FHSAA stressing concussion knowledge
Though it was 30 years ago, Dan Diesel remembers the play vividly.
It’s the moments afterward, the moments leading up to his awakening in a hospital bed with the right side of his body paralyzed that still remain fuzzy three decades later.
The Titusville High athletic director, then a left tackle at Tennessee Tech, was the lead blocker on a sweep play during a team scrimmage. He took a knee to the helmet from a defensive tackle and blacked out. The next thing he remembers is not being able to move his right arm or leg while lying in a hospital bed.
“My quarterback said he saw my eyes roll back in my head and he almost threw up,” Diesel said. “My eyes must have been whirling around in there like a cartoon.”
The paralysis lifted after about 45 minutes. Diesel fully recovered — and amazingly — played in that week’s game against Western Carolina.
Diesel had his “bell rung,” as they called it in those days. In reality, what he likely had was a severe concussion.
“Today, I would have been out at least two weeks, and that would have been the right call,” Diesel said. “The whole point is how things have changed for the better.”
From professional sports right on down to youth leagues, concussion safety has become a hot topic. More and more things are being learned. And more and more measures are being taken.
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has implemented a concussion action plan that takes effect this season. The plan, which was sent to schools on June 14, stresses more stringent policies regarding the recognition of a concussion, criteria for being able to return to play following a concussion and education on management of a concussion.
“With all the research being done nowadays — at all levels of sports — we’re trying to be more proactive with coaches and officials to keep kids as safe as we can keep them,” FHSAA assistant executive director Justin Harrison said.
“Even if we look at it and this plan potentially helps out one kid, then it’s worth it. I think it’s extremely important to continue this.”
Included in the plan is a mandatory online course for all high school coaches and paid assistant coaches. Upon completion of the course, titled “Concussion in Sports — What You Need to Know,” coaches must successfully answer questions pertaining to the program.
Important course
“It’s actually interesting,” Cocoa High football coach John Wilkinson said of the online course. “Any time you gain education about something that affects your kids, it’s something you need to learn more about.”
Kevin Freeman played football at UCF during the 1997-98 and 1999-2000 seasons. The Space Coast Junior/Senior High football coach recalls concussions not registering often on radar screens.
“When I played, we really didn’t worry about it that much,” Freeman said. “I don’t remember my coach focusing on it. If you banged your head, you sat down a bit; if you looked a little glazed, you got looked at.”
More knowledge
But things certainly have changed in recent years as knowledge about the severity and long-term effects of concussions progresses. As a chemistry teacher at Space Coast, Freeman certainly appreciates the science of it.
“Things are constantly changing in that field. Being scientists, you gotta expect changes,” he said. “If you want the best, you gotta go along with the changes. And you have to adjust.”
Harrison said coaches have been more than willing to make the adjustments, calling the responses “overwhelmingly positive.” After all, in its most basic form, the reliable cliché “safety first” is tough to debate.
“Without a doubt,” Bayside High athletic director and football coach Derek Smith stressed. “Without . . . a . . . doubt.”
Beginning this season, no football, baseball, softball or lacrosse helmet 10 years or older will be reconditioned or recertified, according to a new policy adopted by the National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association (NAERA). For example, at the end of the 2011 football season, any helmet dated 2002 or older will not be reconditioned or recertified for the 2012 season.
10-year policy
Though it appears to not be much of an issue in Brevard County, that hasn’t always been the case in other parts of the country. According to NAERA executive director Ed Fisher, his organization has received helmets “15, 20, or 20-plus years old” for reconditioning.
“What we had was helmets coming in that were very, very old. And what we’ve said is we have a strong feeling that the new helmets are better for the protection of the kids,” said Fisher, a former high school football coach and administrator who lives in Washington state.
“As reconditioners, we felt comfortable with drawing the line at 10 years.”
Brevard draws the line even shorter. Several schools reported reconditioning football helmets every year, every other year or at least every two, three years. It also is a regular practice at some county schools to purchase new helmets annually in groups of 20, for example, which weeds out older models in about a five-year span.
“I feel like I can say here that everybody in Brevard County adheres to the rules, and will continue to do that,” said Garry Shiffrin, Merritt Island High’s principal and the commissioner of the Cape Coast Conference. “Our people are keenly aware of the requirements.”
Fisher said he’d like to see reconditioning rules bumped up to every other year. That would be just fine with Shiffrin.
“It’s all about safety. If they determine the helmets need to be reconditioned every two years, that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Shiffrin said. “You don’t want to put anyone — especially young people — in harm’s way.”
Keep progressing
Fisher recalls a conversation he had with a coach in Indiana who didn’t quite get this concept. At least, not at first.
“He brought up a budget problem and I said, ‘Do you spend any money on middle school football? What is more important than your athlete’s head?’ Then he said, ‘Yeah, you’re right. We can do this. We can find a way to do this.’ “
The FHSAA will review information in its concussion action plan with the organization’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee in September. It is possible that amendments will be made at that time.
If procedures in dealing with concussions are again altered — either in September or in the future — area coaches will be ready.
“As I’ve been coaching longer and longer, it’s just one of those things where it’s definitely important to keep up on it,” Wilkinson said. “It’s kind of the thing you don’t see — it’s one of those things where you need to err on the side of caution.”
Smith agreed: “If you’re not for it, you’re only worried about wins and losses. I’m not gonna lie — as a coach, I want my wins. But not at the cost of somebody’s child.”
Call Cawley at 321-242-3662 or jcawley@floridatoday.com