‘When in doubt, sit them out’

Kayla Meyer has played hockey since she was 3 years old. Now 15, the effects of two concussions that weren’t treated properly kept her home from school for 68 days during the past two years with headaches and other symptoms that have persisted 16 months.

The New Prague Senior High School ninth-grader told the House Education Reform Committee April 8 that her coaches even suggested that she “put on a helmet and skate through it.” After a couple of weeks off, she still had symptoms.

“Players today have their mindset that ‘I’m tough and strong’ whether they’re a girl or a guy. … Coaches, teammates, players, parents, team trainers and doctors need more information about concussions and brain injuries, to help people not go through what I’m going through.

“When in doubt, sit them out,” Meyer summarized.

That’s the goal of Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), who sponsors HF905, which would require a coach or official to remove athletes who show signs of a concussion from games or practices until a medical professional determines they’re recovered.

The committee approved the bill and sent it to the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee. Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) sponsors a companion, SF612, which awaits action by the Senate Education Committee.

The bill would also require organizers of fee-based youth athletics, including schools, cities and nonprofit organizations, to provide all parents, athletes, coaches and officials with Centers for Disease Control information about signs and symptoms of a concussion, and protocols if one is suspected. Annual training for coaches and officials would be required.

A concussion has different effects on different people, but tends to be worse in young people, and “can be catastrophic,” even fatal, in some youth who have had more than one, said Michael Bergeron, a professor of pediatrics at the Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota, and a member of the sports medicine advisory committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations.