Preventing a concussion

(WTNH) - No one is immune from a concussion.

"I was out like a light," Quinnipiac Hockey Coach Rand Pecknold said.

"It happened and I felt like I blacked out for one second," UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee said, "and I got up and was kind of a little dizzy."

"This is an invisible injury," said Fred Balsamo, executive director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CAIC). "It's not an open wound or a broken bone."

Can concussions be prevented? Not really.

"Concussions have been around," said Dr. Carl Nissen of Elite Sports Medicine and head of the Connecticut Concussion Task Force. "They are not more prevelant now, they are just more recognized."

Educating and informing at an early age can help reduce the risk. Dr. Nissen treats all types of concussions from football to competitive cheerleading.

"The biggest thing we have learned about concussions in the last decade is that you can't return to play until you are fully recovered," he said.

Coach Pecknold has lost four of his players to head injuries in the last 10 years. Their careers over.

"Two of them were kids who had injuries, multiple concussions at a young age, and they weren't treated properly and they were put in the lineup to soon," he said. "That's part of the problem."

Studies, warnings, awarness; across the board it's at an all-time high. Ivy League football has limited the amount of contact in practice per week.

"I think there is some sensless contact in practice," Yale Football Coach Tom Williams said.

At Yale, the basics are still part of Williams' duties. He believes every coach at every level should do the same.

"If the guys can get started early and learn fundamental tackling drills and not dropping their head at some point, that will help curb the likelhood of a concussion," Williams said.

UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni agrees. He has two sons playing youth football.

"It's almost -- as if -- the younger the kids the more important your job is as a coach," Pasqualoni said. "You don't challenge their courage. What you do is instruct them and let them gain confidence on the proper fundamentals and techniques. I think when we do that the game will be a better game."

Gianni Ragaini has been coaching the same group of boys for four years. His 7th grade team from East Haven played for a national championship a year ago. Winning has been fundamental, and Ragaini coaches with concussions in mind, from the tackling right down to the equipment.

"The most important thing is their helmets," Ragaini said. "A lot of coaches may not know what a proper fitting helmet is. I think there is a fine line between a kid complaing of a helmet that is to tight, and you really need a tight fitting helmet that is snug."

And every year after their season the helmets are sent out for inspection. Equipment won't eliminate the problem. Technology has improved. Athletes need to do their part.

"What we're seeing now -- frustrating for college trainers across the nation -- is athletes that don't like to buckle their chinstraps in football and other sports," Quinnipiac University trainer Meghan McCaffery said. "It's important they are fitted to each indivdual athlete and we keep up with the upkeep of that helmet."

Great strides have been made since concussion legislation in 2010. At the Connecticut high school level all coaches, even intramural, are required to take courses. Over 10,000 coaches have taken part. Each year they're reviewed.

"We have an educational component that is second to none in the country," the CIAC's Balsamo said. "Our coaches are required to take ongoing education, so I believe our coaches are better equiped to handle emergencies and parents should feel confident."

Balsamo, who is also executive director of the Connecticut Coaching Education Program, hopes the one thing parents need to remember is when in doubt, sit it out.

"Why would you even run the risk," Balsamo said. "There is no game worth winning to put a kid in a situatuion where they may live their life with some impairment. It's not worth it, and coaches realize that."

High school athletes are also required to take a baseline test to evaluate their cognitive skills. In the unfortunate event they suffer a head trauma doctors can go back and analyze the skills pre- and post-concussion. Athletes won't be allowed back on the field until they return to their baseline.

Athletes are also encouraged to strength their neck muscles which can help in a whiplash type concussion.
Female athletes appear to be at a high risk for this type of concussion. Doctors are finding females, along with younger athletes, need about an extra week to recover compared to older or male athletes.

For women, studies are bringing into focus a rising trend, and not just with the contact sports either.

"There's kind of that theory out there that women don't have as strong a neck muscular as men do so that may be leading to why they're having more concussion per year," McCaffery said.

The worst is women's