Could your social media profiles be holding you back from landing that NIL deal?

Since we celebrated the two-year anniversary of NIL (Name, Images & Likeness) earlier this month on July 1st, young athletes have the ability to capitalize on their personal brand through endorsements and sponsorships. This is a significant milestone for NCAA Student Athletes and has taken the world by storm.

However, most brands have become selective with who is representing their brand and do not want to work with immature or unprofessional athletes. We all know that our social media profiles are a direct reflection of our character and brands want to work with athletes whose values align with the company’s and will represent them in a positive light. If your content consistently portrays you as immature and unprofessional, most brands will not want to associate with you which will limit your ability to secure NIL deals. 

3 tips on what you should be posting to increase exposure for NIL:

1) Highlights and “behind the scenes” footage:

The most popular content that athletes post on social media is highlight reels of performances. There is no doubt that posting your impressive moments will attract the attention of potential sponsors. Posting more than your game-day performance such as your workout sessions, recovery techniques, wellness tips, and general lifestyle content will provide a deeper glimpse into your life and give potential sponsors a better idea of who you are.

2) Personal stories & inspirational messages:

In addition to sports content, you can use social media to share your personal stories such as your journey, challenges and overall dedication to your sport. By sharing inspiring messages and insights into your life, you can better connect with your audiences and portray yourself as a role model, ultimately making yourself more attractive to sponsors. 

3) Community involvement & family:

Another popular choice of content among athletes to post is advocacy. Sharing content regarding social change, charity events/fundraisers and volunteer work can highlight your commitment to making a positive impact beyond your sport. Most brands like to see social responsibility and philanthropy, so they may be more interested if you show that you are actively involved in your community. Also, family vacations, birthdays, accomplishments, etc., are a great add-on to your posts and overall view of your life.

For young athletes, social media can be a stepping stone for successful NIL deals. Posting responsible content online, showcasing that you align with their brand values, and actively managing your online presence can help aspiring collegiate athletes maximize their NIL opportunities. 

About LifeBrand

LifeBrand offers a simple solution for young athletes looking to build or maintain a strong online reputation. Our AI-powered software privately scans your social media accounts and once complete, flags any questionable content posted from their very first post. YOU then have the opportunity to keep, edit or delete the content in a matter of minutes. Additionally, every flagged post comes with an explanation, which helps young social media users understand why the technology chose to flag the content and ensure they don’t post similar content in the future. 

Student athletes work incredibly hard year-round on their sport to catch the attention of not only coaches, but now NIL recruiters. Don’t let social media be the reason you can’t capitalize on your name.

Sports Empower Women And Build Confidence

Sports allow women to have individuality and identity within societies that might otherwise count them out. Being an athlete means you are pushing yourself physically and mentally every day. The hard work that you put into your sport makes your body stronger, but it builds your confidence. If you can do what it takes to succeed in your sport, you can do what it takes to succeed in life. As a female athlete, you empower yourself to seize opportunities when they come your way and have the confidence to do so. Girls are learning from a young age how to work hard and to know their strengths and weaknesses. As females grow in sports they learn to know themselves and what they are capable of.

Sports Help Women Develop Leadership Qualities

Being a member of a team helps girls to develop leadership qualities from a young age. As a member of a team, you have to learn how to work together with your teammates. You have to adapt to different personalities. You have to learn how to listen as well as speak. These are valuable skills that can be used in all areas of life outside of sports. Female athletes can later use these leadership qualities in workplace, family, social life, and personal goals. These leadership qualities teach women that they can speak up. They can inspire others with their stories. They do have a voice in this world and sports can empower them to share it without fear.

Sports Allow Women To Feel Successful

Female athletes constantly set and break records, push boundaries, and raise the bar for what we ever thought was possible in athletics. These strong women inspire other women and girls to fight for what they want and pursue their goals. Sports are a gateway to equality for women. They allow women to show the world that they are strong, they are not afraid to work hard, and they can accomplish anything that they put their minds to.

Sports not only allow the world to be amazed by what female athletes are accomplishing, but they allow women to support women. Women are working together to raise each other up and help each other succeed. This is perhaps one of the most empowering things that sports provide.

Female athletes aren’t the only ones looking for more representation and equality. The International Olympic Committee and the UN Women are working together to launch the Sports For Gender Equality initiative into the Olympic games. This initiative was launched in 2020 and works to balance the gender ratio and privilege in the Olympic games. The statistics for the 2020 Olympics were at a gender balance of 48.8 percent of the athletes being female. They also changed the opening ceremonies so that one male and one female jointly carry their country’s flag. This initiative goes beyond the Olympics by preventing and responding to gender based violence, creating economic equality for women, and also protecting women from biased press and media.

Empowering Woman At School

Schools are also doing more for empowering women through sports. The Title IX Law allows for just as many women’s sports in school as men’s sports. This allows female athletes to have just as much opportunity in athletics as male athletes.

The world is getting more inclusive for female athletes. They can break down gender norms and stereotypes. They are becoming empowered through sports and learning skills that make them strong and able to stand on their own in society. Women worldwide can find an identity and a voice through sports when they might otherwise be oppressed. Sports are a way for female athletes to show the world just how powerful women are.

Read More

• How to Worry Less About Your Female Athletes Getting Injured
• How To Be A Leader

All these questions and more are essential during this reflection period because, for sports camps to grow in numbers and in popularity, players and coaches alike need a balance of work, rest, and activities.

When planning each sports camp, breaking down each day, each session, and each hour, as a coach, our primary focus is, of course, the skill set. Learning and implementing our sport and creating competitive players is our ultimate goal. We like to start with the basics of a passing platform, arm swing, and footwork in volleyball. We’ll then move into the difference between defense, offense, and serve to receive before eventually shifting into the 6-on-6 competition environment.

The trickiest thing about a summer volleyball camp is condensing a season’s worth of skill sets into one short week. For this reason, we keep a camper-to-coach ratio of 8-1 and break up each day into three sessions with laser-focused skill work. This format ensures each camper has ample time to master the skill and form within that set before moving on to the next.

No matter their age or skill level, after a day full of multiple practice sessions that have coaches hammering them on their form, arm swing, footwork, and competitive play, even the best player in the camp will burn out before they hit the halfway point. So how, then, do we keep them engaged, keep them moving between drills while having fun? We play volley games!

Over the years and after dozens of fall seasons and camps, I’ve come up with a few key volley games that I like to use to keep my players moving, engaged, and communicating with their teammates while keeping their heart rate up and their reflexes on point. But the secret is, they have no idea about any of that because all they know is how much fun they’re having!

Volley Games

1. Serving Amoeba – This volley game is a fun way of teaching spot serving and team cheering, and quick movement.

Start by splitting your group in half to create two teams. Put each team at opposite end lines with a ball cart. Choose one team member to sit (cross-legged) on the court on which their team will be serving.

I like to start by sitting them in one spot on the court. This is often where the setter lives and can help put a team out of the system when chosen as a serving spot them. Once their teammate is sitting cross-legged, and everyone on each team has a ball in hand, the whistle is blown to commence serving. *Note, all players on each end line are allowed to serve at once.

The object is to serve at your teammate over the net and for her/him to catch the ball without getting up or moving. If a player serves and their teammate catches the ball, the server then sprints under the net, sits next to it, and links arms with that player. As more players hit the girls/guys sitting, the “amoeba” grows on the court, making it easier to hit someone sitting down.

The team is the first to have all their players sitting and linked wins. At this point, the losing team will run for punishment while the other team shags the balls. Punishments vary for each age level, from 10 sit-ups to 6 full-court sprints.

I’ll usually play 2-3 rounds of this game, changing the spot the first sitter begins on the court with each game. I would advise always to include one spot and a short spot like 2, 3, or 4.

Another variation, depending on age, is to allow the younger players to serve from the court. The idea is to create a competitive yet fair game that includes all ages and levels.

2. Volleyball Relay – This volley game is a sprinting game that incorporates teamwork.

Begin by splitting your group into teams of 8 or 10. You can adjust this to play with as little as 6 or 7 players on each team, but it’s more fun with 8 or 10.

For this example, we’ll assume we have two teams of 10. Put both teams at one end line in single file lines. Teams must be even, so if you have an uneven number, the team with less will need one player to go twice.

Place ten balls at the opposite end line from each team. Once the players are lined up, and the first runner is chosen, the whistle is blown. The first player from each team must sprint down to the other end of the court, pick up one ball and run it back to the next player waiting in line. That second player takes that one ball, sprints down, picks up a second ball, then turns around and runs back to the third player in line. Handing off both balls, the third player must sprint and pick up the third ball, and so on.

The object is to somehow get all ten balls back across the original end line without dropping any.

*Note, players are allowed to help stuff balls under jerseys, shorts, etc., from the team end line. But the player whose turn it is cannot be helped down at the end line where the balls are.

Players must remain behind the end line, do not let them cheat by inching up to get closer to the player running back with balls.

All ball transfers must take place behind the end line. If a player drops the ball in transit, they cannot kick the ball toward their team. The ball must be picked up and carried across the line.

A helpful tip is to have the players sit down behind the end line after their turn. This way, the coach/ref can see how many players there are left to run. The first team to get all 10 of their balls back across the team end line wins!

3. Shipwreck – A personal favorite, this volley game will sharpen their listening skills, reflexes, and teamwork

This game works best with larger groups, so obviously, it’s a great game for summer camp and best when combining multiple teams.

Start by spreading the entire group out on a single boundary line so everyone can see the coaches and you can see them.

Start by teaching them the commands. This game is played by the coach calling out specific commands (similar to Simon Says), and the players need to complete an action to each command. Like Simon Says, there are tricks and ways that players will be eliminated.

We use the volleyball court’s boundaries for this game, which the players cannot go out of. We call this the “ship”. For extra-large groups, it’s best to use a bigger “ship” as a basketball court.

Unknown Commands:

A: Captain’s coming – All players must stop in their tracks and solute and yell, “Aye-Aye, Captain!” They must remain in this form until the coach yells, “At ease”. *Trick players by giving a command before giving the “at ease” command. This will always cause some players to break their solute, thus getting eliminated.

B: Port or Starboard – Define a left and right side of a court and tell the port and which is starboard. When you call this command out, the players must run to that line. Whoever is last to the line is eliminated. *Trick them by pointing in the opposite direction of the command. Some players will pay attention only to hand signals rather than words.

C: 3-men in a boat – 3 players must sit front-to-back in a row in a single file line and pretend to be rowing a boat.

D: 4-men in a boat – same as above, but with four players. Any players seen scrambling without being in a boat are eliminated, as are any boats with more or less than the number called.

E: Starfish – 5 players must sit on the ground with all their feet touching in a circle. The shape this creates with the space inside the legs is a star.

F: Lighthouse – 2 players join and create a roof with their hands, while a third player goes underneath and turns around and around like the bulb inside a lighthouse.

G: Man overboard – 1 player must get on the back of another player as they pretend to scan the seas for the missing crew.

H: Beached whale – each player must get down on the ground, on their belly, all legs and feet up off the ground as they make weird squealing sounds.

I: Jellyfish – 3 players sit on the ground with their backs together, legs and arms out in front of them, wiggling like a jellyfish.

J: Swab the deck – All players must pretend their sweeping or mopping the deck.

K: Bomb’s Away – Players crouch down on the ground in a ball, protecting their heads. Coaches then toss balls in the air or bounce a ball against the floor in the direction of a group of players. If a ball touches a player, they’re out.

Coaches must be quick to catch late players rushing to find a group or partner or players who are late to get into a motion, form, or direction. Any outliers must be quickly eliminated.

Because elimination happens so quickly, I usually have a coach or two working for the eliminated group off to the side doing core exercises. Coaches will stop players in exercises like planks, sit-ups, leg lifts, Russian twists, and scissor kicks outside of the central game court. Players who are eliminated must join the core exercise group. Just be sure to tell the group ahead of time where to go once eliminated from the game.

These three and many other volley games like them are a fantastic way to break up a monotonous drill or a session heavy in repetition. These games tend to revive my players while bringing fun, laughter, and smiles to the court.

There are many reasons for the high injury rate. They all revolve around anatomy, biomechanics, and hormonal differences. In a nutshell:

• Females have wider hips. This inherently increases stress to the knees with movement.
• Wider hips create altered running, jumping, and deceleration mechanics. Females, in particular, need stronger muscles around the hip to support a neutral knee position in a stressful environment such as when in sport.
• Hormones. Females generally have looser ligaments that aren’t as strong as male ones. In addition, menstrual cycles increase the amount of a hormone called relaxin, which further creates laxity in ligaments. In other words, the days leading to that time of the month can increase the vulnerability to a ligament injury.

There are other reasons, but those are the big players why female athletes’ knees get hurt so much. It’s sad, but reality.

But of course, there are things we can do about it. Building strength in the right places seems to be the most effective tool we have to prevent these injuries. There are many exercises female athletes should do to prevent common knee injuries, but here are my top three.

3 Single-Leg Exercises Every Female Athlete Should Master

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL). This is my favorite exercise of all time. It accomplishes many things in one relatively simple movement. Lumbar stability, rotary stability, hip strength and mobility, hamstring flexibility and strength, knee, ankle, and foot stability, balance, and coordination. Every athlete should possess these essential qualities for both performance and injury prevention, particularly for the knees.

Rearfoot elevated squats (RFEs). These are also commonly called Bulgarian split squats or just split squats. This is a fantastic movement to strengthen the hips and knees. It is also a healthier and overall superior way to squat over the traditional two-leg squats.

Single-Leg Hip Thrust. No exercise strengthens the glutes more than the hip thrust. Strengthening the glutes, especially on one leg, is crucial to leg stability. Optimal leg stability dramatically reduces the risk of injury.

Those are my top three. Hopefully, you noticed the similarities. They all strengthen the hips and knees and are done on one leg. Almost all movements in sport are done on one leg. We run, jump, cut, throw, punch and pull with one arm and one leg at a time. All athletes should train on one leg because it replicates their sport and creates an element that requires balance, another key to preventing injuries.

These movements require no weight and zero equipment. RDLs can be done anywhere, RFEs only need a step or something to prop the foot up, and hip thrusts can be done off the floor, but from a bench is best. These movements should be practiced until perfected with no weights at all. Once mastery of technique is reached, then you can begin adding weights. You can eventually add massive weights to these exercises. But I can’t stress enough that technique is the most critical factor. Only use weights you can handle without compensations in technique.

These three exercises won’t make you bulletproof. But I guarantee you that your knee injury chances will decrease if you learn to execute these moves correctly. In addition, your performance will also go up if you get brutally strong with these exercises while ensuring sound technique.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/sports-injuries-gender

It is not about giving admonishment and praise to another record-setting home run hitter or for the fastest fastball. Instead, it gives accolades to Rachel Balkovec, the first female minor league manager for the Tampa Bay Tarpons- a low-class A team. It is not a high-status level position, but it is a start as a manager. Rankings in MiLB start with AAA being the best, followed by AA, then High A, and then Low A.

Her debut will kick off the 2022 season.

The New York Yankees manage the Tampa Tarpons. Their previous name was the Tampa Yankees and recently changed in 2018.

A Talented Batting Coach

In November 2019, Balkovec was hired as one of the New York Yankees batting coaches. She was scheduled to start during spring training in 2020. When COVID-19 hit, it canceled the 2020 season. This was one of the first times she made history in the MiLB by being the first woman to hold this position.

Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. She also has attained two master’s degrees- one in Sports Administration and the other in Biomechanics. With all her previous softball experience, as a player, with her degree in exercise science, a masters in biomechanics, and her fellowship at Driveline Baseball, where she researched eye-tracking patterns for batters, she makes her a great batting coach.

A Career of History in the Makings

Balkovec began her career in 2012 for the St. Louis Cardinals minor league team where she was as a temporary strength and conditioning trainer. That same year, she won the Appalachian League’s award as strength coach of the year. In 2014, Rachel became the strength and conditioning coordinator for the team. The first time a woman had held this position in baseball.

In 2016, Balkovec was hired by the Houston Astros as the strength and conditioning coordinator for their Latin American team. Rachel was also the first female to be hired in this position.

In 2018, she was promoted to the strength and conditioning coach for the MiLB AA Corpus Christi Hooks baseball team.

And now, with all the bottled expertise in dealing with players and sports administration, it is time to pop the cap and use it all as a manager.

Battle to Success

Balkovec’s news is excellent! However, these things did not come easy. Over the years, she suffered gender discrimination. Many clubs would not hire her as a strength and conditioning coach. However, in May of 2020, Balkovec was interviewed by ESPN. She told a story about when she changed her mane on her resume from Rachel to Rae, to make her name more neutral. And by doing this, she was successful, getting positive results and affirmations for interviews and employment.

But that’s what trailblazers like Rachel do, keep on blazing no matter what the odds are against them.

“The question is not who is going to let me, it is who is going to stop me.”- Ayn Rand

Rachel has set records and made history in the MiLB way before being a manager. So, she is no rookie and has paid her dues to climb up into the ranks.

10. Candace Parker

• Total Earnings: $5.7 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $0.2 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $5.5 million

9. Nelly Korda

• Total Earnings: $5.9 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $2.4 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $3.5 million

8. Ashleigh Barty

• Total Earnings: $6.9 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $3.9 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $3 million

7. P.V. Sindhu

• Total Earnings: $7.2 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $0.2 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $7 million

6. Jin Young Ko

• Total Earnings: $7.5 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $3.5 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $4 million

5. Garbiñe Muguruza

• Total Earnings: $8.8 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $2.8 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $6 million

4. Simone Biles

• Total Earnings: $10.1 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $0.1 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $10 million

3. Venus Williams

• Total Earnings: $11.3 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $0.3 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $11 million

2. Serena Williams

• Total Earnings: $45.9 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $0.9 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $45 million

1. Naomi Osaka

• Total Earnings: $57.3 million
• On-The-Field Earnings: $2.3 million
• Off-The-Field Earnings: $55 million

I was teased about my buckteeth and chicken legs when I was a young girl. And was often called a boy. That was a long time ago though, so I didn’t have to worry about the input of social media.

Pressure To Be Perfect

But today, on top of the usual challenges of growing up, there is social media pressure for teens and young adults to be perfect. Celebrities and Influencers use professional photographers to enhance the ideal life presented on their feeds. And everyone who uses social media can add filters that adjust features and add makeup to get the “perfect” look. One quick scroll through Instagram and you’ll find your vision of perfection and soon be fed more of the same.

For example, according to the New York Post, Facebook’s own internal research has found that Instagram inundates teen girls who have anorexia and other eating disorders with photos and videos of other girls with eating disorder-related content.

Teen Girls Feel Worse About Themselves

Social media is hard on teens, especially, young women, and research has found that Instagram is the worst. About 22 million teens log onto Instagram in the U.S. each day. Many of which are girls and young women.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a message posted to Facebook’s internal message board in March 2020 stated that, “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” Because of social media, many teenagers feel worse about themselves and believe that they are missing something in their lives.

Fear Of Missing Out

When a person sees everyone else doing fun and exciting things on social media it is easy for them to wonder why they live such a boring life. As it is called, FOMO is exacerbated by scrolling through the “perfect” lives of others. And the act of spending time on the screen actually takes away from time that could be spent living in the present.

Depression & Anxiety

The average person spends two and a half hours a day on social media. Youth spend between six and nine hours a day, scrolling through image upon image of the “perfect body” and the “perfect life.” This is not good. Research has found that the more social networks a young adult uses, the more likely he or she is to report depression and anxiety.

Not only can social media lead to depression and anxiety, but for many, it can lead to loneliness and body image obsession. According to the Facebook presentation, teens report wanting to spend less time on Instagram, but lack the self-control to do so. What steps can you take to reduce social media?

Ways To Reduce Time On Social Media.

Turn off notifications

Choose when you want to check social media. Do you really need to know what is happening in everyone else’s life every moment of the day? Be in charge of your life and view social media when you want to, not when posts are sent to you.

Limit yourself

Set a schedule for yourself. Maybe you only check your social media in the morning for thirty minutes and again at night for thirty more. Whatever works to reduce your time scrolling, give it a try. Some apps have built-in time limits that you can set and there are more apps to help if you have a hard time being disciplined

Delete apps

Try deleting apps that you don’t use very often. Or if you’re ready for real change, go cold-turkey, delete them all and see what happens.

Get a new hobby/activity

Having a hobby will keep you away from your phone and social media. When you are feeling antsy pick up a guitar, or draw, or read. Go for a bike ride or a run. Do something fun that has nothing to do with social media.

Touch base with friends and family

Instead of watching friends and family on social media, give them a text or call. Or even send a postcard. Really connect. They will love it as much as you do.

What May Happen If You Reduce Social Media

Feel Anxious (At First)

If you are used to scrolling away, you may feel antsy when you first reduce your social media time; your body and mind accustom to the constant draw of the feed. But give yourself a chance to breathe and see what happens

Less Stress

You may find that once you get past any anxious feelings, that you feel less stressed. You have nothing to live up to. Relax and just be you.

More Sleep

When you reduce time on social media you have more hours to sleep, especially if the time spent on social media was during the late hours of the night. And when you’re less worried about keeping up a “perfect life”, you may also find ease when your head hits the pillow

Creativity

Now that you have more time, and your mind is more clear, you may find that you want to create. You may have the urge to draw and write. Boredom is the road to creativity. Don’t fill the street with roadblocks.

Enjoy The Present Moment

Instead of living everyone else’s life. Say goodbye to social media and enjoy your present life. Look up from your phone and enjoy the people, and the life, around you.

Resources And Support

If you or someone you care about needs support check out the following resources:

SAMHSA’s National Helpline

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

AACAP Resource Centers

AACAP Resource Centers are aimed at helping families find the information they need. They empower consumers through patient education. Each AACAP Resource Center contains consumer-friendly definitions, answers to frequently asked questions, clinical resources, expert videos, and abstracts from the JAACAP, Scientific Proceedings and Facts for Families relevant to each disorder.

Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression

Maya Moore’s ‘On the Move’ 3-Point Shooting Drills 

You’ve heard the old phrase “you play like you practice.” WNBA MVP Maya Moore knows it’s true, so she tries to make her practices—even her practice shots—as game-like as possible. “You usually aren’t shooting when you’re feeling good,” she says. “You’re usually on the move and feeling a little tired or fatigued.” That’s why Moore practices taking 3-point shots in three different scenarios—catch-and-shoot, escape dribble and backpedal conditioning.

Catch-and-shoot

A teammate sends a chest pass her way, which Moore must catch, secure, and set up to loft one toward the hoop.

Escape dribble

After receiving the pass, Moore says, “you give the defender a pump fake, they go flying, you take one dribble to the left or right to escape, then shoot.”

Backpedal conditioning

Moore backpedals to the half-court line, then sprints to a target spot to receive a pass, catch and shoot.

Perform each of these variations from five different spots beyond the arc—the left corner, left wing, center, right wing and right corner. Try to sink five at each spot before moving on to the next.

Maya’s Mighty Workout 

Since her teams in the WNBA and overseas essentially have her playing professional ball year-round, Moore has adjusted her lifting to be less about strength and power and more about preventive maintenance and recovery. “It’s more high-rep, lower weight work, performed for endurance, along with specific preventive exercises, focusing on areas like my quads, back and ankles. And my core,” she says. “Thankfully I’ve always had great coaches who emphasized core, core, core.”

Dumbbell Push-Press

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level.
• Lower into a half-squat, then simultaneously extend at your hips and knees and drive your hands overhead.
• Lower the weights to your shoulders and repeat.

Sets/Reps: 2×12

American Deadlift

• Stand with your feet shoulder width-apart.
• Hinge at the hips, bend down and wrap a resistance band under your feet, so you are standing on the band.
• Holding on to the band with your hands, flex at the hips to extend up as if you were performing a Deadlift.
• Maintain tension on the band throughout.
• Lower and repeat.

Sets/Reps: 2×20

Multi-Directional Physioball Crunch

• With your feet on the floor, place your lower back on a physioball and hold your hands near your face.
• Engage your abdomen to lift your torso off the ball and rotate to the right.
• Lower and repeat to the left.

Sets/Reps: 2×10 each side

Bridge Sequence (Plank, Side Plank, Glute Bridge)

• Start by holding a plank from the push-up  position, keeping your core tight and back flat.
• Roll onto one side, keeping your elbow tucked under your body for support. Your feet should be the only other body part touching the ground.
• Hold, then switch sides to rest on your opposite elbow.
• Lower yourself to the ground, roll onto your back, and bend your knees so your heels are almost touching your butt.
• Push through your feet and lift your hips into a bridge position.
• Maintain a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
• Perform the moves consecutively, holding each position for 20-30 seconds before moving on to the next.

Sets/Duration: 2×20-30 seconds, all 4 positions

The National High School Sports Injury Surveillance (NFHS) study looked at 9,542 concussions that occurred in high school sports. Out of every 10,000 practices and games:

• Boys playing football suffered 10.2 concussions.
• Girls playing soccer, which was second, suffered 8.4 concussions.
• Comparing boys to girls soccer, the boys had 3.5 concussions.

To add more fuel to the fire, a study in the journal, Pediatrics confirms that high school girls soccer athletes had the same risk for concussions as boys high school football. This is an interesting and alarming statistic considering boys where helmets and the force and impact football produces on the body.

In 2017 the American Academy of Neurology found that females are 50% more likely than male athletes to have a concussion caused by sports.

1. Girls are more likely to report injury more than boys.

In a study, the report said that girls are more likely to say they have a head injury and report symptoms more than boys. The report also showed that boys tend to hide an injury or not speak the truth about their symptoms related to injury.

2. Females and males are biologically different.

Girls start menstruation at 10-14 years old. They begin to have changes in estrogen and progesterone levels. Surprisingly, female menstruation leads to poorer outcomes for females and concussions. A published study done in 2014 in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation found that the menstrual cycle has a detrimental impact pertaining to a females’ concussion.

They found that women who experienced a concussion during the last two weeks of their menstrual cycle had worse post-concussion symptoms when compared to the first two weeks. When a girl suffers a concussion or head injury during the last two weeks progesterone is high. And during the first two weeks, progesterone is low.

Furthermore, oral contraception helps to balance these two hormone levels in the body. And those who take oral contraception did not have worse symptoms of concussion.

What’s more is, female high school athletes who have experienced concussions have reported that their periods stopped entirely or became more irregular over months.

3. Females have cerebral nerve differences.

When someone suffers a concussion, the nerve fibers are stretched rapidly. However, the nerve fibers stay intact and it is the microtubules that rupture and break from the force. Researchers found that with a concussion, female nerve fibers dramatically swell more than male nerve fibers. This was noticed within a 24-hour period. This information was confirmed in a study done by Penn Medicine published in the journal, Experimental Neurology.

Robert A. Groff a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania found that female nerve fibers were smaller, more fragile, and had fewer microtubules than men that were easier to break from the application of force to the head. What’s most important is that the size of the nerve determines its strength and the number of microtubules. Microtubules transport molecules and electric currents and provide protection and regeneration of the nerve. And, since females have smaller nerves, which leads to fewer microtubules, it makes the female brain more susceptible to concussion and a severe concussion. The larger the nerve fiber, the more microtubules you have, the less prone to concussion you will be.

What’s more, in another study, they found that females have concussion symptoms for about three weeks longer than males. A typical concussion for a male last about ten days on average.

4. Weaker neck muscles in females increase trauma to the head.

Hunt Batjer, MD, is a professor at the department of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He says most females don’t have the same musculature as men in the neck and shoulder regions. When a female hits their head, their neck and shoulders do not support the impact of the force in the same way as a male. The application of force to a female’s head is worse. He says that weak neck muscles increase the risk of concussion.

High school female athletes seem to have less developed neck muscles than boys. With strong neck muscles, the head stabilizes and prevents excessive movement of the head during impact. A strong neck means force is absorbed over a greater surface area and not only isolated to the head affecting the brain.

Researchers have known about these differences for years that female athletes have greater risk to head trauma and concussions. So, why is it still going unnoticed and unresolved? Ignorance is not bliss. It leads to tragedy and detrimental life-altering situations.

Research is not done to show superiority or inferiority. It is done to provide the greatest amount of safety for athletes to show their superior talents and performance skills on the field. Burying this research and looking the other way will only produce more victims to injury because of ignorance, not pride. There is nothing proud about seeing an athlete end their career early suffering from an injury that could have been prevented. You need to look at the playing field pertaining to skills and performance equally while acknowledging differences physiologically and listening without prejudice.

It is a terrible inequality and slap in the face to allow females to be exposed to life-threatening situations. High school sport organizations and professional ones need a call of duty to respect sport and protect those who play within its realm. There needs to be specific guidelines that protect females and high school girls.

Until today, no sport has produced female-specific protocols for concussions.