Tackling Concussions: New Law Means Stricter Requirements for School Sports

Nothing about the tackle seemed out of the ordinary to Simley High School football player Kyle Stahl.

But when Stahl, a wide receiver for the Spartans, readied for the next play, he realized he couldn't remember any of his calls. Back on the sidelines, Stahl's problems only got worse. His teammates told him he was "acting weird"—slurring his words and zoning out for long periods of time.

The team's trainer checked him out—testing his eyesight and balance and asking repeated questions. The next day, Stahl visited a doctor, who diagnosed him with a mild concussion.

Because of his experience—which took place earlier this summer during a scrimmage against both Park High School and Princeton High School—Stahl says he supports stricter rules when it comes to athletes and concussions.

Thanks to a new state law, co-authored by Minnesota state Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) and Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake), Stahl got his wish this fall.

The law should make students, parents and coaches more aware of the dangers that concussions present to young athletes—and not just in football. Gov. Mark Dayton’s signature on the bill in late May came during a period of increased awareness of sports-related concussions nationwide.

The law went into effect for high school athletics in mid-August and for youth sports Sept. 1.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that changes the way the brain functions and is often caused by a blow to the head, according to Heather Bergeson, a sports medicine physician at the TRIA Orthopedic Center in Minneapolis. In Minnesota athletics, football is the leading cause of concussions, but head injuries are common in all forms of competition.

A Minnesota Department of Health study by Dr. Leslie Seymour and Jon Roesler showed that  during competition between 2004 and 2007, male athletes in Minnesota annually suffered 130 concussions in football, 84 in hockey, 45 in baseball and 38 in basketball and soccer. For girls sports during the same time period, there were 16 concussion in hockey, 15 in soccer and eight in basketball.

Last year, only three concussions were recorded throughout the year in all Simley sports programs, according to Simley High School Athletic Director Will Short. Already this year, however, the Simley football program alone has been hit with three diagnosed concussions, according to Head Coach Rex King.

The bill won't change how Simley coaches and trainers identify and address a potential concussion once it has occurred, Short said, but it does mean that assistant, junior varsity and B-team coaches at Simley are required to take concussion-related training. Previously, only the head coaches for each program were required to receive the training, Short said.

The bill originated in August 2010, when the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota brought the issue to Benson, whose own nephew, as well as the son of a close friend, suffered from a sports concussion.

“It’s hard for kids to know if they have a concussion,” Benson said. “We want them to know it’s OK to step back for a bit.”

The new law pertains to the high schools and the organized youth leagues in Minnesota.
          
What the law means for youth sports:

• Information about concussions should be made available to high school and youth league coaches, officials, athletes and their parents. This is intended to help everyone involved in sports become more aware of concussions, so parents such as Bonoff can better deal with the injury.
• Coaches and officials participating in organized sports programs must complete an online training exercise provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which discusses the risks, treatment and potential effects of sports concussions.      
• A player who has been removed from a sport with a possible concussion must be examined by a physician, and must be certified as having no symptoms of the concussion before returning to the sport. This is meant to reduce the frequency of second concussions before an athlete recovers from the first, which can cause more damage.

“How many concussions is too many? We don’t know,” said Heather Bergeson, a sports physician at the TRIA Orthopaedic Center. “We do know that youth tend to develop more long-term symptoms than adults.”           

This story is part of a three-part series examining the new state law on sports-related concussions in Minnesota youth sports. The series was reported by John Hageman and Inver Grove Heights Patch Editor David Henke, and edited by Regional Sports Coordinator Mark Remme.