I write this blog having finished my second semester at Princeton in the Spring and my first summer as a counselor at Camp Androscoggin. Both experiences were fantastic opportunities to take on new responsibilities, make lasting friendships, and grow into a more mature person. As a player for the Princeton Men’s Club Soccer team and as a soccer coach at Camp Andro, each day I gained an even greater appreciation for the way that concussion awareness has spread in recent times. Both my classmates with whom I played and the young campers I coached protect their heads and have an understanding of the symptoms of concussions that was not part of the youth sports culture even just a few years ago. This goes to show me that this country has become a safer place for kids to participate in and receive the many benefits of sports.
I want to continue to increase the awareness of concussions in this country. In order to do that, I am searching for schools and county boards across the country to adopt the guidelines of Countywide Concussion Care. As I mentioned in my last post, Countywide Concussion Care is now a licensed entity. This program lays out a comprehensive plan to bring concussion education and management county by county. Dr. Gillian Hotz, one of the top concussion specialists in the country and the administrator for the ImPACT Testing component of Countywide Concussion Care, believes that this program is one of a kind. I urge the readers to please spread the word about this program and to find high schools and county boards interested in having an effective concussion management and education program for their county. Each county that uses Countywide Concussion Care is another one that can take comfort in knowing that its youth athletes are better protected from concussions.