Latest NFL controversy underscores recent improvements in Minnesota youth football
MINNEAPOLIS -- Football is a game of X's and O's but the knock on the game is that it leads to X-rays, MRIs and CT scans.
The severe head injury sustained by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa only exacerbated those worries, especially as the third-year veteran appeared to have suffered another head injury a week before.
"I've seen athletes get up and go to the wrong sideline," Dr. Chad Asplund, Executive Director of the U.S. Council for Athlete's Heath, explained to WCCO. "Sometimes they're wobbly, or their balances are of. Sometimes they have memory issues where they may not remember what a certain play is."
The National Football League and the NFL Players Association negotiated concussion protocols in their last collective bargaining agreement, and the two sides signaled an update may be on the way.
For youth sports, however, protocols are often enshrined by law, which is the case in Minnesota.
"The fortunate schools will have athletic trainers on the sidelines, but there are [up to] 35% of high schools in America that don't even have an athletic trainer," Dr. Asplund added. "We see a tremendous amount of concussions in soccer, both men's and women's, and cheerleading, so there are other sports that have risk."
The CDC lists several signs and symptoms for identifying concussions, which has become part of the growing manual for coaches:
- One pupil larger than the other.
- Drowsiness or inability to wake up.
- A headache that gets worse and does not go away.
- Slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or decreased coordination.
- Repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures (shaking or twitching).
- Unusual behavior, increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation.
- Loss of consciousness (passed out/knocked out). Even a brief loss of consciousness should be taken seriously.
The coach's role in youth sports was critical last month when Brainard High School senior captain Conner Erickson collapsed on the sideline after an apparent head injury.
"Every day he's getting better, which is promising and hopeful, and that makes everybody happy," Erickson's uncle, Jared Erickson, told WCCO. "The message is to be smart as a player and as a coach. There's no reason for this game, even in NFL where players are making millions of dollars, to affect someone's brain and their health for the rest of their life."