It can happen in an
instant.
"That's when it
happens the most. You don't see it coming. You can't ready yourself for the
hit," George Washington High School Head Trainer Korey Rueckert said.
Concussions have always
happened in the game of football, but only recently has it come under scrutiny
with all the new medical research."
"It uses to be one
of those things that you didn't hear that much about," George Washington
Head Coach Steve Edwards Jr. said. "Every
time a big hit would come it was more a bell rung kind of thing. But now with
all the research they've done it's a dangerous situation."
George Washington's Ryan Switzer, suffered a
concussion in the first game of his senior season.
"It's one of those things where you
don't think it's going to happen to you until it does", Switzer said.
Symptoms from concussion
vary from headaches, dizziness, ringing of the ears, Temporary loss of
consciousness and Nausea or vomiting.
According to the Center of Disease Control, more than 173,000 kids
suffered traumatic brain injuries including concussions while play sports with
football rated as the highest.
"From what I can
remember, it was pretty scary," Switzer added. "Just the fact that I
didn't know where I was or how I got there. I was kind of panicking for a
little bit. That's not something I want to go through again."
"His [Switzer] wasn't very bad,"
Rueckert added. "It did bother him
for a few more days, but he did come back fine. Continuing playing with a
concussion is the most dangerous thing. If you do go back in play and they
receive another concussion that's very dangerous and sometimes even
fatal."
While the game of
football and the medical research has evolved,
So has the equipment. High Schools across the region use new
state-of-the-art helmets that are designed to help prevent concussions.
"This is the new
Riddell Revo Speed helmet. This is the cream of the crop. This is five stars
for concussion protection. The inside really makes a difference, just a
different type of cushioning," Rueckert said." It just helps absorb
the impact of hits better than the older helmets. That you can see here. You
can totally see the inside difference. Different type of padding. This is old,
worn down, an old air filter system. These are much more high technology, and
help absorb the contact better. It does make a difference of getting a
concussion or not getting a concussion."
Thanks to his concussion he suffered back
in August, Ryan Switzer has a new outlook on football. In fact, he learned a
valuable life lesson.
"If you love something or do something
you love, you want to give it everything you have and not take it for granted\
because that's what a lot of people do," Switzer said.
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