A concussion is one of the most common injuries that an athlete can aquire. Some of the most typical ways to get a concussion are direct head trauma, whiplash, falling, explosions and activities of that nature. While concussions are a common injury, they are even more prevalent in high schools.

Concussions are graded as three stages mild, moderate, or severe. While competing or practicing for a sport, a concussion is an injury that often goes unchecked. Even if a student-athlete exhibits some symptoms of a concussion, they will likely feel fine or think it is just a headache and they continue play their sport. The symptoms they may exhibit are balance issues, vision problems, mood and anxiety, migraine/headaches, problems with the neck, etc.. All of these symptoms by themselves do not raise any red flags, even after a blow to the head. So when a student-athlete has the possibility of a concussion, they will often downplay it so that they don’t lose any playing time.

Although most coaches try their best to keep up with the injuries on their teams, it is hard to see the effects of a concussion. It is important for coaches to know if their sport can put athletes at risk for concussions. For boys, the most commons sports that cause concussions in high school are football, soccer, basketball, wrestling and baseball. While for girls in high school it is soccer, basketball, volleyball and softball. Because of the risk of contact with these sports it is important for coaches to be on high alert in the case of concussions.

There are regulations put in place for high school sports regarding concussions specifically. A student cannot compete after receiving three total concussions of any grade. Because of this rule, the third concussion that a student-athlete receives often goes unreported to the coaches and the school. Students can only return once they are free from symptoms and have been cleared by a doctor. That process for a mild concussion usually takes seven to ten days. The biggest rule is that all concussions must be reported to the school. Whether it is by the athletes coach or by the student themselves, the injury cannot go unreported. Majority of the time this is where teams drop the ball.

Often, coaches feel that if the athlete sits out of their schedule practices for a few days, all will be well and the school will never have to know about the concussion. However, because high schoolers brains are still developing, receiving too many concussions or returning to physical activity before cleared by a doctor could hurt them down the road.

Long term effects of concussions are trouble concentrating, memory problems and sensitivity to light. These effects only get worse if a concussion goes untreated and happens repeatedly at a young age. Student-athletes often feel pressure to constantly perform their best on and off the field. Once they receive a concussion not only do their performance within their sport drop, but so does their performance within the classroom. Students will have a hard time focusing on the task at hand because of the effects of concussions.  

Concussions are becoming more and more of a problem with the high school athletic system. With the pressure put on students to constantly be at the top of their game, it can cause stress and often leads them to overlook injuries as serious as concussions.