Words from the web
The Herald-Standard reported Thursday on the problem of concussions in high school sports. According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 800,000 emergency room visits for teens ages 15-19 are due to head injury or possible concussions. Around our area, high schools are implementing protocols like cognitive testing before the season starts so concussion-related problems can be detected later. What are some other solutions? Parents, do you ever have reservations about your kids playing sports due to the risk of concussions?
“Don’t play. Do something else.”
“A lot of kids get scholarships because of sports. Simply not playing is not an option for some, and a lot love to play!”
“Better equipment. I hate to say more expensive, but our 9/10 year olds are offered an option to purchase helmets engineered my the university of NC to prevent concussions. I imagine in that area that helmets are not new every year.”
“What happened in Fayette County to spark this conversation? When you play contact sports, you are going to get hurt sooner or later. Or you can trip walking down the street and get a concussion. Are you going to stop walking down the street?”
“Political people will try to shut it down. They need mental help.”
“When you play contact sports you can or will get hurt, but you can get hurt at home walking down your hall or in a car accident. Are you going to stop walking or riding in a car!”
“People are just protective of their kids today. Let them play if they want to. Sports is valuable because it teaches kids how to deal with adversity. And as we all know life is full of that.”
“Kids are bigger nowadays, so concussions are going to be worse. If I can protect my kid from getting a concussion, then I’m going to do that. What choice you do have?”
“The answer is coaches watching out for their players. If they see something wrong, they must act. I don’t think that’s always happened in the past.”