Epidemiology of Injury in Community Club and Youth Sport Organizations

Often regarded as a rite of childhood and significant cultural unifying agent, participation in highly organized pediatric and adolescent sport activities is extensive, with more than 60 million American youth involved in organized sport activities annually. Many of these young people participate in non-school community-based settings, which will be the focus of this chapter. This focus is particularly important given that participants in these venues often do not have similar access to immediate health care as that experienced by participants in high schools, for example, where athletic trainers are often employed.