Water Polo Head Injuries -- Discussion & Resources

General
21

Great topic and want to follow it. A few notes to add to the discussion

  • 100% believe that the padded gear would make a difference, especially for goalies. But like many of you who have goalies I know I have about 0% chance of making mine wear one unless it’s a requirement both at practices and at games.
  • Remind the refs that it’s ok to stop a game when there is a suspicion of concussion. One of my players got one and the only reason she was able to get out of the water quickly was that the other coach saw it and called a time out. Feedback I got from the ref was “I saw it but it was not on my side to call it”. We were lucky, I’ve seen similar situations go uncalled.
  • And just a side note about the LLM generated answer of “A prospective study comparing concussion incidence among water polo players wearing protective headgear with players wearing conventional caps would go a long way toward answering that question.” Seriously? I don’t even want to read the study design for this one :rofl:
22

USA Water Polo requires member clubs to report head injuries: Head Injuries – USA Water Polo.

How often do you think clubs report head injuries sustained during practice? My guess is rarely, if ever. But before jumping to conclusions…

Tomorrow, I’ll do some journalistic investigation and check whether an incident involving my player was reported. Small data sample, but maybe my intuition is wrong.

Data collection and accountability are straightforward first steps toward addressing this serious issue. Are some clubs failing to provide a safe environment? Are there players with a track record of reckless behavior?

"…Reporting Head Injuries+
Members are required to send an email to USA Water Polo at swiggins@usawaterpolo.org with a copy to mlam@usawaterpolo.org containing the following information: (a) the time and date at which the athlete was removed from athletic activity, (b) the symptoms observed and (c) any treatment provided to the athlete. You may also download the USAWP Incident Report and submit it in the same fashion…"

  • Head Injuries are by and large reported to USA Water Polo
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters
23

It took more than a day to get an answer. My takeaway is that head injuries are likely underreported to USA Water Polo, leaving no reliable way to track their prevalence, the circumstances surrounding them, the effectiveness of protective headgear, or safety during practices and matches.

I called USA Water Polo and spoke with the person responsible for “head injury reporting.”

When I read the reporting requirement “Members are required,” I mistakenly assumed that “members” meant member clubs. USA Water Polo clarified that it refers to the players and, in the case of minors, their parents.

We never reported either the incident or the physician’s clearance to return to contact sports. We did not even know there was a reporting requirement or understand its purpose. USA Water Polo could not explain that purpose to me, or perhaps I failed to understand the explanation.

According to USA Water Polo, they receive some emails about concussions.

When I asked whether any concussion-reporting data were available, I received what sounded like a legal boilerplate response: “I cannot answer that question.” I was then directed to this educational site, which I will add to the resource post above:

Based on that conversation, I was left with the impression that concussion data are not being systematically collected. Requiring clubs and coaches to file reports, and holding them accountable for doing so, could change behavior and improve transparency.

Sadly, it is possible that opacity is the actual goal.

25

My effort to better understand this issue led me to call a manufacturer of military and sports protective gear to hear their perspective and ideas about protecting athletes, particularly youth and NCAA players.

Our personal story: my son, a field player, suffered a serious concussion during his junior year of high school that affected both his water polo and his academics that year. Now playing in the NCAA, he suffered his second concussion during a game this season. Luckily, this one was milder.

Several players on his team are in concussion protocol, and a handful have had repeat concussions in the past 12 months. I watched three NCAA games last weekend; two involved serious head injuries. Several people on this forum have also sent me DMs describing incidents from the past couple of weeks involving players trying to be heroes, not reporting head injuries, and suffering another injury while attempting to recover under the radar. It is painful to watch, whether it is your son or someone else’s.

I have drifted a bit from my introduction. The equipment manufacturer is based in California but had limited knowledge of water polo. I contacted them because they use advanced materials that might allow protective caps to be thinner. We had a lengthy discussion about why athletes do not wear protective gear and the possibility of designing a prototype cap for water polo.

Without going into all the details, one point from the conversation still echoes in my mind. The manufacturer suggested that the NCAA’s reluctance to recommend or allow padded caps could stem from concerns that a new recommendation might expose it to a class action brought by previously injured athletes whose claims remain within the statute of limitations.

That was a reality check. I cannot verify that explanation, but the possibility that liability concerns could outweigh player protection is deeply troubling. It leaves me wondering whether we have a partner in the fight to protect our children.

I bought the KAP7 padded cap to test it. My son says it is uncomfortable to play in and that no one wants to wear it. It looks like a regular cap to me, so I want to examine it myself to better understand his strong reaction.

The GameBreaker cap looks a bit bulky for field players.

I will share my impressions as soon as USPS Ground delivers it to my home.

Have a good water polo weekend!

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