many children live relatively sedentary lives?

The study also found that at Playworks schools, sports equipment, such as bases for ball games, cones, and jump ropes were more likely to be available at recess than at schools without recess coaches.

Other results from the study, made public last year, showed that the Playworks approach can smooth the transition between recess and class time—giving teachers more time to spend on instruction—and can cut back on bullying in the schoolyard. Teachers in participating schools also reported that their students felt safer and more included at recess, compared with those at schools without the program.

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You think pole vaulting is difficult enough as is? Try doing it while being legally blind.

Two high school student-athletes did exactly that this past weekend, each competing in her respective state's championship event.

Despite being unable to see the bar she'd be jumping over, sophomore Charlotte Brown cleared three heights at the Texas track and field state championships on Saturday. Brown cleared the first three heights (9 feet, 6 inches; 10 feet; and 10 feet, 6 inches) "easily," according to the Associated Press, but couldn't clear the 11-foot height in three attempts. Coming into the day, Brown's personal best was 11 feet, 6 inches.

Brown has 20/400 vision in her right eye and "only a pinhole field of vision in her left eye," the Dallas Morning News reports. To compete in the pole vault event, she lays down a special 80-foot strip of artificial turf alongside her running lane, which provides her a light/dark contrast she can use to keep herself running straight. Once she starts running, her coach, Derek Smith, shouts out the number of steps she's taken to give her a cue of when to time her jump.

"I've always wanted to do stuff with adrenaline," Brown said a day before competing at the championship, to the AP. "Most people think it's crazy to pole vault. I've always just thought it would be a lot of fun. I run full speed at a stationary object that I can't see."

She ultimately finished the event in eighth place (of nine). The National Federation of State High School Associations also presented her with the Section 6 National High School Spirit of Sport Award during the meet.

A similar scene unfolded at the Arizona track and field state championships on Friday, with 17-year-old Aria Ottmueller, who is legally blind, competing in the pole vault event.

Ottmueller only started pole vaulting six weeks ago, according to ABC15.com, yet she still managed to qualify for the state meet by clearing a 6-foot, 7-inch jump. Like Brown, Ottmueller is unable to see the bar that she's supposed to sail over, so she relies on counting her steps and muscle memory to know when and where to jump.

"We started out and did it a lot by feel," Ottmueller said to CBS5AZ.com. [Coach Perry Fraley would] take my pole, I'd hold it, and he'd put it in the pit and he'd help me get the feel of jumping."

That method served her well during the state meet. She set a new personal record by clearing a 7-foot, 6-inch jump, finishing sixth at the championships, according to her school's athletics Twitter account.

Check out this video of Ottmueller clearing a jump at the state championships, courtesy of AZCentral.com.

Photo: Emory Rains High School's Charlotte Brown, who is legally blind, competes in the Girls 3A Pole Vault in the UIL State Track & Field athletics meet on Saturday in Austin, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP)

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High school football coaches in Texas could soon be facing restrictions on the amount of full contact allowed in practices per week, assuming the University Interscholastic League medical advisory committee has its way.

Last month, the UIL committee unanimously recommended limiting high school teams to 90 minutes of full-contact, game-speed practices per week during the regular season and the playoffs, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Such practices would be defined as those that include tackling and blocking to the ground.

The UIL Legislative Council will consider the proposal in June. If approved, state commissioner of education Michael L. Williams would be the one responsible for signing the proposal into effect.

A number of coaches told the Star Telegram that implementing the rule would have little effect, as they already limit the amount of full-contact, game-speed practices per week.

"We're supposed to be a physical team, I guess, and I would say we have not broken that rule since the '70s," said Steve Lineweaver, head coach of the Euless Trinity High School squad, to the paper.

Earlier this week, a state lawmaker withdrew a bill similar in nature to the medical advisory committee's recommendation, which would have prohibited middle or high school football teams from holding more than one full-contact practice per week. Rep. Eddie Lucio III, the sponsor of the bill, told The Dallas Morning News that he'd leave the decision to the UIL.

Lucio's bill was since amended to establish a sports injury pilot program to evaluate concussion-prevention methods used for full-contact athletic drills or live game simulations. The program would include preseason neurocognitive baseline testing, a return-to-play protocol for athletes who suffer a concussion, and post-injury neurocognitive testing.

A restriction on full-contact practices wouldn't be without precedent. Last summer, the Pop Warner youth football leagueimplemented a ban on coaches utilizing more than one-third of practice time for contact drills. In the summer of 2011, the Ivy League began limiting coaches to no more than two full-contact practice days per week, three fewer than the National Collegiate Athletic Association allows. The conference began limiting the number of full-contact practices in men's lacrosse last summer, too.

The National Football League's latest collective bargaining agreement also limits coaches to a total of 14 padded practices throughout the regular season, 11 of which must be held within the first 11 weeks of the season. During the NFL playoffs, teams are limited to one padded practice per week under the terms of the CBA.

The UIL isn't the only state high school athletic association grappling with the appropriate amount of full-contract practices this spring, either. The Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board approved a recommendation from the AIA sports medicine advisory committee last month that restricts coaches from holding more than half of preseason practices in full pads and more than one-third of regular-season practices in full pads. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association also approved amendments last month that limit coaches from holding more than 10 practices with full pads and full contact.

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Cross-posted from the Rules for Engagement blog. Written by Nirvi Shah.

A national association that provides training to high school athletic coaches said it will provide lessons on sexual-violence prevention following the conviction of two Steubenville, Ohio, football players on rape charges earlier this year.

A petition asking for training for coaches on change.org gathered nearly 68,000 signatures. The petition was started by a college football player and a rape survivor.

"I'm excited and hopeful that we will see a change in the culture of athletes across the nation. This wouldn't have been possible without the [National Federation of State High School Associations], and I can not thank them enough for being leaders in educating young men about rape," said Connor Clancy, a football player at Colby College, in Waterville, Maine.

In the Steubenville case, high school students Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond were convicted of raping a 16-year-old woman from West Virginia while she was too drunk to resist at a party just before the start of this school year. The night of partying began at the home of a Steubenville High School football coach. The two were not allowed on the team this year, but other players who witnessed the events were.

Courses available at nfhslearn.com will have information about supervising and protecting students, said Tim Flannery, the director of coaches' education at the National Federation of State High School Associations. The new resources will be available at no cost to coaches in over 18,500 schools.

Partnering groups will provide resources for high school coaches on preventing sexual violence and talking to student athletes to raise awareness about rape, and encouraging them to become engaged bystanders who intervene before, during, or after something happens, said Katie Hanna, executive director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

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