The hard hits of football lead not only to sprains, broken bones and other physical injuries, but concussions as well. This brain injury has become a major concern for football players of all ages, and among young players, the problem appears to be getting worse. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of emergency department visits for concussions doubled between 8 and 13 year olds and tripled for older youth, according to the Southwest Athletic Trainers' Association. While part of the spike is likely due to increased surveillance and awareness, it still outlines a major problem in youth sports, says Lori Cook, director of the Pediatric Brain Injury Programs at the University of Texas–Dallas's Center for BrainHealth. “Head injury is an obvious risk of kids playing football,” she says. Between 2001 and 2009, the most recent years of CDC data, football sent about 25,376 kids under age 19 to the emergency room for traumatic brain injury each year, which was second only to bicycling.