Replacing Injured FT Shooter = Done for game?

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

It seems that concussions are a serious concern for the NFHS and that changes to the RULES for all NFHS sports will be made to address this.

This should nix the argument of those who claim that the previous POE was not sufficient. The Rules Book will soon have a rule for concussions just as there is for unconscious players.

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NFHS | Official Signals Modified in High School Soccer


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Koski

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 16, 2010)

....

Following are other changes made by the NFHS Soccer Rules Committee:

· A significant editorial change that will affect all sports requires that any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, including but not limited to loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, must be removed from the contest immediately and shall not return to play before being cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

That's great.

I had a player in a playoff game a few years ago who took an elbow to the head (she lead with her head as she dove in for a rebound -- being about 5'2" she flew right into an elbow) and she went off for quite some time. She came back about a quarter later and didn't seem to be the same player she was before she got elbowed.

I didn't really put 2 and 2 together, but in retrospect she had a concussion. Her father is a great guy and is also an official and I talked to him later and she had a broken bone and a concussion and he was in the stands, but she still came back in after being examined by a trainer.

So now the NFHS, in their infinite wisdom, is likely going to open officials up for potential liability if we don't recognize concussion symptoms in the student-athletes in our games. Having no medical training, I do not see how this is a good idea putting any of this in the laps of the game officials. I mean, the teams have coaches, trainers, parents, etc. and we're supposed to be the guardians of concussion-like symptoms?