OHSAA’s enhanced concussion protocol prevents lingering head issues

Article Written by: Taylor Rosen
Graphics and video by: Jamie Dillon

OHSAA Concussion Protocol from Jamie on Vimeo.

It was formerly referred to as “getting your bell rung.” But now, coaches can no longer tell their players to just rub some dirt on it and get back in the game after they’ve suffered a potential head injury.

High school football programs are now required to have medical professionals on the sidelines during games and practices. This allows players experiencing symptoms of a concussion to be properly evaluated just moments after the injury occurred.

Joseph Gutter, a former offensive lineman at Mayfield High School, spent nine years of his life playing organized football. Gutter, who suffered a handful of concussions during his playing days, discussed some of the player safety in recent years.

“I was a senior at Mayfield in 2006,” Gutter said. “I suffered two concussions throughout the season and didn’t miss a game.”

Gutter said there was just too much at stake to miss playing time. 2006 was a big year for Mayfield. The public school won its first five games of the season and was in the process of recording a perfect season.

Gutter was an anchor on the offensive line. After sustaining the concussions, he recalls numerous occasions where he felt unusually dizzy when walking back to the bench. Both instances led to Gutter being questioned by the team trainer on the sidelines, but he was never forced to miss any time on the field.

“He would ask me basic questions about myself,” Gutter said. “Things I could remember regardless of whether I was concussed or not. That’s how it used to be — players would memorize the questions the trainer would ask — if you answered correctly, you were going to keep playing.”

Gutter, who has returned to Mayfield in recent years to assist in leading summer practices, immediately noticed some of the major changes made to the protocol during the time he spent volunteering.

“I saw a group of trainers on the sidelines at every practice,” Gutter said. “During one session, a player went down after taking a hit to the helmet and they kept him out for the rest of the practice. They contacted his parents to inform them of the injury and made sure he went through a variety of tests on the sidelines. That type of stuff just didn’t happen when I played.”

These changes are noted in the enhanced protocol OHSAA implemented in April of 2013.
According to the OHSAA concussion regulations, “Coaches are to review and know the signs and symptoms of concussions and to prohibit any athlete who displays these signs or symptoms from participating in a practice or a contest. Coaches are not medical professionals and have no authority to determine whether or not a student has sustained a concussion. The coach is responsible for insuring that the student’s parents are notified and the student is referred to a medical professional.”
Timothy King, head coach of the football program at Kent Roosevelt High School, believes OHSAA’s protocol forces players to put their well-being before their playing time.
“I think the protocol follows common sense,” King said. It’s centered around somebody who’s potentially suffered a head injury, it forces them to get checked out and evaluated. They’re not permitted to return back to play until all of the signs are cleared.”

King conceded the toughest part of following OHSAA’s protocol comes about in situations where players attempt to refuse testing and treatment.

“Our players are extremely competitive and they don’t want to come out of a game for any reason,” King said. “That’s why we go through our medical team to evaluate players and to make sure they are permitted and cleared to play. Until we get the green light, it’s not a coach’s decision or a player’s decision, it’s the medical team’s decision as to whether or not a player is cleared to play.”

King — who took over as head coach at Kent Roosevelt in 2014 — said Kent Roosevelt is fortunate enough to have a doctor volunteering his time to evaluate Kent Roosevelt players during games.

“Whether it’s a head injury, or a knee injury, it doesn’t matter,” King said. “We follow the same process. Medical decisions are made by people with that background. I think it’s set up pretty well. When you put medical people in charge of making sure players are safe, you’re doing the right thing by them and by the game.”

In section seven of OHSAA’s concussion regulations, it states: “No coach or contest official shall allow a student to return to practice or to competition on any day after the initial removal until that student has been assessed and cleared for return with written authorization by a physician or licensed health care provider authorized by the school.”
Dr. Congeni, the Director of Sports Medicine at Akron Children’s Hospital, explained the danger of a concussion and why OHSAA made the right move by putting player availability decisions in the hands of medical professionals.
“Many football players and coaches don’t know the settle presentation of an initial concussion,” Congeni said. “So many times kids can suffer a concussion and not know it. There’s still a lot of people who think you have to be knocked out to have a concussion and that’s absolutely not true. People not knowing what a concussion is actually tends to be one of the biggest issues at hand.”

Congeni blamed a lack of knowledge as the main reason why coaches are now required to be educated on the risks of head injuries and concussions. Congeni, who allowed two of his children to play football, fully supports the enhanced protocol that was implemented a few years ago.
“It forces coaches to step back and realize it’s just a game,” Congeni said. “In the past, unfortunately, I think some coaches have put winning ahead of the safety of their players. But now they’re being forced to see the big picture.”
As efficient as the new protocol may seem, there is at least one known flaw. Some coaches now have reason to believe certain players are over exaggerating injuries and using OHSAA regulations as an excuse to miss practice time.
Jim Lunardi, head coach and athletic director at Ravenna High School, spoke on some of the issues Ravenna has been having with the revised protocol in a September 27 telephone interview.
“I’d say concussion protocol has become a serious thing in the last five years,” Lunardi said. “I think we raise a bunch of sissies as a society. It’s kind of crazy how times have changed.”
Lunardi is convinced the updated protocol gives players an incentive to lie about the extent of an injury in hopes of missing practice time.
“Well, I guess those kids who are not strong-minded end up using it as an excuse to get out of practice,” Lunardi said. “For me, I think it’s a society problem. We coddle kids instead of trying to make them physically and mentally tough.”
Lunardi, who’s been involved in coaching for 21 years, made it clear that Ravenna does put the well-being of their players in the hands of a medical staff. But Lunardi didn’t seem content with the changes made to the process a concussed player must go through before returning to the field.
“So say the player comes in Monday symptom free, they have to go the rest of Monday, and all of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday without any contact. So they’re not going to play in the following game because Friday falls on the fifth day of the process. They miss out on another game because of the protocol.”
Lunardi said failure to follow OHSAA’s protocol would lead to potential legal issues that would fall directly on his shoulders, which is why he has no choice but to abide.
“From a legal standpoint, when a kid is diagnosed with a concussion they go through a lengthy process,” Lunardi said. “Before they can even go through the five-step process, they have to be symptom free. So if the kid isn’t symptom free, they can’t even get on the five-day process.”

Unlike the process Gutter went through in 2006, the improved protocol forces coaches to allow medical professionals to determine when a player can return to the field, as opposed to allowing an individual athletic trainer to make the decision. However, to Lunardi’s point, the protocol isn’t flawless. But it’s making the game safer.

The game of football — a sport that has entertained Americans for more than a century — cannot possibly find a solution that will please everybody in this situation.

If the changes to the protocol lead to a more promising life after football, coaches like Lunardi will just have to adjust to this new era of the game. Whether they support it or not, the changes made to the protocol forces coaches to keep player safety in mind.

These changes might be the shining light at the end of the tunnel football has desperately needed. Although the long-term future of the sport is still in question, it finally seems as if the sport is prioritizing the well-being of each individual player ahead of the entertainment value of the game.

OHSAA's improved concussion protocol: https://t.co/Faq6si832g #JMCRPP

— Jamie D (@jdillon330) October 5, 2016

OHSAA's improved concussion protocol: https://t.co/ymjZgrd38a #JMCRPP

— Taylor Rosen (@T_Rosen_) October 5, 2016