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| View of the new stadium from the press box Source: http://boardmanathletics.org/2015/09/04/grand-opening-of-the-stadium-6-hours-away/ |
School officials from around the state of Ohio were sent Don't Let Kids Play Football, an op-ed piece by Dr. Bennett Omalu discussing the long-term risks of letting children under the age of 18 play full contact football. The officials at Boardman High School were very open about discussing the piece as well as their concussion policies. Of the 18 schools contacted for comment, only four schools had officials make a comment.
Boardman Principal Cindy Fernback provided three different forms sent to students wishing to participate in football as well as their parents. The three forms all deal with concussion policy, and also include: signs and symptoms of concussions, what to do when a player has a concussion, and how the trainers treat a player suspected of having a concussion. They also provide answers for frequently asked questions and cites other concussion sources parents can find. They each also show parents the steps taken by the team to get a player back to full contact. They show parents how to care for a concussion patient, and how to keep them from getting worse.
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| Boardman High School principal Cindy Fernback Source: boardman.k12.oh.us |
"We are probably the most proactive school in the area." said School Board President Vickie Davis, "I'm in my third year as a board member and we've never even had to discuss it at a board meeting. The dedication to preventing head injuries to these kids was implemented before I was even a board member. The athletic directors and trainers take great care of the kids. They're very aware of the issues."
"Right now we're coupled with Youngstown State University, and they do all of our baseline concussion testing before the first practices for football, basketball and soccer." said Principal Fernback. According to Concussiontreatment.com, "These baseline tests and post-injury tests are computerized assessments that measure Reaction Time, Memory Capacity, Speed of Mental Processing, and Executive Functioning of the brain. They also record baseline concussion symptoms and provide extensive information about the athlete's history with concussions. In the event of a concussion is received during the season, the same test (a "post-injury") is taken again by the athlete, yielding comparative scores from before and after the injury."
"We currently have 12 Riddell helmets with force sensors in them. We are working on getting them in every helmet. The next step is the appropriate equipment inside of every player's helmet to keep them all safe." said Fernback.
"We also have a limit on the amount of hours players can have full contact practice throughout the week." said Fernback, "A lot of mechanisms are in place to keep the kids safe. A lot of people are aware of the inherent dangers in a game like football, so we are trying to do everything to keep the kids as safe as possible."
Both Principal Fernback and President Davis spoke not only as school officials, but as parents of sons who played football at Boardman High School.
"I don't agree with the Omalu piece," said Davis, "As a board member and having a son that played football and soccer, I always felt enough precautions were taken that he was always safe.I understand his warning but to completely ban football for high school age and younger kids I do not agree with."
"I have three sons. They all played football." said Fernback, "I would have let them play despite this piece. They learned how to be a part of a team and how to be part of something bigger than themselves. Being part of a team teaches a lifetime worth of lessons. My oldest son graduated in 2010 and he played at Youngstown State University. He still carries on the lessons he has learned."
Fernback also said that there are measures at Boardman High School that help the athletes become better people off of the field as well.
"We have a drug prevention program here in the high school, we drug test all of the athletes and all of our student drivers." Fernback said, "More often than not the athletes are making good decisions and staying away from drugs."
"It's hard not to be aware of the issues," Fernback said, "but I haven't seen a particular decrease in participation. Around here football is the primary sport. I don't see football ever not being a part of tradition in Ohio."
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| School Board President Vickie Davis Source: boardman.k12.oh.us |
President Davis talked more about the youth sport culture in Boardman.
"We have the Little Spartans, which is a youth program held in the community. It is very similar to AAU. It sorts more by weight class as opposed to purely age. It's a recreational league for the little ones before moving on to organized leagues." said President Davis, "There is a group of parents who do not participate in Little Spartans and wait until 7th and 8th grade for their sons to play football. That was actually what our family did. We thought he was too young for tackle, and we enrolled our son in a flag football league."
"Part of our reasoning behind holding him out was fear of hits to his head," said Davis, "He did start playing soccer at age 5 and that had similar risks, but we knew everyone in the youth leagues was very cautious."
Overall both as parents and officials, Davis and Fernback really showed how much of an impact safety has had on the sports culture around the Boardman school system. In stark contrast of many of the other officials contacted about the Omalu piece, these two were not only open about the policies, but were also very proud of them.
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One thing I learned during this assignment is that how one acts before an interview has no impact whatsoever on what they will say during the interview. I really felt like Principal Fernback was annoyed with me asking for the interview and would not help very much, however she was happy to talk to me when the time came. I also didn't know the Boardman was so far ahead with these policies. It would be interesting to see if schools around Boardman are that up to par, or if Boardman has any policies in place about playing schools that are not up to speed in these areas.
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| Jacob Ruffo is a senior Journalism major at Kent State University jruffo@kent.edu |
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