Every year, millions of young athletes get hurt — and most of those injuries are preventable. We're 8th graders building a movement to make youth sports safer in Massachusetts.
Sourced from the CDC, Safe Kids Worldwide, and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.
Action Civics is the Massachusetts requirement that every 8th grader complete a non-partisan, student-led civics project (M.G.L. c. 71, § 2). We picked sports safety because it's something our whole school touches — and something we can actually change.
Survey classmates, athletes, and coaches. We found that 4 in 10 students didn't know MA's concussion law existed.
Interview athletic trainers, read DPH data, and study how other states like Washington (Zackery Lystedt Law) led the way.
Ours: every MA middle school posts a one-page concussion + heat safety guide in every locker room and dugout.
Student council, parent boosters, school nurse, athletic director, and the local Board of Health all signed on.
Present at a School Committee meeting, email state reps, and run an awareness campaign — that's where Instagram comes in.
Track what changed. Did locker rooms get the posters? Did concussion-reporting go up? Civics is a long game.
Every MA middle school posts a one-page concussion + heat safety guide in every locker room, dugout, and coach's binder by next season.
Requires public middle and high schools to train coaches, parents, and athletes on concussion recognition. Any athlete suspected of a head injury must be removed from play and cleared in writing by a doctor before returning.
The DPH regulation that puts the law into action — annual training, pre-participation forms, post-injury reporting, and graduated return-to-play protocols.
Mandates rest, water breaks, and modified practice when heat index exceeds 80°F — and full cancellation above 95°F WBGT.
A 10-minute dynamic warm-up cuts injury risk by up to 50%. Skip it and you're playing dice with your ACL.
A helmet should sit one inch above the eyebrows, with a chin strap that lets you fit only two fingers under it.
By the time you feel thirsty, you're already 2% dehydrated — enough to drop your reaction time and increase injury risk.
Youth athletes should take at least 1 day off per week and 2–3 months off per year from a single sport to prevent overuse injuries.
Massachusetts law requires immediate removal from play for any suspected concussion. No exceptions. No 'I'm fine, coach.'
Mouthguards reduce dental injury risk by 60×. Shin guards, properly sized cleats, and certified helmets save seasons.
Every link below opens a vetted source we used while researching this project. Use them for your own civics work, share them with a coach, or send them to your School Committee.
The national nonprofit that pioneered Action Civics curriculum used in Massachusetts classrooms.
Official Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education guidance for the 8th grade civics project.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's free civic education platform — games, lessons, and student action tools.
Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning — data on youth civic engagement in Massachusetts.
Read M.G.L. c. 111, § 222 — the law that protects every student athlete in the Commonwealth.
Free concussion training for coaches, parents, and athletes — required reading for our project.
Safe gear shouldn't be a luxury. Our middle school keeps a labeled "Donation Bucket" in the main office where families can drop off gently used — or new — protective equipment. We clean, inspect, and redistribute it to teammates who need it most.
All donations stay local. Nothing is resold. Every helmet is checked against NOCSAE certification dates before it's passed on.
Email us to coordinate a drop-off →or call (413) 276-5747We are four 8th grade students from Massachusetts who built this website as part of our Action Civics project. We play sports, we love sports, and we have watched teammates, friends, and family members get sidelined by injuries that never had to happen. Our goal is simple: keep players in the game by giving athletes, parents, and coaches the information and gear they need to play safer. From concussion awareness to certified equipment to smarter rules, we believe that every young athlete in the Commonwealth deserves the chance to compete without putting their long-term health on the line.
We post weekly safety tips, athlete stories, and updates on our policy push. One follow = one more student who knows the signs.
Our Instagram