Concussions have abounded and have hit the headlines hard this season in the NFL.

By Ryan Coulter ’12

If you watch football, I am sure you are used to seeing a running back be smacked by a linebacker in the backfield. Many people find exhilaration from the sight of helmets flying up into the air and rolling across the field after such a hit. In reality, this is a major problem because concussions are a common result of such actions.

Although everyone understands that helmets are an essential safety device to athletes in contact sports, it seems as if no one really wants to make them more protective as the number of concussions increase. The fact of the matter is that helmet-to-helmet contact never turns out positively and more needs to be done to prevent such an action.

High school athletes suffering from concussions should be a top priority for doctors. Stereotypically, high school athletes are the group that take concussions the least seriously. This may cause a high school athlete to not necessarily come forward and be truthful about their symptoms which may lead to a concussions diagnosis. Because of this, many times these athletes will go back to their normal lives without having fully recovered from their injuries. Not only is this preventing the damage from healing, it can also very easily make it worse. There needs to be strict monitoring of brain activity before any decisions are made about re-entering into contact sports.

Unfortunately, many young athletes just want to get back out and play their sport to show their team sacrifice and toughness. High school athletes in particular do not understand the fact that they are hurting themselves by going back to playing before they are healed. And that can only hurt them in the long run.

For the future of football, starting with the high school level, leagues need to be stricter on rules that crack down on athletes that intentionally attempt to inflict trauma on the opposing player, coaches need to reinforce the severity of concussions to their players, and high school athletes who suffer from helmet-to-helmet hits must realize that their life may very well be on the line.