Concussion Issues in High School Sports

November 3, 2015 was an ordinary Friday night for the community of Sharon Springs, Kansas. Hundreds gathered at the high school football field to support their boys. Luke Schemm, a 17-year-old senior linebacker and running back was having a heck of a game. Late in the third quarter, Schemm ran 58 yards for his third touchdown. In the very next play, he received an outside pitch for a two-point conversion. During this play, he collided with another player in what appeared to be a shoulder-to-shoulder blow as he was crossing the goal line. However, the hit was much worse than originally thought. When he returned to the sideline he suddenly collapsed ref. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention estimates more than 300,000 sports-related concussions occur each year in the United States. Of those, around half are kids 18 years and younger ref. In 2015 alone, there was 13 deaths attributed to football and 9 of those had something to do with a head injury ref. The amount of concussions in high school athletes would be lowered if high schools would implement stricter athletic regulations, purchase high quality equipment, and require coaches to become certified not only in recognizing, but preventing head injuries.

Need of Regulations If high schools would create more head injury regulations, then it would decrease the amount of head injuries sustained by athletes. Most athletes who suffer from just one concussion make a full recovery sis . However, many athletes are tempted