Coaches and Concussions

What does a soccer coach do when there is not a certified athletic trainer or medical professional present and one of their soccer players appears to have a concussion? Everyday, coaches are faced with this problem and many have no idea what to do.  Here's some good information if you ever encounter this situation:

1. Recognize the problem.
        *Concussions can occur without a loss of consciousness.
        *Know the signs and symptoms to observe and symptoms that could be reported by the athlete.

2. Immediately pull the athlete from practice or competition.
         *Keep athlete out of participation until they are evaluated and cleared by a medical professional.
         *Tell the athletes that it is not smart to play injured and discourage other from pressuring them.

3. Inform the athlete's parents or guardians that they have a suspected concussion and give them a fact sheet on concussions.
        *Make sure they know the athlete needs to see a medical professional.

4. Allow the athlete to participate only after they have been medically evaluated and have proper clearance.
         *If you allow the athlete to return too soon without medical clearance, you are putting them at a great risk for second impact syndrome, which can result in death.

**REMEMBER: there is no such thing as "getting your bell rung" or "getting dinged"!!! These are all indicative of a concussion!

This information comes from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They have great information for coaches in their Heads Up: Concussions in High School Sports section. If you follow the link below, you will find a concussion guide for coaches as well as a wallet card, clip board sticker, and symptom list.  No coach should be unprepared when one of their players sustains a concussion!

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/HeadsUp/high_school.html