NHS Keeps An Eye On Concussion Prevention

Student-athlete concussion laws in Rhode Island were expanded last month, and they mandate that coaches and team volunteers continue with concussion awareness training. Each year the coaches and volunteers will need to take a refresher course, and the law additions implore school nurses to enroll in the courses as well.

Narragansett High School Athletic Director Richard Adham is pleased that the expansion was put forth, citing student-athlete health as a first priority.

“I think it’s a good thing because the ultimate goal of the (Rhode Island) Interscholastic League and the high schools is the protection of the athlete,” Adham said. “We want to make sure the kids are fully protected.”

Concussions and related head injuries have become a problem in contact sports. According to a concussion statistics web site, 10 percent of high school athletes involved in contact sports suffer a concussion every season.

When an athlete suffers a concussion during a game he or she must be immediately removed from the contest and cannot play until cleared by a doctor and his or her parents or guardians.

In addition, players can take an ImPACT test – a free, online neurocongnitive assessment – at the beginning of the season as a baseline performance in case the player suffers a concussion during the season. If a player is concussed he or she will need to retake the test to see if brain functions have been affected.

Adham stressed the safety precautions coaches and players must take in order to avoid physical damage.

“I think it’s a concern for everybody,” Adham said. “In the past we’ve always done everything we can to protect the kids. If we thought somebody had an injury we would err on the side of caution. There’s no athletic contest that is that important where you want to jeopardize the permanent health of somebody.”

Football is a common source for concussion injuries. Narragansett High School football coach Richard Fossa manages to make his players aware of the risks associated with playing the game.

“You’ve got to teach the proper tackling technique,” Fossa said. “Obviously you don’t lean with your head, you want to be in the proper position when you make a tackle.”

Fossa said NFL players tend to make more dicey tackles since they are professionals, but in high school the methods used need to be safe to avoid injury.

“We do (proper tackling techniques in the) first week of practice during our first defensive practice of the year,” Fossa said. In addition, all players and parents need to sign a form stating the dangers of improper tackling.

Adham, who has to oversee all sports, notes that he puts his trust into the coaches and volunteers who have been required to be educated on such injuries. He says that the sports where concussions are most likely to happen will institute the ImPACT test, but for the lesser-contact sports it will have to wait.

“There are certain sports where (concussions are) much more prevalent,” Adham said. “In my heart I would love to ImPACT test everybody, but right now it’s just not practical for us to do that.”

For the non-ImPACT testing sports Adham says the concussion process will proceed as normal – athletes will not be allowed to play until medically cleared.

Narragansett fall sports teams have begun practicing and the first games will be played in approximately two weeks.

To see the press release from the State House regarding the law extension, please click here.