Alex Diamond

The Safe Stars youth sports safety rating system is expanding to include private schools and community youth sports organizations participating on public property.

The Vanderbilt Youth Sports Health Center, the only one of its kind in the region, recently opened through a partnership between Vanderbilt Sports Medicine and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

For weeks, coaches have put athletes through an endless series of drills in hopes that the repeated exercises will lead to a mastery of the skills. Their ultimate goal — wins. While plays and routes will become second nature to student athletes, there are a few additional skills that need to be in the lineup — ones that can ultimately save lives.

Vanderbilt's Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, has been named to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, has many titles and serves in multiple roles — associate professor of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery, director of the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) and team physician for Vanderbilt University, the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Sounds.

Led by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Safe Kids Cumberland Valley received the Impact Award for Advocacy for its work to protect children from preventable injuries.

The Tennessee Department of Health and the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt joined professional and collegiate sports officials and other community partners at Bridgestone Arena recently to kick off the Safe Stars initiative.