The Dangers of High School Athletics
In Waco, and the rest of Texas for that matter, high school athletics have attained something akin to a religious status. The hard-fought victories and crushing defeats shape the course of lives and the mood of a school team’s followers and they become the stuff of local legend. Many of the state’s top athletes continue on to play a key role on elite college teams around the country and some may eventually reach the professional ranks. But these achievements often serve to overshadow the unpleasant reality that many student athletes sustain injuries that are not only painful, but which also come with lasting effects and threaten their esteem and identity.
In a recent study, researchers reviewed injury data gathered from multiple forms of athletic competition in 100 high schools during the 2005-2006 school year. These sports included in the study were football, baseball, wrestling, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and softball.
The researchers evaluated the number of injuries sustained in connection with what they termed “athletic exposures”, or individual participations in practice or competition. For example, a single soccer practice may utilize 20 or more players, resulting in 20+ exposures. But during a game, the starting 11 players may play the entire time, resulting in only 11 exposures.
These are some of the more interesting discoveries that the researchers made:
- The overall rate of injury was 2.51 for every 1,000 athletic exposures
- In-game injuries occur at nearly triple the rate of practice injuries
- The three most dangerous practice settings were football, wrestling, and boys’ soccer
- The three most dangerous competitions were football, girls’ soccer, and boys’ soccer
- The estimated total of injuries per academic year based on this study is nearly 1.5 million
Contact Us
Depending upon the circumstances surrounding a high school sports injury, legal action may be appropriate. There may be negligent adult supervision, improper maintenance of facilities, faulty protective equipment, or other factors at play. If your child has suffered a sports injury, contact Waco sports injury lawyer Vic Feazell, P.C., at 877-948-4842.
