TAKE 5 with USA Wrestling's Steve Fraser

Youth sports might not seem as dangerous as professional sports, but there are still physical risks involved.

Safety precautions should be taken in every sport, and at Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive™ we encourage coaches and parents to educate themselves on where to find information on preventing and identifying head injuries, especially concussions.

We sat down with former Greco-Roman USA Wrestling coach and current Chief of Donor and Alumni Relations Steve Fraser to get his thoughts on how youth athletes, coaches and Positive Sport Parents can help provide proper protection of the head.

In our exclusive TAKE 5 interview, Steve told us that the top priority for youth wrestlers should be to “build a strong neck.”

“You can build a strong neck with good bridging exercises,” said Steve. 

Steve added that wrestling coaches can play a strong supporting role here – and act as a bridge to better head and neck safety protocol themselves.

“Coaches can help build strong necks,” said Steve. “They should establish a good strength program for the neck, with good bridging exercises. They should also establish very good warm-up exercises for the head and neck.”

According to Steve, Positive Sport Parents can also help here, by “supporting the coaches” to the best of their ability. In this sense, protecting against and minimizing head and neck injuries in youth wrestling is a total team effort, where everybody can play a vital role.

To read the full TAKE 5 interview with Steve, visit PlayPositive.com. And come back next month for another exclusive TAKE 5 interview!

At Liberty Mutual Insurance, we constantly look for ways to celebrate the countless acts of positivity shown by people every day. We created Play Positive, powered by Positive Coaching Alliance, as part of this belief to help ensure that our kids experience the best that sports have to offer in environments that promote and display positivity. We believe kids can learn valuable life lessons when coaches and parents come together to support winning on and off the mat. 

©2014 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Positive Coaching Alliance. All rights reserved. This material may not be distributed without express written permission. Any reproduction in whole or part by and individuals or organizations will be held liable for copyright infringement to the full extent of the law.