Delaware high school sports: DIAA gets tougher against concussions

As a center on the McKean High School football team, he encounters contact on almost every play. But like most football players, he's tough and not about to volunteer to sit on the sidelines.

"I don't like taking myself out unless my injury's hurting the team," the 17-year-old junior said.

But from now on, that decision won't rest entirely with Boyd -- or even his coaches, for that matter. This fall, referees in all sports will have the authority to send players off the field for evaluation if they see concussion symptoms.

That change is among the most significant new requirements detailed in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association's new "Concussion Protocol" finalized earlier this month.

The new regulations will be especially significant in football. With most schools holding their first full-contact drills Wednesday and Thursday, local head coaches said they planned to share the new protocols with their staff and players.

The best part of the new rules, said Boyd and teammate Marcus King: Players and coaches will no longer have to choose between preserving their health and helping the team.

"The coaches aren't on the field," said King, a junior defensive back. "They can't see everything."

DIAA updated its guidelines to mirror those adopted by the National Federation of State High School Associations, said Kevin Charles, DIAA executive director. The new protocols will take effect amid mounting evidence about the danger of brain injuries. Many doctors believe even one concussion can have long-term effects if not treated properly. Earlier this week, researchers published a study linking Lou Gehrig's disease, also called ALS, to sustaining multiple concussions.

The DIAA rules will put extra protection in place for athletes. If a referee removes a player, he or she can't return until a doctor, nurse or trainer deems him or her concussion-free and ready to return.

"If the official thinks [the symptoms] are from the hit, it will be the doctor's responsibility to determine whether it is a concussion," said Dr. Michael Axe, chair of the DIAA's Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

In the past, coaches alone, not officials, assessed whether to evaluate a player for a concussion. It often presented an ethical quandary, said Hodgson Vo-Tech athletic director Laura Leone, pitting the health of an individual player against the desire to win.

"It's a very difficult position for a coach to be in," Leone said. "It could be your star running back that gets bounced around, but you want him in there playing. ... Now you're going to have some coaches who aren't happy with it, but I think taking it out of the coach's hands is a good thing."

Delaware was among the first states to require written permission from a doctor before a concussion victim can return to the field. The new protocol goes a step further, forbidding players from participating the same day they suffer even a mild concussion -- with or without a doctor's note. In the past, athletes with a minor brain injury conceivably could compete later in the day if a physician cleared them, Charles said.

"What [we're] reacting to is better medical science that even small concussions in adolescents can have long-term consequences," he said. "The days of rubbing salt under their nose, patting them on the butt and sending them back in the game are over."

The new regulations put in writing some precautions many schools say they already practice.

"I would like to think that every school would have measures in place for head injuries already," Leone said.

For more information about this article, please visit http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100820/SPORTS14/8200353/1002/rss02

Become an ImPACT Client: