The Church is "home" to myriad athletic events, activities and participants (including cheerleaders), via official Catholic educational institution sport teams, Catholic educational institution club play, gym classes, church camps, CYO, etc. Whenever participants engage in athletic events there will certainly be associated injuries. Some of these injuries are short term and can be easily remediated by proper medical care, rehabilitation and simple rest. Some will lead to chronic, life long pain and impairment. Others are catastrophic in nature and result in devastating, life changing damage and impairment that is tragic for the injured athlete, but also emotionally, physically and financially overwhelming for the family of the athlete. Occasionally, these injuries result in death.

For the Catholic entities involved, response to these situations frequently produces great sorrow, deep regret, substantial human involvement and enormous financial outlay. And the fact is that most of the chronic, serious or catastrophic injuries are entirely preventable or, at minimum, they can be significantly mitigated.

The tools and resources contained herein are derived from sources such as: Brain Injury Association of America; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Athletic Trainers' Association; National Cheer Safety Foundation; and STOP Sports Injuries. We recommend you visit their sites for additional outstanding educational material. Here, however, is some critical information to assist you with the prevention and mitigation of athletic injuries.