My Youtube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7QblqvEVWFmMrLtl3-upjA/videos?view=0

NFL players and experts quotations (Message Activities)

“You are supposed to be tough. You are supposed to play through pain. You are not supposed to cry. We are taught that early on in the game as kids. Tough sport. Brutal sport. It’s like the gladiator. People want to see the big hits. They wind up on Sports Center. And as a player, you don’t want to admit you are injured."   - Eric Dickerson

“I’m fortunate to have found out early, in 1990, just two years after I retired, that I have neurological damage. I try to manage it. I know what can trigger headaches and try to avoid it. I have short term memory problems, so I make a special effort to remember people and names. I have to work harder, but it’s important.”   - Harry Carson

“A study of 2,500 retired NFL players found that those who had at least three concussions during their careers had triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions. Those who recalled one or two concussions were 1 1/2 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression.”   - Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz 

“For some people, one concussion is enough—they are slow to recover and they should give up the sport. But most athletes recover in 7 to 10 days.”  - Dr. Robert Cantu

"You get a concussion, they've got to take you out of the game. So if you can hide it and conceal it as much as possible, you pay for it the next day, but you'll be able to ... stay in the game."   - Mike Sellers

"I've had times where I walked up to the line, where I know the play, but don't know what to do."  -  Tony Stewart

"If you get a little headache or something, you're not going to say anything. This is football, and everyone gets their heads rattled a little bit."  - Jamie Silva

"I don't want to come out of games. I always feel that's some kind of weakness. Somebody hits me and takes me out of the game, I feel weak. So if something happens, I take a minute to try to re-gather myself and then go back."  - Anthony Hargrove

"A lot of people think we're gladiators, but we're human beings. We get injured and we've got the rest of our lives to worry about. Playing football is like a vapor - it's here and it's gone - and you still have the rest of your life to live."   - Damien Woody

NFL Memes on Concussions (Artistic Activities)

Photo Album (Creation Activities)

These photos here are a transition of change throughout the years dating back to 1950. Concussions have always been a prominent injury in the league, and the type of helmet the players use has always been an issue. Through the years the NFL has made drastic changes in the type of helmets used, these best describe that change.

Proposed Field Trip (Action-Oriented)

To relate to and educate students on my topic of concussions in sports, I propose that we as a class take a bus to Green Bay. There we will explore Lambeau field and all that it has to offer, but most importantly we would meet with the players who have sustained a concussion throughout their career. Each student would be allowed to ask any questions regarding concussions, and how it has affected them as an athlete and as a person. I propose that each student be allowed to meet with an individual player, and have one-on-one conversations about concussions. This would not only be a great experience, but a knowledgeable one too.

Interview (input activities)

This is an interview with one of our very own memorial football players who has sustained a concussion. Here is our conversation:

1. Have you ever had a concussion? "yes i have had 2"
2. Have you ever not-reported your concussion to a coach? "yes, i didnt tell anyone for both of my concussions."
3. Do you know the long term effects of concussions? "yes, i believe i know most of them."
4. Why didnt you report your concussions? "because i wanted to keep playing, i knew i would be removed from the game had i done so."
5. What does your football coach think of concussions? "our coach is very cautious of them, he thinks they're very serious."

TV Show-Writing Activities (Friday Night Lights)

 Friday Night lights is a show based in the small town of Dillon, Texas. A town that lives and breathes football, on a Friday night every store within the city closes. This show portrays the stereotypical town in Texas, where nothing matters but football. With high expectations for star quarterback Jason Street, this high school football team has high hopes of going to state. Jason being one of the top recruits in the nation has a full scholarship to the college of Notre Dame. During the first game of the season Jason is playing well with the game close, and the crowd is louder than ever. As Jason makes the next snap and throws the ball for an interception, he goes to make the tackle. Jason and the cornerback bash each other’s heads, and Jason Street is down. Jason had suffered a severe concussion, but not only that, he had also been paralyzed. He is immediately carted off the field, with every safety precaution taken. This relates to my topic because of the concussion Jason sustains during the hit. Safety precautions were taken, which is something our society today has a problem doing.

Articles

Article 1:
This article, done by multiple MD's and PhD's talks about what symptoms occur, and the severity of concussions. These doctors go in depth as to why some athletes may be more vulnerable to a second concussion than others. Repeated injuries, even mild injuries, over time can lead to serious brain damage. They say that early detection through a thorough knowledge of the signs and symptoms and specific documentation of the injury is critical to the management of concussions.
http://doctors.in.gr/pdf/ped/ped4.pdf
Wojtys, Edward M., David Hovda, Greg Landry, Arthur Boland, Mark Lovell, Michael McCrea, and Jeffrey Minkoff. Concussions in Sports. American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, 1999. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

Article 2:
A major issue with concussions, is knowing when a player is ready enough to play again. JAMA network goes in depth with information about symptoms, and when an athlete is actually ready to play again. This journal also talks about the controversial guidelines on player readiness within the medical community. This controversy comes from the lack of scientific foundation, and therefore, in most cases not taken seriously.
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=192220
Collins, Michael W., PhD, Mark R. Lovell, PhD, and Douglas B. Mckeag, MD. "Current Issues in Managing Sports-Related Concussions." The Journal of the American Medical Association 282 (1999): n. pag. Jama Network. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Article 3:
As contact sports continue to become more popular worldwide, many athletes are exposed to both acute and chronic traumatic brain injury. Chronic represents the cumulative, and long term effects of concussions. Rabadi Meheroz and Barry Jordan talk about sports needing to increase rules, medical surveillance, and protective equipment.
http://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2001/07000/The_Cumulative_Effect_of_Repetitive_Concussion_in.11.aspx
Meheroz, Rabadi H., MD, and Jordan D. Barry, MD. "The Cumulative Effect of Repetitive Concussions in Sports." Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 11.3 (2001): n. pag. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Article 4:
Contact sports, one of the most popular activities in all the world, must create a balance between maintaining a competitive edge and ensuring player safety. A problem with this is that players, coaches, sports media, and spectators are biased. When treating concussions, it is important to prevent acumulative brain injury, which means dont let them play unless they have been absolutely cleared.
http://www.neurology.org/content/48/3/575.short
Kelly, James P., MD, and Jay H. Rosenberg, MD. "Diagnosis and Management of Concussions in Sports." The Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology 48 (1997): n. pag. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Article 5:
This article, like many others discusses the many symptoms and severity of concussions. Kimberly Harmon talks about statistics, she says that as many as 250,000 concussions occur each year, and around 20 percent of players sustain concussions. She states that once the first concussion has occured, the player becomes four to six times more likely to sustain a second.
http://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0901/p887.html?pagewanted=all
Harmon, Kimberly G., MD. "Assessment and Management of Concussion in Sports." Journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians (1999): n. pag. AAFP. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Interesting Links

http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/01/08/concussions-and-sport-connection-between-head-trauma-and-dementia-more-complex-than-originally-thought-nfl-study/

Running Thesis

3/4: Concussions can have long term affects on the brain.

3/11: Concussions are more likely to happen again after the first one.

3/22: Concussions are a very controversial topic within the sports community.

Documentary Assignment

1.      The documentary I watched was Head Games. This documentary was about head injuries sustained in fast paced athletics such as football, hockey, soccer, etc. Chris Nowinsky, a former college football player, and WWE wrestler, goes in depth with research about head injuries in these sports, and what they mean for athletes. Chris’s main concern is what are big time leagues like the NFL, and NHL doing to reduce their players risk to head injuries.

2.      This film follows many different stories other than Chris Nowinsky. Some of the other stories are about Keith Primeau, a former NHL star who was forced to retire due to too many concussions. His son Chase Primeau, who plays for the hockey team he coaches, is also victim of concussions. The film shows footage from all sports such as football, whether it be youth, high school, college, or even the NFL. Other sports it shows is hockey, basketball, soccer, and even Lacrosse. He gained more knowledge of head diseases from doctors, such as neuropathologists.

3.      Certain elements that he brought into the documentary, were highly credited news channels such as CNN, and C-Span. Chris also showed us articles done on former NFL players who had committed suicide, such as Andre Waters(former safety for Philadelphia Eagles).

4.      Chris not only looks into all these sports, but he also interviews legitimate players who’ve sustained career ending concussions, and league commissioners from the NFL and NHL. Chris tells us of concussions he himself had sustained while playing football and wrestling.

5.      Many people in the documentary were biased. Many of which were coaches for high school and youth teams. These coaches hated the idea of having to sit star players for the greater good; all they want is to win football games, and seem to care little about player safety.

6.      This documentary connects to my research firstly and mostly because it is about concussions in sports. It talks about the severity of head injuries, and what leagues today are doing to reduce them. These items are everything I am researching, and will prove very helpful in my research.


Head Games. Dir. Steve James. Perf. Chris Nowinski and Bob Costas. 2012. DVD.

Non-fiction Book assignment

1.      Concussions and Our Kids. A silent epidemic, concussions are quickly becoming the most dominating and important issue in all of sports.  Dr. Robert Cantu, the country’s leading expert on athletic brain trauma and a pioneer in the study of the link between concussions and brain disease. Dr. Cantu has treated thousands of patients, from well-known professional athletes to peewees. He has treated boys and girls who play soccer, football, lacrosse, hockey, and even basketball.

2.      “If paying attention in class makes symptoms worse, the student shouldn’t be in class or should be on a modified schedule of classes.” “Concussions are caused by two types of accelerations.” “The likelihood of an athlete in a contact sport experiencing a recognized concussion is as high as 20 percent each season.”

3.      How can leagues around the country reduce concussions? What makes people overlook this serious injury so much? Would you ever let your children play a contact sport, knowing the severity and long term effects of concussions? How long have concussions been an issue? Will concussions ever disappear from sports?

4.      Cantu, Robert C., and Mark Hyman. Concussions and Our Kids: America's Leading Expert on How to Protect Young Athletes and Keep Sports Safe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.

5.      .

6.      This book greatly relates to my research topic because it is about concussions in sports specifically. I myself am researching what leagues and professionals can do to reduce and prevent these horrific head injuries, which is what my book is mainly based on. It has provided me with very helpful information.