Initiatives by public and private sector organizations related to youth sports concussions, some of which were announced Thursday by President Barack Obama:

RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION

• The NCAA and the Defense Department are launching a $30 million effort to produce research on concussion risks, treatment and management.

• The National Football League is committing $25 million over the next three years on promoting youth sports safety, including support for new pilot programs to put more athletic trainers in schools.

• The National Institutes of Health will undertake a new research effort on the chronic effects of repetitive concussions, work supported by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health through an initial investment of $16 million from the NFL. The funding, together with grants announced at the end of last year, fulfills a $30 million commitment the league made to the institutes in 2012.

• With a $10 million investment from New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, UCLA will launch the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program to target sports concussion prevention, outreach, research and treatment for athletes of all ages, especially youth. The money will also support planning for a national system to determine the incidence of youth sports concussions.

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• The National Institute of Standards and Technology will invest $5 million over five years as part of the Materials Genome Initiative to accelerate development of advanced materials that can provide better protection against concussions for athletes, service members and others.

• Pop Warner Little Scholars will participate in a research project modeled on a system that tracks concussions and concussion trends in high school sports.

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

• Safe Kids Worldwide, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, will host more than 200 sports safety clinics for parents, coaches and young athletes across the country, including education on concussions. The Brain Injury Association of America, in collaboration with SAP, will build an online application to help students, parents and educators better understand when to return to class after a concussion.

• USA Cheer will unveil a new Head Injury Protocol to more than 300,000 cheerleaders and their coaches this summer to teach them how to prevent, identify and seek treatment for suspected head injuries. Updated cheerleading guidelines designed to reduce head injuries also will be released.

• U.S. Soccer will employ a chief medical officer to work with the medical community and experts in the field of concussion management and prevention.

• The National Federation of State High School Associations, which writes playing rules for high school-level sports, will host a concussion summit this year focused on best practices to minimize injury risks in high school athletes. The National High School Athletic Coaches Association will provide education sessions on concussions at its summer convention.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will promote use of a new app to help parents learn how to recognize concussion symptoms and what to do if they think their child has a concussion.


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