Testimony That Helped Change Youth Sports

Kayla Meyer has trouble reading.

At age 15, she needs reading glasses to combat a disorder called “conversion syndrome,” which makes it hard for her to keep her place while reading books or browsing the Internet.

Meyer, who played girls hockey at New Prague High School, developed her condition after sustaining two concussions 10 months apart while practicing the game in eighth grade in 2009.

Since then, Meyer said she has constant headaches, which vary in their severity. She hasn’t played competitive hockey for almost two years because it hurts just to wear a helmet. Meyer also missed about 80 days of school during the eighth and ninth grades.

During the 2011 Legislative session, Meyer testified three times on behalf of the Brain Association of Minnesota before the Minnesota State Legislature to help pass a law that would help prevent situations like hers.

Hockey “was my life basically,” Meyer said. “I don’t want kids to go through the same thing.”

Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) and Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) were chief-authors of the bill, which was signed into law in May. The law requires coaches and officials of high school and youth sports to go through concussion-awareness training. It also prevents athletes who have been diagnosed with a concussion from participating in future games without getting medical permission.

The law went into effect for high schools in mid-August and youth leagues Sept. 1.

At , Activities Director Ron Zopfi said all coaches must do the concussion training and parents/athletes must read and sign the new the concussion addendum from the MSHSL.

“The mandates for coaches, athletes and parents have been received favorably by all due to the new information on the impact of concussions,” Zopfi said.

Athletic Director Chris Laird said the school has been “ahead of the curve” in dealing with concussion related injuries. As a result, the new law aligned with an already existing practice.

“Once there is a concern, we instruct the parents to see a doctor – we have for years,” he said. “It’s never worth doing further damage to players. It’s always better to error on the side of caution.”

“The tricky part is the youth sports at the club level," Laird said of the new law. "It will be interesting to see how clubs and organizations will handle it."

Concussions are possible in all sports, although football is the most prevalent. According to a study by Dr. Leslie Seymour and Jon Roesler at the Minnesota Department of Health, football tops the list nationally for the most concussions per season. Girls soccer, boys soccer, girls basketball and wrestling round out the top five nationally, according to the study.

The Minnesota State High School League has set up a database to keep track of which coaches and officials have completed the training, said Craig Perry, the league’s associate director. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the training, which takes about 45 minutes to complete online.

The high school league already had required that players gain medical clearance before returning to play, but the new law now extends that requirement to youth leagues. That makes the Minnesota law unique, said David King, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota.

Because many youth league coaches and officials are volunteers with little or no medical background, they need all of the information they can get, King said.

They “are the ones that need this information, because this isn’t their vocation,” King said. “They’re out there out of the goodness of their hearts. We just want them to be armed with the information they need to keep everyone safe.”

Brent Millikin, president of the Minnesota Athletic Trainers Association, said trainers and coaches alike favor of the law because it gives them the power of the law to take a young athlete out of the game. Now, it’s harder for a parent or a coach to pressure a trainer or medical professional to push an athlete into the game before it’s safe.

“Some [parents] want the kid to get back in there and some want him to sit the rest of the season ” said Bob Brant of dealing with player injuries. Brant was a youth coach for the Osseo Maple Grove Football Association for six years and helped coach youth baseball and basketball as well. “Having an expert involved really takes away the risk of making a bad decision. Ultimately, the players safety should be the first priority.”

The new law doesn’t aim to prevent concussions altogether, King said, but to control the damage after a concussion has been sustained.

“It’s that second concussion where the real problems occur,” King said. “That’s the preventable brain injuries that we’re after.”

“It has been really hard on Jesse because he is a big kid, 6'2" 235lbs, and loves football. He has played it for years,” said Debbie Higgins about her son, Jesse, during football practice at this fall.

“He is biting the bit, waiting to be cleared by the trainer to play. He is still a little cautious, but anxious to get out on the field playing,” Debbie said. “As parents, we are a little nervous about the whole thing, but trust in God, doctors, trainers, and coaches to watch out for our child's best interest. Our experience with Maple Grove High School staff and medical community has been wonderful.  We would never keep him from playing unless he continued to display the same markers and symptoms.”

This story is part of a three-part series examining the new state law on sports-related concussions in Minnesota youth sports. The series was reported by John Hageman, Wendy Erlien, and edited by Regional Sports Coordinator Mark Remme.