Bloomington High School North, Nikean, 2017, Page 19

Description:	BlackoutSenior AJ Willis punts to the opposingteam during the North vs. South game.It was an ordinary Friday night varsity football gamefor sophomore Logan Stroud, until he got hit so hard heblacked out.He doesn t remember what happened after that. Nextthing, hes on the sidelines, then he gets back in the game,even though he doesnt feel quite right.What he didnt know and didnt tell anyone: he wasexperiencing classic symptoms of a concussion.Looking back on it, I probably should have saidsomething to someone during that game but I didnt thinkmuch of it, Stroud said. Everybody gets hit hard, its partof the game.Most people know football players are at the highestrisk for concussions. High school players specificallyexperience greater severity of the symptoms and takelonger to recover.Norths football team is no exception. Many of theirathletes have experienced head injuries this season, and. Plavers will sit out for weeks at a■^8;1.,iB^U JTR •m m ^^^BH^BmLik/I■» iliC IJJPIJFollowing L„the JV game the ne?serious signs of a head injury: Extremej appetite, and unusual tiredness. He went to his doctor thefollowing Monday. His doctor told him he had asauidussion aafc«^icted him from playing football formultiple wiBut Slroud is lucky that concussion awareness is onthe rise. Twenty years ago, he would not have been aslucky.Assistant football coach iBr Abel says thatconcussion rates have declined due to the growingemphasis on physical safety in football. With everytlu~en going on with the NFL and all these guysyears ago who are suffering from brainhink its made it come to the forefront, Abelfndiana, every coach has to be certified in headsup tackling and concussion protocol so knowing when akid takes a hit and understanding what that looks like.Coaches are becoming more equipped to deal withconcussions and athletes are more aware of the severe•onsequences that come with improper concussion:overy.As awareness increases, not just with coaches andathletes, but also with parents and the general public,concussions will hopefully continue to decrease and Ml will no longer have a reputation for being an
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomnorth/id/8369
Collection:	Bloomington High School North

Further information on this record can be found at its source.