Concussion Information
What is a Concussion?
A concussion is an injury to the brain caused by a direct or indirect blow to the head. It results in your brain not working as it should. It may or may not cause you to blackout or pass out. It can happen to you from a fall, a hit to the head, or a hit to the body that causes your head and your brain to move quickly back and forth.
Click here to learn more about concussions.
Gfellar-Waller Concussion Awareness Act
All coaches, school nurses, athletic directors, first responders, volunteers, students who participate in interscholastic athletic activities, and the parents of those students shall receive, on an annual basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet. School employees, first responders, volunteers, and students must sign the sheet and return it to the athletic trainer before they can participate in interscholastic athletic activities, including tryouts, practices, or competition. Parents must sign the sheet and return it to the coach, school nurse, or the athletic trainer before their children can participate in any such interscholastic athletic activities. The signed sheets shall be kept on file with the athletic trainer.
If your child competes in more than one season, it only needs to be documented ONCE each school year. This document can be handed in with the physical packet to the nurse Mrs. Paula Pierce.
The required documents can be found here:
Gfellar-Waller Concussion Form.
ImPACT
All student-athletes will be baseline tested using the ImPACT test prior to their first contest. Baseline scores are valid for two years. If a baseline is to expire during their sport season, the student-athlete will take a new baseline test prior to the start of their sport season.
For more information on this test, visit the following link.
Concussion Protocol
If a student-athlete exhibits signs and symptoms consistent with a concussion (even if not formally diagnosed), the student-athlete is to be removed from play and is not allowed to return to play (game, practice, or conditioning) on that day.
Student-athletes are encouraged to report their own symptoms, or to report if peers may have concussion symptoms. Coaches and the licensed athletic trainer are responsible for removing a student-athlete from play if they suspect a concussion.
Following the injury, the student-athlete should be evaluated by the athletic trainer. The athletic trainer will determine if the student-athlete needs to seek further evaluation from a qualified medical professional with training in concussion management. Written clearance by a medical professional trained in concussion management must be obtained prior to return-to-play/practice for any athlete exhibiting signs and symptoms consistent with concussion.