As the country becomes increasingly concerned about concussions and the safety of young athletes, Jesuit High School has taken many precautions to prevent and treat concussions.

The seriousness of concussions can vary. The amount of protection on the head could mean the difference between a headache and death.

“It can go anywhere from a very mild concussion that affects one of the athletes for basically a couple a days to more severe where it affects memory and memory loss and they’re out for weeks at a time. Ultimately, a severe concussion that causes great brain trauma can actually result in death,” said Administrative Assistant Athletic Director Mrs. Robin Cummings.

Coaches are teaching players new techniques to help prevent concussions.

“Safety precautions are good training and good fundamentals. When it comes to football and especially rugby, learning how to tackle [and] learning how to keep your head out of the way [helps],” Mrs. Cummings said.

In addition to teaching safe techniques, Jesuit also follows the state mandate that athletes must sit out for a period of at least seven days from sport activities if they have been diagnosed with a concussion. After the athlete has recovered and been cleared to play by doctors and Jesuit’s training staff, athletes will be able to re-enter the sport

When an athlete sustains a concussion, their school and sporting life can be affected in a negative way, but with Jesuit’s safety procedures, hopefully that will be the only negative consequence.