Law targets head injuries

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - As kids gear up to head back to school and back to playing sports, new numbers show head injuries among student athletes are on the rise.

But a new law in Connecticut puts more emphasis on the way coaches recognize and respond to those injuries, all in the name of student safety.

The focus will be on more than just the game this fall at schools across the state. There is a new law for coaches to keep in mind. It's called, "When in doubt, sit it out."

That's what New Haven's Hillhouse High School football captain Steve Dejournett did after he suffered a concussion during a game last fall.

"I went to make a tackle and I just banged my head on the turf," Dejournett said. "I got up and everything went black and it got quiet and I felt woozy. I didn't feel like myself."

Dejournett was immediately taken out of the game. Often, however, that's not the case.

"About 40 percent of students who suffer concussions actually return to practice and competition before it's safe to do so," State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney said.

Coaches will now be required by the state to take yearly courses about concussions, and that might mean more than simply sidelining students.

"No computers. No homework. Possibly remove them from school. No texting. Anything that requires the brain to think, we're asking to shut that down and speed the recovery process," said Michele Cormier, director of athletic training for the City of New Haven schools.

Said Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer, "I think the important thing is obviously identifying that the player is injured and then referring him to the proper medical staff, and then, obviously, the doctors have the final say when a player or student athlete is able to come back to play."

Coaches call it an added level of safety for sports in schools all across the state.

"This isn't just a football thing," Dyer said. "Girl's soccer, hockey, lacrosse, baseball ... concussions can happen all around and I think streamlining it for the whole state, I think the senators really stepped up to the plate and really hit a home run with this one."

Connecticut is one of the first states to pass the legislation... following in footsteps of both Oregon and Washington, which passed the law in 2009