By Annie Feinroth ’15 and Hunter Moore ’15

This school year, Maryland public schools implemented a new mandatory concussion procedure for every athlete who is trying out for a school sports team. All athletes had to take an online baseline concussion test to assess functioning so that there is point of comparison in case a suspected concussion occurs.

The test consists of several sections for short term and long term memory, speed of reflexes and cognitive ability. Athletes press one key if they see one color and another key if they see some other color to see how fast they process the stimuli and formulate the correct response. The test uses shapes, lines and pictures to test the athlete’s photographic and short term memory. The online test has been used for a whole school year by all teams. “The intention [of the baseline test] is good and is a great step in the right direction and will serve to keep our athletes more safe in all athletics,” said Chris Grier, the coach of the varsity football team.

The test puts a spotlight on concussions in high school. A recent study by the Research Institute of Ohio (RIO) found that the sports with the highest rate for concussions are: football with 26.97 concussions out of 10,000 competition exposures; ice hockey with 16.22, girls’ soccer with 13.41; and boys’ lacrosse with 11.59. The test will not affect these rates of injury; rather it is a diagnostic tool to make it easier to recognize when a player has suffered a concussion. The athlete must take the test before the season and if that athlete receives an injury to the head during their season or their tryout, the physician can have the athlete complete it again.

Concussions frequently can cause long lingering effects. Junior Luke Logan suffered from “aching pain in the head, difficulty concentrating and remembering stuff in school” after his concussion during his sophomore year playing JV football. “My parents said I was a completely different kid.” Because of the risk of concussions, Logan no longer plays football.

Graduated senior Ty Reeves also struggled to recover from a concussion he suffered during the pre-season of varsity basketball during his junior year. He missed five games of the regular season.  It was “absolutely terrible seeing my team struggle and not being able to help,” Reeves said.

Concussion and other brain injuries have become possibly the most pressing issue in American sports. For example, the NFL last year announced that it would pay $765 million to settle claims from thousands of former NFL players for the physical and emotional toll due to long-term brain injuries. Youth sports organizations and middle and high schools around the country are trying to come up with ways to protect new generations of athletes from concussions and other brain injuries.