14 SportsUnion | AUGUST 5, 2018
COVER
Story
Head impact and concussions caused by contact sports are
a quickly growing epidemic among young athletes today. If left
unnoticed, concussions can result in long-term brain damage
and may even prove fatal.
By Matt Ondesko Managing Editor
To preserve the young
athlete’s head health,
metal
cognition
and
ability to succeed, it is
important that coaches,
players and parents are
aware of the damages
and how to properly per-
form a concussion evalu-
ation.
But,
what
happens
when an athlete gets a
concussion at a young
age. Shoot, what happens
when an athlete gets a
lot of concussions even
before they enter high
school. Do you tell them
they have to stop playing
sports all together? And,
if that’s case, does the
athlete then just not tell
you when they suffered a
shot to the head?
The last thing an ath-
lete wants to do is feel to
when it comes to light.
It can mess with their
sleeping habits. It’s a
very serious injury and
one that cannot be easily
detected.
In a recent study, the
amount of reported con-
cussions has doubled
in the last 10 years. The
American Academy of
Pediatrics has reported
that emergency room
visits for concussions in
kids ages 8 to 13 years old
has doubled, and concus-
sions has risen 200 per-
cent among teens ages 14
to 19 years of age in the
last decade.
While the first hit can
do some damage, it’s usu-
ally the second and third
impact that can cause
permanent
long-term
damage to the brain.
Head
Games
week in front of others.
After all, they have been
put on a pedestal their
entire they career. They
have been told that they
can play through all kind
of inures.
The head is different,
however. There are cer-
tain injuries you can
come back from. A head
injury isn’t one of the in-
juries that is so cut and
dry. Sustaining a concus-
sion does a lot more to
a person that just effect
their time playing the
game they love.
it can affect the school
work and every day life.
It can effect their eyes
High School football ac-
counts for 47 percent of
all reported sports con-
cussions, with 33 per-
cent happening during
practice. After football,
hockey and soccer pose
the next highest health
risk.
In 2012, 3,800,000 con-
cussions were reported,
which was double for
what was reported in
2012. One in five high
school athletes will sus-
tain a sports concussion
during the season, with
33 percent of high school
athletes reporting they
will have more than one
concussion in the same