DeSean Jackson founded Safe to Play 1-2-3, a nonprofit that educates high school football coaches about concussion signs and symptoms. Concussions are common among high school football players, with 33% occurring during practice alone. Safe to Play 1-2-3 offers an online training course for coaches to recognize concussion signs, and coaches who pass become certified and can earn a $500 equipment grant for their school. The program aims to improve safety for student athletes who often lack top medical care like NFL players have.

1. CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Football season
is in high gear and millions of children
across America are strapping up to hit
the gridiron. While coaches and par-
ents across the country may be aware
of the obvious dangerous of football,
they may not be aware of the hidden
dangers of the sport.
When most parents and coaches think
about football injuries many only think
about the physical ones, but what about
the mental ones? Every year, hundreds
of thousands of football players suffer
a concussion. High school football ac-
counts for 47 percent of all reported
sports concussions, with 33 percent of
concussions occurring during practice.
Fortunately, there is a program to help
high school coaches recognize the
three major signs of a concussion.
With the startling
rise of concus-
sions among
high
school and mid-
dle school football
players, NFL wide receiver,
DeSean Jackson, decided to get
involved. After getting up-close and
personal with the dangers of concus-
sions, he founded Safe to Play 1-2-3, a
nonprofit that educates coaches at the
high school level about the signs of a
concussion. Recently, the Safe to Play
initiative expanded to North Carolina
and prominent Charlotte area football
coaches, Joe Evans and Ryan Alston,
are some of the programs first gradu-
ates in this area.
Recent research by the CDC said the
number of concussions reported in
2012 has doubled since 2002, and
one-in-five high school athletes
will suffer a concussion.
“I’m lucky enough to have
top-level medical staff near
me when I get hurt, but many
high school students do not,”
Jackson said. “I just want to
help coaches protect the next
wave of NFL players.”
Safe to Play 1-2-3 offers coaches
an online training course to recog-
nize the signs of a concussion. Once
a coach passes the course, the coach
is “Safe to Play 1-2-3 Certified,” and
earns
a $500
s a f e t y
e q u i p m e n t
grant for his
school.
Four to five million con-
cussions occur annually, with
rising numbers among mid-
dle school athletes. 90-percent of
most diagnosed concussions do not
involve a loss of consciousness. While
the first hit can prove problematic, the
second or third head impact can cause
permanent long-term brain damage.
“As a graduate of the program, I really
support what DeSean is doing and the
knowledge that coaches gain from the
course,” Head Football Coach at Inde-
pendence High School Joe Evans said,
“As the coaches, it is our duty to do
everything we can to ensure these kids
health and safety while on the field. I
would suggest every parent ask if their
child’s coach is Safe to Play 1-2-3 Cer-
tified, and if the coach is not, do not let
their child play until they are certified.”
For more information on Safe to Play
1-2-3, the signs of a concussion and
how coaches can enroll in the program,
www.safetoplay123.org