Tag Archives: football

Thinking Critically: 2011 NCAA Reported-Concussion Study

24 Sep

When we think about concussions in football, we typically associate the injury with instances reported in youth or high school programs, relating to second-impact syndrome and the lingering effects post-concussion syndrome can hold upon a student athlete, or we consider the implications of the term ‘concussion’ as it relates to professional football—the leading candidate of media exposure with regards to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, lawsuits, and the root behind penalties and fines.  These are hierarchical extremities of the American football family, where we are presented accounts of the effects of traumatic brain injury in our children, or in our idols.  One question remains however, and it is one that has rarely been touched upon by the general sports coverage media—what about college football?  Where does the issue stand in that level of play?

We have seen efforts from some college football programs in taking on the issue at hand, more specifically referencing the allegiance of the Ivy League, where in this past year they instituted a decrease in mandatory full-contact practices—an effort to limit player exposure to head trauma and the potential risks of repetitive head trauma, a decision that can link itself back to Chris Nowinski’s proposal of ‘hit counts.’  But we haven’t seen many efforts of collegiate teams to address this issue, though a handful of coaches have openly given positive feedback to the awareness that has been brought about lately.  College football dominates our weekly routines browsing television, as hundreds of teams square up to compete on the national stage, and upon that stage, it is inevitable to understand that concussions are occurring—it is inevitable to understand that many concussions aren’t being reported, either, by the coaching staffs to the media, or by the players to the coaches.

There is no reason to make it seem that the NCAA is infected by coaches withholding “Mike Leach” complexes, but there is reason to believe that there is a need for issue exposure at this level of the game. Continue reading →

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Lessons to Learn: Fighting for Football

26 May

“Like there haven’t been concussions in the last 100 years of sports.  Toughen up.  Quit looking for an excuse to sit on the sidelines.” [Comment on USA Today’s “Concussions now a hot issue as leagues toughen policies”]

In football, “pain” is considered “weakness leaving the body.”  It is a sensation that comes with pride and is the noted product of an individual own sacrifice of self to perform for the well being of the team he plays for.  The game itself revolves around the violence that defines football—a collection of organized aggression that is considered to be only accepting of the hard-nosed play of men.  If you can’t take a hit, then you might as well get off the field.  With violence comes expendability, where both characteristics of football blend to give it its beautiful but unforgiving persona.

So tell me what pain is.  Across the country, football players throughout all levels of play are taught the clear difference between being hurt and injured.  The aches, bruises, and cuts; this is when you’re hurt.  You can play through them, and one way or another, you or your coach will make damn sure that you play through them.  The muscle tears and broken bones, however, are clear to be defined as injuries, where slings, crutches, and casts are provided in relations of series of x-ray scans that prove that something is wrong with your body.  Here you are forgiven.  We’ll see you in a few weeks when you’re ready to go.  And as long as you stay true to your promise that you have dedicated yourself to this football program, then you will have your position on the depth chart back when you’ve shown the medical professionals that your body is in sufficient condition to play.

Now the real question is, what is a headache?  Sure, we’ve all played through headaches at one point or another throughout the course of our football careers, but did we ever stop to think about what it may be, or take the time to give ourselves a self-evaluation of our ability to continue playing at an efficient level?  Did we maybe forget being the huddle immediately as we placed our fingers on the line of scrimmage before the play began?  Did we fumble our words when calling an offensive or defensive play because we simply did not consolidate the routine signals or calls that our coaches have engrained in our minds since day one?  Did we ever come to forget the score of the game, or wonder how or why you were in on a certain play but not have the ability to recall making the tackle? Continue reading →

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Fighting the Battle

18 Feb

My playing days in football taught me a lot about the culture of the game—the masked actions of those involved within the structure of a football program that the general public is not necessarily aware of.  This would most notably be the treatment of injured athletes.

When I sustained my first diagnosed concussion during my sophomore year of high school, I was shocked at how my teammates reacted to the injury.  I was no longer one of the leaders to those in my class, nor to the team.  I was no longer seen as the guy who put everything on the line for the sake of the game—the kid who showed up early and left late for each practice, the kid who pushed himself beyond his own limit, the kid who did not put up with any lack of determination in his teammates.

No.  I was now the one who lacked determination.  I was the one whose commitment was put to question, and whose very existence as an active member of the team was scrutinized.  I was faking it, but many forget that after my first concussion, I got right back up and went back into the huddle.  Really? Many forget that I was the one who, against the decision of the athletic trainer, suited up at training camp (still concussed) and played with the team until I wound up in a hospital bed.  Really, he did that? And despite many medical recommendations to give up football my junior year, I still returned; only to be confronted by another concussion that ultimately marked the end of my career.  I didn’t know he did that either! Continue reading →

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Suspecting the Unexpected

11 Jan

Dustin’s post “Nightmare on a Football Field” inspired me to write this next post.

During the summer of 2010, I was an intern at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  As interns, we worked with the certified staff members at the University to provide health care for all of the camps run through the Continuing Education Department at UWW, whether it was a sports camp, a music camp, or an academic camp.  One of the first camps that we had at UWW this summer was a football camp.  It was a “Perimeter Camp” which included quarterbacks, receivers, defensive backs, linebackers, etc., basically anybody but the linemen.  This camp had over 320 campers that were all out on the practice fields wearing helmets and shoulder pads.  I was the health care provider for all of them, by myself.  I had help inside, but on the field it was all me providing first aid.

On the second day of camp, I am doing some normal triage of injuries, blood, and hydration when one of the coaches brings a kid over on the golf cart.  This kid was complaining of an upset stomach and being light headed.  Since I was busy, I suggested he get some water and relax for a few minutes, lunch was only a couple of hours earlier and for the Wisconsin kids it was hot out (about 75 degrees).  When I went to talk to him a few minutes later, he was sitting in the shade, but he was not feeling better, nor did he look right, I had a hunch immediately that he probably was not Continue reading →

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