High School Concussions

High school athletics have long been touted as a necessity in the United States. They have been a staple of secondary school education for over 100 years and are deeply rooted in the American culture. Advocates point, primarily, towards high school athletes’ better grades and character as proof that secondary school athletics are beneficial (Sage & Eitzen, 2016). However, both points are not necessarily correct or proven. In reference to athlete’s academics, Sage and Eitzen stated that it is “merely correlational” (2016). They concluded that the discrepancy between athletes and non-athletes was partially due to socioeconomic differences, extra-academic help, and easier courses as well as several other reasons that favored athletes (2016). Moreover, …show more content…
In the United States, a 2007 study found that 8.9% of sports injuries involve concussions (Gessel, Fields, Collins, Dick, & Comstock, 2007). The high school concussion to total injury percentage is even greater to that of college athletics, which is at 5.8% (Gessel et al., 2007). Several reasons can account for this discrepancy. To start, especially in smaller schools, coaches may not have the proper training to educate athletes on correct hitting techniques in football or heading in soccer. Improper form may cause the athlete to sustain more concussions (Polnerow, n.d.). Moreover, schools may not have the finances to pay for new gear. As a result, athletes could be wearing worn out equipment that does little in the way of protection. Faulty gear will only increase the athlete’s risk of concussion. With so many high schools across the country it is difficult to verify whether all are following correct measures to insure the safety of their athletes. Some schools may cut corners on gear or coaching staff, which could result in the injury of their players. Furthermore, the argument could be made that concussions appear at all levels of a sport, from high school to professional, and they are just part of the game. Concussions are a risk that athletes must contend with when playing contact sports. But, is it acceptable for young high school students, anywhere from 14 to 18 years old, to take this risk? At these ages, …show more content…
Athletics represent a large time commitment for practice, travel, and matches. I have experienced this first hand. When I played high school basketball for Council High School, I had virtually no time to do homework. School went from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and practice, depending on the day, would be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It made for a long and tiresome day and left me with only a couple hours to complete work for high school and college courses. Furthermore, I lost my weekends. We would have games on Friday and Saturday. The away games we attended would take several hours to travel to, including conference matches. For instance, the trip to Garden Valley took close to 3.5 to 4 hours by bus, longer with snow. This schedule left me with just Sunday to complete all my college work. It was almost impossible to maintain the grade I wanted. But, I saw this struggle in other basketball, volleyball, and football players as well. They fought to maintain decent grades during the season. Even National Honor Society students had trouble with grades. In addition, sympathetic teachers would “help” our student athletes by excusing us from many assignments during the season. Which, I must admit, disappearing assignments were very nice. However, they did not help us as students; we gained nothing from it. Secondary schools are intended to educate students and prepare them for college. But, simply