Rethinking Youth Sports

The author's purpose in lines 4 through 7 is to

• give examples of the variety of sports available

• emphasize the benefits of participating in sports

• provide reasons for letting her family play sports

• show a personal connection to the topic of sports

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According to the article, why have injuries to veterans influenced studies of athletes with concussions?

• Thousands of veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.

• Repeated head injuries are potentially damaging to the brain or spinal cord.

• Repeated head injuries sustained in sports and combat have similar outcomes.

• Public awareness of the symptoms and seriousness of head injuries has been growing.

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Read this sentence from lines 22 and 23.

No longer can a soccer player or cyclist just "walk off" a bump to the head.

What does the phrase "walk off" suggest?

• The injury is made worse by moving around.

• The person needs to leave the playing area.

• The person is not seriously injured.

• The injury does not affect the legs.

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Lines 26 through 32 support the central idea that

• progress is being made to make sports safer for kids

• resistance to changes in youth sports is being overcome

• children count on parents and coaches to keep them safe

• a lack of training in treating brain injuries has inspired legislation

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Read these sentences from lines 44 through 47,

Sports-related brain injuries are also receiving more public attention because of the willingness of professional athletes to speak out. For example, more than 2,000 retired NFL players filed a lawsuit against football helmet maker Riddell and the NFL for hiding information about dangers of concussions and the consequences of hits to the head.

Which inference do these sentences best support?

• Older helmets do not protect athletes from head injuries.

• The problem of head injuries is not confined to student athletes.

• Professional athletes are reluctant to report head injuries during their careers.

• Legal action is an effective way to discover information about the dangers of concussions.

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Read this sentence from lines 50 through 52.

By taking what we already knew, we can create opportunities for our children to participate in sports while keeping them healthy and safe.

Which lines best support the author's claim in this sentence?

• "We are already learning a lot about traumatic brain injuries from our returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. An estimated 40,000 men and women veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from multiple concussions in combat." (lines 15 through 17)

• "According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), roughly 446,788 sports-related head injuries were treated at U.S. emergency rooms in 2009." (lines 20 through 21)

• "Recently, the largest youth football league, Pop Warner, announces it will limit the amount of contact and collisions in practice to protect its 285,000 football players (ages 5-15) from potential repetitive brain trauma. This move responded to a recent study of second-grade football players that showed the average player suffers more than 100 head impacts during 5 games and 10 practices." (lines 33 through 37)

• "Sports-related brain injuries are also receiving more public attention because of the willingness of professional athletes to speak out. For example, more than 2,000 retired NFL players filed a lawsuit against football helmet maker Riddell and the NFL for hiding information about dangers of concussions and the consequences of hits to the head." (lines 44 through 48).

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Which claim can be supported by evidence from the article?

• Participating in youth sports can expose children to risks.

• Limiting physical contact during practice keeps players safer during games.

• The age that a child begins playing football is related to the incidence of head injuries.

• Poorly made sports equipment accounts for increases in head injuries among professional athletes.