South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association

Concussions in sports are a very, very hot topic.

There has been more published in the medical journals about concussions, return to play following head trauma,and concussion management in the last decade than in the previous eighty years by a factor of ten.  We are learning a lot.  The concept of developing cerebral traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from just a few incidents of head trauma (as seen from the work of Dr. Anne McKee at Boston University) is a concern for parents, players, and coaches.  Some doctors have questioned whether or not children should be allowed to play contact-collision sports before the age of 14.  (Check out the recent recommendations of concussion expert Dr. Robert Cantu from Boston.)  Girls and women are not immune from concussions.  In fact, females have a greater incidence of concussions than males in both ice hockey and soccer.  Over forty states have passed legislation mandating documented training in recognizing concussions and concussion management for coaches, parents, players, and administrators.  For the most part, this legislation involves interscholastic sports in public schools and middle schools.  However, some states have included youth sports in this legislative mandate.  THIS CONCUSSION TRAINING (IN MOST STATES) IS REQUIRED ANNUALLY!!  USA Hockey would like to get everyone involved in concussion education.  We want to have educated board members, staff members, committee members, and officers and committees of our affiliates,and then we want to educate every hockey parent, every player, every coach, and every administrator.  Get educated!  Some of you may have already attended a head trauma seminar, or taken a concussion on-line course, and that's great.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with the National Federation of High Schools has an on-line course in concussion recognition and concussion management. www.nfhslearn.com  It takes about 25 minutes, asks you some questions,and then provides you with a certificate (suitable for framing) that you've taken the course.  There is no charge for this on-line training.  It also puts you name on a list (by state) that you've taken the on-line course.  There are other on-line concussion courses developed by the CDC, but the CDC-NFHS is the one that I'm most familiar with, and it provide documentation.