Hello Everyone,
As we all know, sport is very unpredictable especially when it comes
to injuries. In North America, concussions are what everyone is talking about
especially in sports like football and ice hockey.
I know from experience just how serious a concussion can be.
A concussion may be caused by a direct blow to the head, face, neck
or anywhere else on the body that causes a severe and sudden movement to the
head. A concussion alters the way your brain functions and can cause
significant impairment. In a sense, your ‘brain is shocked’.
As
you know, a concussion can be occurred by various reasons.
The common reasons are motor vehicle collisions and sports.
Actually, when I started writing this blog I only had one story to
tell. Since then, I have two.
My first story is about my time playing high school football in
Korea. I remember each year we would have a lot of injury teammates. I had one
teammate who suffered a concussion every season. I mean, concussions were
chronic for him. He was a great tight end and also a bright leader. That’s why
our teammates followed him and supported him. I think he had too much pressure from
our expectations and coaches’ as well. That’s why he hid his dizziness and
headaches when he was on the field.
Unfortunately, his concussions became worse and finally he had to give
up playing football which was his dream and his major. (Ed. Note: ‘Major’
refers to a specialty in study similar to a college major. Those that focus on
sports in Korea choose a sport to major in).
I wish I didn’t have to learn about the seriousness of concussions
this way but now I understand it.
My second story is a little more personal.
A month ago, my soccer team had an important match and I wanted to
show my eagerness as a captain. I ran around more than other matches and I was
totally focused. Unfortunately, during a concussion, I got a concussion. I
could feel something was wrong in my head but I kept playing and continued to
do so the next weekend. The reason I kept playing was because I thought I was
‘cured.’ I felt okay afterwards so I thought I could keep going. I was wrong. I
should have taken care of myself and stopped playing. My dizziness returned and
finally I had to go to the hospital.
The doctor told me not to play at least for a week. This time I know
that rest is important and not to push myself if I can’t. Fortunately, I feel
my concussion is not too serious this time but I was lucky. I learned a lot
from this experience.
Thanks to Football BC, I’ve had a chance to learn more about
concussions especially what the steps to take are when we suspect a concussion
how to reduce the risk of concussion as a coach. The “Making Head Way in
Football” course is free and mandatory for all coaches.
As I mentioned before, not only do I play soccer but I manage our
soccer team. Even though it is an amateur team, we are very competitive and
games can get very tough. Thanks to this course, I feel ready to take care of
my players from now on.
According to this course, coaches have to sit players out when in
doubt even though they are really crucial player in the team. The reason why we
have to sit them out is because a concussion is different than other injuries
because we cannot predict the aftereffect. That’s why we have to follow the
guide lines and sit players out when in
doubt.
Football BC has some great resources including a concussion card
that you can get by emailing communications@playfootball.bc.ca.
“We have an obligation to
protect our players.”
Are there any coaches who are reading my blog? If so, I hope you all
are aware of the seriousness of concussions. You need to protect your players
from more serious injuries and aftereffects. Also, if you haven’t the “Making
Head Way” course yet, do it now at http:// nccp.coach.ca.
I got 100 points on the test. Isn’t that cool?
Coooooooool! Thx for the useful information :D
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