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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660540783791136392014-11-20T17:53:44.617-05:00PirateATC BlogThis blog covers topics related to athletic training and sports medicine for high school and middle school athletes. A focus is given to my hometown in Lake County, Ohio.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-91430235936473968382014-07-23T07:10:00.000-04:002014-11-20T17:53:44.630-05:00Ohio Department of Education Website for PASPThe 2014-15 Lake Health PASP provider number that you will need is: 2015-008463. Please remember that this will not work for you unless you were in attendance at our program since we are required to report directly to the ODE who was in attendance at this course.

For reference:
The 2013-14 Lake Health PASP provider number is: 2014-008463
The 2012-13 Lake Health PASP provider number is: 2013-008463
The 2011-12 Lake Health PASP provider number is: 2012-008463

The link to the resources page is: http://bit.ly/y9LLNo

The link to the bibliography page that was handed out at this course is: http://bit.ly/1nZeSH1

The new concussions in youth sports law requires all coaches to attend an online course that converse the issues related to this injury.  The Ohio Department of Health has all of this information linked on their website. The two courses are found at: www.nfhslearn.com and at www.cdc.gov.
Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-14610333293868872672014-07-23T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-25T02:08:28.557-04:00Resources for High School Coaches
Below is a list of resources that high school coaches may find useful in planning their practices and other activities. It is my hope that this page will be updated often and have new content added regularly.

I) Heat Illness

 A) This is a urine color chart excerpted from the NATA position statement on hydration in athletes. This allows athletes to have a quick reference to know how hydrated they are. Here is a link to a PDF format of the urine chart.

 B) This is the temperature and humidity chart for determining the risk of heat illness in a given practice. Pictured is a temperature and humidity chart, a link to a colorized version of the temperature and humidity chart, and a third, colorized chart that has some additional information on it. I leave all three up here since some people will want to print these graphics while others will keep them on their mobile devices, each with different screen resolutions.

C) Weight loss calculation charts and instructions

D) Coach Smart App by Vanderbilt Sports Medicine--Free (iOS, Android)
 CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE - UPDATE EXPECTED SOON

 E) OHSAA heat index guidelines for practices

II) Lightning Safety

 A) A sample lightning safety protocol sheet

 B) Coach Smart App by Vanderbilt Sports Medicine--Free (iOS, Android)

 CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE - UPDATE EXPECTED SOON

 C) Boltmeter by Allisonhouse LLC-- $1.99 (iOS)

D) Mobile Storm by Skywatcher-- (Android)

E) Weatherbug - (Spark) (iOS, Android)

III) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

 A) A TBI information sheet (Lake Health)

 B) TBI information Sheet (National Athletic Trainers Association)

 C) A list of TBI myth

 D) Concussion Recognition and Response App: Coach and Parent Version by PAR-- $3.99 (iOS, Android)

 E) Proper Football Helmet Fitting Guidelines:

 1) Riddell Football Helmets (PDF files are on the right and videos are lower on the page)

 2) Schutt Helmet Videos

 a) AIR-XP

 b) DNA Recruit

 c) Youth Ion 4D

 3) Generic Video

 4) USA Football Video (partnered with Riddell)

 F) ImPACT (Neurocognitive testing software purchased by Lake Health for its contract schools)

 G) www.theconcussionblog.com

 H) www.sportsconcussions.org TBI information

 I) Nowinski, C. (2006). Head Games: Football'sConcussion Crisis from the NFL to Youth Leagues. Plymouth: Drummond Publishing Group.

 J) Carroll, L., & Rosner, D. (2011). The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic.Philadelphia: Simon & Schuster.

IV) Nutrition

 A) A general nutrition guidelines handout

 B) My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com) --Free (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile)

 C) www.fda.gov (Federal Drug Administration)

 D) http://www.ftc.gov (Federal Trade Commission)

 E) www.healthycompetition.org/hc/main.html (Blue Cross/Blue Shield)

 F) www.nal.usda.gov/ http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic(United States Dept. of Agriculture)

V) Injury Treatment

 A) Information on the R.I.C.E. principle

 B) American Red Cross First Aid App--Free (iOS, Android)

VI) Record Keeping

 A) A sample emergency action plan

 B) First aid kit supply list (Football)- This list is broken down into "essential, recommended, and luxury" supplies that are commonly found in first aid kits.
 C) A sample lightning emergency action plan

VII) Infection Control

 A) MRSA information sheet

VIII) Drug and Supplement Assistance

 A) World Anti-Doping Agency App by WADA--Free (iOS, Android)

 B) www.wada-ama.org (World Anti-Doping Agency)

IX) Injury Prevention - Equipment Fitting

 A) Football shoulder pad fitting video

 B) Proper helmet fitting videos---See above in TBI resources (Section III)

 C) Soccer shin guard video

 D) Hockey Helmet

 E) Running Shoes (Runner's World Article)

X) Lake Health PASP Information

 A) Ohio Department of Education Information

 B) The bibliography handout from the lectures

 C) www.lakehealth.org (Lake Health website)

XI) Miscellaneous Online Classes, Links, and Videos

 A) www.nfhslearn.org

 1) The National Federation of High Schools has a host of free classes that cover topics like concussions, heat acclimatization, and sportsmanship.

 2) The NFHS also has several courses for learning the techniques of coaching most common high school sports for a fee. $50-$75

 B) www.vimeo.com/nata1950 -- A host of videos sponsored by the National Athletic Trainers' Association on a wide range of topics.

 C) NATA recorded webinars -- Webinars designed for athletic trainers on a wide variety of sports medicine topics.

 D) My social bookmarking site -- My social bookmarking site where there are thousands of articles and videos tagged.

 E) www.glata.org (The Great Lakes Athletic Trainers' Association)

 F) www.nata.org(The National Athletic Trainers' Association)

 G) www.medscape.com

 H) www.momsteam.com

 I) www.ncaa.com (The National Collegiate Athletic Association)

 J) www.nfhs.org(The National Federation of High Schools

 K) www.oata.org (The Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association)

 L) www.ohsaa.org (The Ohio High School Athletic Association)

 M) www.olympic.org (The International Olympic Committee)

 N) www.webmd.com

Please note: If you have any other resources that you feel should be added to this list, think something is missing from it, or you find a dead/broken link, please leave a comment below so that I may address the issue. This is not an exhaustive list and you may know of a resource that is even better than what is listed here. This also means that this is a dynamic blog post that is intended to change often and updated regularly. I highly recommend that you check back often.

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com, OH 44081, USA41.766908 -81.152697641.672163 -81.3106261 41.861653000000004 -80.9947691tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-29260715860368373342014-07-09T11:23:00.001-04:002014-07-09T11:23:14.894-04:00Final FormsThe new system for Perry's athletic department forms can be found at Perry Final Forms. All of the forms that your son or daughter will need for the upcoming school year, whether they are middle school or high school, can be found on this website. The only form that will require you to print it out is the physical form. The physical cannot be be done completely online since our families will be going to many different physicians to get this part completed. To attempt to do the physical online is impractical since every physicians office would also need their own identifying code to be able to sign the form. This would incur a great cost with programming and maintenance that neither the school district nor the company behind the online forms are willing to incur or pass on to parents.

We hope that you find the new forms easier to use and keep in mind that the athletics department is looking to be the test market for possibly doing this with all of our school forms for next year. This would cut down on the redundancy of forms and make your lives as parents, easier. If you have any comments on this system, please direct them to me or to the athletic department.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-32012924750568940452014-05-18T21:34:00.003-04:002014-05-18T21:38:14.517-04:00Physicals 2014-15The OHSAA dropped another surprise on us for next year and we are scrambling to make sure it works well. This time, the OHSAA decided to move all the documentation of the pre participation physical evaluations (PPEs) online and to ditch the old paper form. What is different this time, is that they made these changes with the caveat that they are available this year, but not required until the 2015-16 school year. Right now, our athletic department is looking at the OHSAA system and their partnership with PrivIT (https://perrypirates-oh.e-ppe.com/index.jspa) and a few other competing options. More information will be coming shortly, so stay tuned Perry and we will move on this as quickly as possible.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-68166887029619257282014-01-21T17:20:00.000-05:002014-01-21T17:33:42.545-05:00Simple Illness PreventionAs we come closer to the postseason tournaments, I would like to remind all of our athletes that we are also hitting the peak of cold and flu season. If you are around somebody who is dealing with these bugs, please make sure that you are using proper hand washing techniques frequently and practicing good hygiene. Also, please do not feel embarrassed to decline shaking hands or hugging others, especially if they are sick. Simply explaining that you are trying to be careful and remain healthy for the postseason will often alleviate any hard feeling that others will have. Finally, I recommend that each of you stops at Marc's or Walmart and invest in a small bottle of hand wash that you can attach to your bag and keep with you. USE the hand wash regularly when running to the bathroom to wash your hands is not feasible.Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-47643054142733153562014-01-07T23:15:00.002-05:002014-01-07T23:16:33.592-05:00Finally getting back to more postingThis year, I will bring a different perspective to this blog in some of my posts. This past year, I returned to an activity that I enjoyed in high school, but got away from in the years since I graduated. I rediscovered how much I enjoyed running and how much of a release it is to be able to run each day.

The reason I will include this is because there is now a sports medicine angle to be examined. A week and a half ago, while in recovery from a hernia repair surgery, I coded. After a couple more incidents under surveillance, it was determined that I needed to have a pacemaker implanted because of a vasovagal response that caused a bradycardic episode and led to a transient AV node block. This caused me to lose consciousness. At forty years of age, this was a huge shock to me. And no, there is no prior history of cardiac issues in my family. (At least not until after the age of 60.)

So now I will have to rebuild my distance of running (once my cardiologist lets me start) back to my pre-surgical status of about a 10k/day. Since I will have been out for at least two weeks after the surgeries, it will be interesting to see where I am starting from again. I am hoping to make it at least two miles before I feel like dropping.

I plan on periodically posting some information on things go and I hope that this will lead to some learning experiences for us all. Who knows, we may have to deal with an athlete at some point in our lives with this same issue.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-13457181683803604162013-10-27T23:48:00.001-04:002013-10-28T00:51:09.404-04:00A renewed, valuable perspectiveThere has been a lot of attention paid to professional athletes who sacrifice so much of themselcpves for our entertainment recently. This includes a major lawsuit brought by former NFL players that suggests that these players were doing so blindly because the NFL "told them it was safe to play." They claim the NFL minimized the risk of concussion injuries while making a lot money. However, the validity of this argue net is not the point of this post. Whether the players are right or if it is the NFL owners that have the high ground inps a debate for another time.

This brings me to my point. These athletes are crying foul while most of the youngest retirees (and some of which were a part of the lawsuit) made a lot of money playing a game. Let me say that again. They made a lot of money playing a game. And yes, I understand that the medical costs and the squandered fortunes that are often associated with these ex-players is also devastating. However, I met somebody this weekend that gave me a whole new perspective on this discussion.

This weekend, the high school that I work with hosted an alumni football game as a fundraiser that helped the athletic departments of the my school and that of our next door neighbor. During the pre-game, I met a father who is an alum of the high school where I am employed. (He also has at least two sons that we talked about that evening who are students in the same district.) This gentleman came in to get his ankles taped before the game.

I asked for a brief history of his injuries so I could give him the best treatment I could. After a remarkably long list of injuries, I had to ask how a person who appeared to be in his mid 30s ended up with such a dubious collection. He explained that he has been a military man for his entire career of 16 years if my memory is correct. He then offered that he is soon expecting to reenlist for another 6 years and hoped that it would be his last enlistment.

What struck me the most is that he was not looking for anything except the taping for his ankles. I regret that I did not have the time to talk to him more about his experiences and his injuries. I look forward to talking to him again and I hope he will be willing to share more about his experiences.

Here is thing that has really bugged me; prompting me to write this post. Here is a hero, a real hero, that is sacrificing as much and risking so much more than the professional athletes that we give so much attention to. He isn't asking for fame, isn't expecting a fortune for doing what he does, and yet, is doing much more. Most people will agree that it is always appropriate to always thank our members of armed services, but the irony of this conversation just heavily reinforced for me the need to follow though on it.

In short, I am thankful (and regretful) that God introduced me to this person and I look forward to our next conversation so that I can correct my oversight. God bless the men and women who do such tremendous service to our country and keep them safe.

Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-3881910271529758432013-10-08T22:08:00.000-04:002013-10-08T22:46:33.334-04:00The Sound of IdeasDear Diary,

Today I appeared as a guest panelist on our local PBS radio station, 90.3 WCPN in Cleveland, Ohio. I participated in a call in show titled "The Sound of Ideas." Our topic was concussions in youth football. I was able to offer some ideas on the problem and have some fun in the process. The show also featured Dr. Joseph Congeni of Akron Children's Hospital, the president of a local youth football league (John Prochaska, his son Sam, and one other player on his son's team, Dylan Himmal. Many issues were discussed and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. Below is the embedded link to the episode that I appeared on from their podcast feed.

(Click on the logo to go to website and download the episode or subscribe to their RSS/podcast feed)

Many thanks to Ida Lieszkovszky (producer) and to Mike McIntyre (host) for their generous invitation and hospitality today.

Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-38132881538487740942013-09-20T07:02:00.002-04:002013-09-20T07:03:24.690-04:00Lightning strike at high school football halftime showThis video is offered here without comment. If this was as random a lightning strike as is being reported, that is scary. If, however, the strike could have been foreseen coming with a smartphone app, then there is no excuse for it.
Video as reported by WTAM in Cleveland, OhioBrad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-1776756178092808372013-09-03T23:45:00.003-04:002013-09-03T23:46:26.459-04:00Another big hit in HS ball.I struggle with this many times and continue to try to preach the dangers of hits like this one.

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This occurred in a recent game that I was working and you can see the defensive end get ear holed by the pulling guard. I am not sure if the officials saw this hit, but if they had (they did not penalize it,) then I need to seriously step up my educational efforts. These kinds of hits need to end.Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-30770321551368922942013-08-06T10:25:00.001-04:002013-08-06T10:25:01.085-04:00Falling behind againWe are now back into fall season with everybody underway in their preseason practices as of yesterday. This year, we had a different wrinkle since the football team didn't start until four days after everybody else did. It is unusual because in most years past, the other teams either started after football or on the same day.

The worst of these arrangements is having everybody starting the same day, bar none. It makes it very difficult to spend time with each team when they all start at the same time and I find myself being pulled to football more often than not for many minor details. (Usually a helmet needs some air added or removed. Ironically that just happened as I was typing this too.) If I had one wish for the OHSAA during this time of the year, it would be to make sure that we keep some sort of staggered start to the fall seasons. It doesn't matter to me who goes first, (although I like the later start to football) since it is a lot easier for many of us who deal with every sport.

Beyond that, we seem to be having a very cool and dry summer in northeast Ohio this year. Despite the lower risk of heat illness, it is still vitally important to maintain hydration levels since the temperatures are expected to climb somewhat over the next couple of weeks. It is my hope that the temperatures do not spike on one day (like opening night) and have all the kids wilting on the field since they were unprepared for the heat.

Finally, I am also heading back to school for a second Masters degree in applied exercise science so that I can sit for the corrective exercise specialist exam and add that those credentials after my name as well. At the pace that I am going on that, I may have multiple alphabets after my name by the time I am done.

Hopefully, in all of this and my family life, I will still find the time to be more active on this blog. It may even become more important for me to do so just to maintain my sanity at times. Here is to hoping that everything goes well!Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-627816382651610162013-07-01T22:03:00.001-04:002013-07-01T22:03:52.047-04:00Seminar SeasonIt has been too long again since my last post. I am finding myself busy doing many other projects and this blog has suffered as a result.

Anyway, welcome to summer!

As we get ready for the heat and begin preparations for the return of fall seasons, this is my chance as a high school athletic trainer to go out and continue to learn. I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to attend a conference in PIttsburgh, Pa. that was presented my the UPMC staff on concussions.

The course was an update as to what has changed in the last few years and a glimpse of some of the more promising research for the future. I was particularly excited to see a demonstration of a new MRI technique that showed an extremely high definition picture of the the brain being scanned. The potential for this technology os extremely promising and it would be a welcome addition to the arsenal of diagnostic tools.

The most exciting thing that I heard that weekend is that there will be an iOS and android version of the new SCAT3 test available this fall. I am hoping that the test will be released in the iTunes Store before August 1st, which is our start date. However, there was no definite date given and it could be released much later in the season. I guess I'll have to stick to the paper and pencil version for now.

The conference also pointed out that the SCAT3 does not include any testing for the vestibular system and it was the strong opinion of the UPMC crowd that this oversight needs to be corrected. Visual tracking and looking for nystagmus is one thing, but testing the cicadic movements of the eyes and other forms of visual tracking are also important. These additional tests don't require much more time or training to perform and should be included in an evaluation.

There was also some discussion about the upcoming and long promised pediatric version of ImPACT. A preview of the format was given and, as expected, it is more game like than the original adult version. There was a focus given to avoid reading as much as possible especially since this is designed to be taken by 5 year old children.

The thing that surprised more than anything with ImPACT is that they talked about being able to take the adult version of the test as early as age 10. Previously, I had heard that the minimum age was 13. However, the UMPC group did recognize that the normative data for this 10-12 year olds needs to be separated out from the adult scores since there is a large difference in the scores. Needless to say, I am happy that I will be able to offer the test to my middle school children now, but that does involve a lot more work too.

Now I did say in my opening paragraph that this was about summer seminars. The other big seminar I am attending this year is in Las Vegas for the National Athletic Trainers Association convention. In fact, I am writing this blog post while en route. I hope to have more to share after what should be a fun week in sin city.
Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-31922045096322370202013-04-18T22:27:00.001-04:002013-04-18T22:29:09.822-04:00Unsung Heroes at the Boston MarathonOn Monday, April 15th, 2013, we were given another reminder about how the dangerous the world in which live is. The bombing of innocent victims at a marathon of all places is disgusting and inexcusable. While authorities struggle to find who was responsible for the horrific attacks, the media has been busy bringing attention to the heroic acts of the doctors, nurses, EMTs, police, military, and firefighters. These people demonstrated extreme heroism since it is fairly well known that these kinds of attacks often involve multiple explosions designed to injure the first responders. These people scoffed at that danger and rushed in to help. Congratulations and thank you to each and every one of you.

Secondly, and no less important than my first point, my prayers go out to the victims and their families. I hope that they are all able to move past this horrible event and find peace.

Now for my small rant against the media. It has been very disappointing to me to see how these well known and celebrated professionals are the only ones who get the recognition that they deserve. This may come as a surprise to many in the public, but these people were not the only ones responding. Within that group of "other healthcare providers" were athletic trainers, physical therapists, and likely a few others. It sickens me that these these other professionals get less recognition for their efforts in this tragedy. I wish I had the resources available that the media does to be able to get a list from race organizers of all of those who were there that day and responded. I don't think that it would be any great effort on the media's part to publish a full list of the professionals that responded. I guess the recognition will only come after many more long and arduous years of public education.

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-60218774993344921852013-04-01T12:03:00.003-04:002013-04-02T10:57:30.924-04:00A Prime Example of Why We Need More ATsYesterday, in the first half of the Duke vs. Louisville elite eight men's basketball game, Kevin Ware of Louisville attempted to block a long shot in front of his bench and landed awkwardly. The landing resulted in an open compound fracture of the tibia and fibula (both lower leg bones) and you can see in the video where the tibia was protruding from the leg at the point of the break. (As coach Pitino said after the game, "It was protruding by about six inches from his leg.") The injury was horrifying and my prayers will meet with yours that this young man will make a full and speedy recovery and I hope that this will not affect his future to too great of a degree.

http://youtu.be/onTWl_eXOM8

Warning: This video is considered by some to be graphic.
The highlight of this terrible situation has to be the quick and appropriate response of the Certified Athletic Trainers, physicians and EMTs that were present. Their quick and practiced response helped to make this young man as comfortable as possible in a quick fashion. The rapid response played a large part in getting this young to the hospital quickly where he underwent successful surgery that evening and has a bright outlook. I commend the medical staff for their efforts and we should all be thankful that this high quality service was available yesterday.

The centerpiece of this response team was surprisingly not the physician. The people that were doing the splinting and such were the teams' Certified Athletic Trainers. These were the people that were making the decisions on the best splint to use and how best to transfer the patient to the gurney. These were the people who were practiced in the emergency responses that they designed and executed flawlessly yesterday when is was needed. These are the people who are at their best when you are at your worst.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. According to statistics from the National Athletic Trainers Association, only 42% of high schools in the United States have access to an athletic trainer. This is an appalling statistic in and of itself. When you examine it even further, you will find that this means that only 42% of high schools have ANY access to an athletic trainer. This does not mean that there is a full time athletic trainer available for all events that a high school and covering both games and practices. No, this statistic includes all the part time athletic trainers at schools that might "drop by" once a week for an hour to examine injuries that have occurred in the last week. This is obviously far from ideal, but is still included in this statistic.

It has been estimated that only a third of these 42% of schools have a full time athletic trainer. (I am looking for the article to cite it.) If you work that out, only 14% of schools in the United States have full time access to an athletic trainer. That is embarrassing! The other point that isn't covered in these stats is that of those 14%, many of those ATs are working 60-70 hour weeks. They often report that they are not able to keep up with the demand at the schools they work for because of the numbers of athletes and contests that are scheduled concurrently. They are not able to fully implement rehabilitation protocols, preventative measures, or spend the appropriate amount of time that is needed for each athlete because of time constraints.

I can sympathize with this since that is my current situation. Often, I have to make decisions on which sport to sit and watch depending on the likelihood of an injury occurring. One prime example that happens a lot is deciding between a varsity soccer game and a freshman football game. It is tough to have to decide between them since both have a similar high risk. Often, when the injury occurs where I am not, this causes tension amongst the parents and school.

Finally, this statistic talks to high school athletics only. It does not discuss the need for athletic trainers to be available for middle school and youth and even recreational adult events where injuries also occur. In these instances, when there is no athletic trainer who has the training to respond appropriately, you are often left the best of what's available. Sometimes, that option is far less than what is needed and emergencies become tragedies. This is why athletic trainers are so badly needed. And don't fool yourself, injuries like this happen across the country at every level of play.

It has been an amazing experience for me to see first hand the number of unqualified people who are always too willing to jump in and try to help in an emergency situation. In conversations last night on Twitter with fellow athletic trainers, we discussed some of our nightmares where well-intentioned, but unqualified people were way too quick to insert themselves into an emergency situation. I have been verbally accosted by many people in the past because they didn't appreciate my qualifications. Having a nurse standing over me as I am trying to work and shouting instructions to the group or the EMT handing me his cellphone that he used to call a local physician for a kid that needed EMS transport were the worst examples parents that didn't understand their limits. I understand that this is a burden that reinforces my drive to educate the public about what it is that I am qualified to do. However, some of my colleagues have had instances of lab techs, and other lay persons who had NO business on the field, yet felt the need to do something to help.

The ironic part of Kevin Ware's injury is that it occurred on the last day of March, which is National Athletic Trainers Month. The injury helped to underscore the need for athletic trainers at every level of play. The number one excuse for not hiring athletic trainers is, and likely always will be, cost. The Mom's team article that is link here even reflects that 9% of people think a volunteer health care professional is appropriate for this job. If you plan on hiring the lab tech or the medical secretary to cover the next football game, I will probably hold my child out. That is unacceptable.

There is a growing mantra from athletic trainers that helps to underscore this idea that is captured in this article. It states that "If you cannot afford an athletic trainer, then you can't afford football." I have agreed with others that this should be taken this one step further to include hockey, lacrosse, and other collision sports into this mantra. Yesterday's injury only underscored this belief and it should probably include contact sports like baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and other sports like it.

However you approach it, there is an obvious need to change things in our athletic society today. We need to increase the number of athletic trainers in the United States that can be these first responders to injuries like this. I would implore anyone reading this that agrees and would like to see changes made in their local community to perform their own research and discover for themselves what an athletic trainer can provide for their athletic program(s). Listed below are a few more articles that I found very quickly that help to support this argument and can offer direction to anyone doing their own research.

https://www.oata.org/documents/resources/HS_Sport_Safety_6BA94A22DE261.pdf
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=227&articleid=20120915_29_B13_Itsint238054
http://www.athleticbusiness.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=269&zoneid=35

Also, over the last couple of years, I have been saving links to various articles on my social bookmarking (Delicious) account. There are hundreds of articles linked here: www.delicious.com/pirateatc/
Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-26380264684071725312013-03-31T11:17:00.001-04:002013-03-31T11:17:22.811-04:00Youth Coaches and Their Reactions to HB 143 in OhioSo far, the responses that I have received regarding the implementation of HB 143 (Ohio's Zachary Lystedt law for youth concussions) have been greatly mixed. The responses have ranged from mildly excited, completely apathetic, and more than a few people were reluctantly accepting of it. It has been greatly humbling, and at times, depressing to see these mixed reactions. While this is a topic that I care so deeply about, most people I have met with are simply trying to shrug it off and move on.

The situations that I worry about most are the parents that will fight and argue to their dying breath that their kid is not concussed despite obvious signs and symptoms that the child displays. I have heard far too many times from parents that "They care most about player safety." and "Safety always comes first." That is, until the score appears to dictate different priorities and that same parent denies that an injury could ever happen to their child or their teammates.

Please forgive me if I hold judgement on how effective this law is until I see how parents will react when it is their child that I am holding out of a game because they have some symptoms that generate concern. I have a feeling that more often than not, this will lead to much more confrontation between the parents, coaches, and myself from those individuals that still fail to understand the potential severity of concussions and second impact syndrome.

Certainly, our educational efforts need to continue if we are to have any hope of alleviating these confrontations as much as possible. However, my experiences tell me that this new law will not change the attitudes of far too many people who will still allow themselves to be too caught up in the score of the game when it matters the most.

I guess all I can do is hope that I am wrong about these assumptions. I will also hold out hope that this new law starts to open some eyes to the potential disasters that concussions can make of promising young lives.

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-22698809054598615582013-03-15T14:02:00.001-04:002013-03-17T01:32:10.637-04:00New consensus statement on the treatment of concussionsEarlier this week, a new consensus statement was released by the powers that be that discusses the recognition and treatment of concussions in sports. Along with this statement came a revised version of the SCAT test, the SCAT3.

The first important part of this statement for the layperson is that it reinforces the standard of practice that requires coaches and medical staff to hold a person out of play on the same day of a suspected concussion. I agree with this statement completely since I have found several instances where symptoms of concussion have not been apparent until several hours after the time of injury.

We need to take every concussion seriously and stop ignoring the signs just to win a game. This is a very poor priority and is not in the spirit of a quality athletics program for youth. Unfortunately, this is has not always been the case in my experience, even recently.

The other significant point is that the statement reinforces a need for a gradual return to play by which the patient slowly increases their activity. This is meant to take at least six days, but it may take much longer if symptoms persist. This could be weeks, months, or even years.

For those that are interested in seeing the statement, it can be found at:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/250.full.pdf

The new SCAT3 adult version (ages 13 and up) is here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/259.full.pdf

The new SCAT3 pediatric version (5-12 yo) is here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/263.full.pdf

And finally the new Concussion Recognition Tool (for laypersons to identify a potential concussion) is located here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/267.full.pdf

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-5787230926746871672013-02-10T17:09:00.001-05:002013-02-10T17:14:51.658-05:00NFHS rules changes for football in 2013 are welcome.Mom's Team website found at www.momsteam.com was the first place that I saw the new rules changes for the upcoming high school football season. When I saw these changes, I was extremely pleased. This finally addresses at the high school level, a problem that is growing at all levels of football. Seeing players losing their helmets while playing is getting downright scary, and it is getting worse.

I first witnessed the problem a couple of years ago and have only seen the number of helmets popping off increase since then. I have also found that there are two common reasons for it. Most if the time, the helmet is a poor fit for the player and either needs to be reinflated or replaced with a more appropriate size. This can be easily fixed and needs to be done so as quickly as possible. A poor fitting helmet exposes the player to only losing his helmet, but also a greater chance of injury. Obviously, the best way to prevent this is to have the kids report back that their helmet needs some more air in it as soon as they notice it.

The other reason that I have found for this to occur is that the snapping hardware on the helmets has been a lot easier to unsnap in recent years. Several time over the last few years, I have been forced to dive into our supply of old chinstraps and procure older snaps that hold to the helmet much more strongly. I am not sure wether this was a manufacturing error or not, but I would be interested to know from other ATs and equipment managers if they have had the same problem in recent years.

Regardless of the cause of the helmet coming off, it was welcome to see the NFHS address this issue in the rules. I am glad to see there is now a 15 yard penalty for illegal contact for hitting a helmetless player and illegal participation for continuing to play without a helmet. If the NFHS had not instituted this rule for next year, it was one that I was going to propose to the local youth league that my sons play in. Fortunately, that is one proposal off the list.
Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-75445863927604795832013-01-22T01:05:00.001-05:002013-01-22T09:48:51.617-05:00This Needs to Be Penalized More!Being both a high school football official and a certified athletic trainer has often given me a unique perspective that often sets me apart from each group. In the past, it helped me to teach the athletic trainers that I work with what the rules are that govern the sport and how to craft padding so they can remain compliant with the rules. This unique combination has also given me understanding that many ATs didn't have when the rules regarding head injury weren't made clear to them. Before the Zach Lystedt laws, officials had the responsibility to inform a coach that a student athlete needed to be evaluated for a head injury. Many ATs didn't know about this rule and thought the officials were overstepping their authority in the rare event when an official enforced the rule.

However, this dual credential has also had some ill effects. I usually don't complain about the same things that coaches do on the sidelines and I often am able to back my arguments with the rules and proper terminology. This usually doesn't make me many friends from the officials when I have a valid point; creating some tense discussions. However, one of the hottest discussions that I have had with officials has not occurred on the field, but off of it.

With a version of the Zach Lystedt law passing in Ohio, it is now a requirement of all coaches and officials that work with kids under the age of 18 to take an online course covering concussions every three years. This has been a big source of conflict since I have been working with officials who are friends of mine to inform them of their new requirements. the most common reaction I have received is that of resistance. The statement "the officials are not there to make a diagnosis" is very common. While I can't disagree with them on this point, they are missing the bigger picture.

The point that I counter this argument with comes, again, from football. Having the officials take this concussion course will increase the awareness of the issue if nothing else. Its should, therefore, also help the officials realize their importance in the prevention of these injuries.

And as it just so happens, another great example of my argument occurred last night in the AFC Championship game. Last night, Stevan Ridley of the New England Patriots was carrying the ball and was confronted by a defender who was ready to tackle him.

How did he react to this situation? Did he try to juke and run around him? Did he try to stiff arm and push him away? Did he change direction and try to find another open running lane?

No, he chose to lower his head to take the impact to the head first. Immediately after the hit, Ridley fell to the turf and displayed what we call "posturing" or the "fencing response" while the rest of the players fell into a scrum for the fumbled football. As you can see on the video, Stevan Ridley is holding his arms out at unnatural angles in front of him after getting hit. While this response is still somewhat controversial as to the relationship of the severity of the concussion for someone who demonstrates a fencing response, it is widely believed to be "not a good sign" for obvious reasons by many in the medical community. When it was later reported by the announcers that the Patriots were not allowing him to return to the game due to a "head injury," every doctor and athletic trainer watching the game screamed at the television "No kidding!"

Of course, this is one concussion that likely could have been prevented in the first case. There are rules in place that make leading with the head like this an illegal helmet contact at all levels of play. However, this has not been equally enforced, if at all. In the last couple of years, spearing has seen a resurgence and is being called more often. However, it is usually only called against the defense and seldom, if ever, against the ball carrier. This needs to change.

Furthermore, the illegal helmet contact penalty is only being called for spearing. Spearing is defined as the perpetrator lowering his head and hit with the crown of his helmet. This is a nice start and helps prevent the catastrophic neck, or cervical, fractures that plagued the sport in the 1960s-70s, but there is more to the illegal helmet contact rule than spearing.

The problem with this is that leading with the face mask MAY reduce your chances of a fracture, but it does not reduce your chance of sustaining a concussion. Therefore, officials need to recognize and call butt blocking and face tackling as well. These are defined in the rules books as illegal acts that consist of hitting an opponent by leading with the face mask. (The difference between the two techniques is subtle and it depends on who is being tackled.) Unfortunately, these hits are usually celebrated by coaches as the big "ESPN" highlight reel hits that end up on YouTube and are not being called properly. Here is one such example that makes me sick to see no flag and to hear the coaches celebrate this hit. http://youtu.be/-V-TUmknlUY

If the NFL refuses to make this call against the ball carrier, then they are essentially telling the youth that this is how it is supposed to be played. This is what gets celebrated. This illegal hit is what gets you a bigger contract, endorsement deals, and ESPN "Top Ten Plays" appearances. The youth are watching and mimicking the pros. The NFL must understand that. It doesn't matter if the professionals don't want to be seen as role models as Charles Barkley of NBA fame once stated. They are role models to the kids who dream of being a part of that small percent of youth football players that make it onto the same fields, under the same lights, and in front of the same crowds and cameras that their role models are playing for.

Of course, this problem is not exclusive to football either. Hockey has a big problem on their hands too. MMA recently released a statement calling their sport "safe." (Whatever they are smoking, it must be really good.) The point is that officials in all sports have a central responsibility in helping to PREVENT the injuries from occurring. The way they do it is through enforcing the rules and creating the precedent that violations of the rules will be penalized. If it requires the officials to go and take a short course once every three years to help recognize their responsibility, then I am in full support.

Besides, did I mention the classes are free?Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com Acres (null)41.752972 -81.179762tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-79440127017584160272013-01-19T08:08:00.001-05:002013-04-02T10:56:43.451-04:00Reaching outOver the next couple of months, we will be trying to reach out and inform a lot of diverse groups about the implications of HB 143 in Ohio. Since this legislation requires everyone who works with active children under the age of 18 to take an online course every three years, this is a monumental task. This means that every person who supervises a martial arts class, ski instructor, PE teacher, summer camp counselor, and you name it, must take this this class. We are working quickly to try and build the network we will need to get the word spread as quickly as possible. Here is some of what we have planned.

A major announcement coming soon from the hospital about a project that a colleague and I have been working on for the last two years. No, I can't say any more than that yet.
A new twitter account for our group within the hospital with some planned tweet chats has been created.
A new lunch time podcast will premier soon on iTunes. (Guess what the first few topics are that we have chosen to cover.)
A new quarterly electronic newsletter to help inform parents and coaches via email.
A significant amount of work to drive more traffic back to the hospital's Facebook page and website, both of which will hold more information about the law.
Educational courses for school administrators and teachers to increase awareness of issues and how they can help victims significantly by identifying issues in the classroom have been constructed.

Needless to say, that with the short window we have to eat this all done by March, we have set a very aggressive timeline for ourselves. This promises to be a very busy month and a half since it also coincides with our preparations for National Athletic Training Month and, oh yes, I think there might be a couple of basketball, wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics tournaments running soon.
Yep, this is going to be a fun time.

And just for reference, here is a link to the new law:
http://bit.ly/UdWArTBrad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-46572731256549234872012-12-26T11:41:00.002-05:002013-04-23T13:42:48.084-04:00Ohio's Concussion in Youth Athletics LawOn December 20th, 2012, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 143 into law in Ohio. This is Ohio's version of the Zack Lystedt law that regulates youth athletics when a concussion is suspected by the adults in charge of the program. This law provides for the following provisions for youth athletics in Ohio:

All parents and athletes must receive information that includes the risk involved with participating in their chosen sport as it pertains to concussions. This pamphlet is to be designed and distributed by the Ohio Department of Health.

All coaches and officials (including HS and MS officials) must attend a course on concussions every three years. They have two options available to them to complete this requirement.

They may attend a local Pupil Activity (PAP) Permit program that all high school and middle school coaches are already required to attend every three years. This option incurs some costs to the individual that include the application fee to the Ohio Department of Education (currently $45) and whatever fees the provider of the course charge (commonly about $20). As a condition of renewing the permit, HS and MS coaches ALSO have to complete the online program below.

This PAP can be cost prohibitive to many volunteer parents to coach in their son's or daughter's league. They are required to take a class approved by the Ohio Department of Health (ODOH) which are posted at http://bit.ly/WDPpcU. This list of approved classes is required for ALL coaches and ALL officials.

It needs to be noted that these non-PAP classes will allow the individual to coach any level of competition that is not sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). These classes will not substitute for the PAP for HS/MS competition. Any HS/MS coach that does not complete the PAP program is ineligible to sit on the sidelines for competition and risks the school being penalized $250 per incident.

Any kid that displays signs and symptoms of having suffered a concussion must be immediately removed from practice or competition that day. They may not return until they have been cleared by a physician or a healthcare provider working under the direction of a physician.

This can create some problematic scenarios where a healthcare provider may try to clear a person without proper direction in place. This was designed to prevent many alternative medicine persons from trying to act independently and return a kid to play inappropriately. However, the lawmakers did recognize that having a physician attend every practice and game in the state is not only expensive, but also inappropriate. Therefore, the legislature allowed other healthcare providers to have this authority to do so. Most other states designate these other providers as athletic trainers (ATs), physical therapists (PTs), registered nurses (RNs), physicians assistants (PAs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), etc. Ohio did not want to get caught in the political struggles of these professional groups when writing this law, so they allowed the physicians to decide who is qualified and who is not.

An interesting point will be that physical therapists are not required to be under the direction of a physician in Ohio any longer. It is possible that a PT (most likely a private practice PT) may try to return a child to play without having a physician contract behind them to do so. This PT would be at serious risk for sanctions if they do so.

PTs are not the only ones that risk this issue. It is unfortunately very common for off duty nurses and EMTs to wander onto the sidelines during an injury situation. I have had to tell more than one off duty professional that they need to return to their seat and allow me to do my job because they are putting my license at risk. Many people do not trust that anyone else has the education and background to provide appropriate care in an emergency situation, and in particular, athletic trainers. However, even athletic trainers need to have a contract with the team or league and a physician in order to allow then to perform their duties. This can lead to some very sticky situations if the letter of the law is not followed.

However, there is a provision that allows any organization (OHSAA) to have a more stringent set of rules than this provision in the Ohio Law that defines who is allowed to return a child to play. This law allows the OHSAA to continue to restrict this list of medical professionals to MDs, DOs, and athletic trainers. This can also create a point of contention with other health care providers who may believe that this state law gives them the authority to return a child to play under this law in HS/MS events. It does not allow anything to change at these OHSAA sanctioned events.

Coaches and officials can be held liable. Coaches of non-scholastic teams and officials can be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for up to 30 days for "willful and wanton misconduct." Needless to say, this is a strong deterrent to allowing a child with questionable symptoms to RTP.

The problems with the new law occur when the child participates in multiple leagues or sports or is active at home in unsupervised play. No law could prevent a child from heading out into the back yard with their siblings and neighbors and climbing the jungle gym, jumping on the trampoline, or playing a pick up game of baseball when they shouldn't. This is the sole responsibility of parents and guardians of the child and it must be taken seriously. However, this becomes a bigger problem for volunteer coaches when a child sustains a concussion in a travel baseball practice in the morning or even in some unsupervised activity. The coaches may follow all the rules and do everything properly there so there are no issues. However, if the child then participates in a hockey game that evening and the coaches are unaware of the earlier issue, then you have a major problem. Obviously, the coaches could not be held liable for something they have no knowledge of, but what are the parents'/guardians' responsibilities and liabilities? It is very easy for me to believe that parent would allow a kid to play in the game that evening, especially if it is "important to that season." I see that excuse far too often.

Another problem with the law is that is does NOTHING for the academic issues that a child may face after sustaining a head injury. It is well documented (and should be fairly obvious) that there are often cognitive deficits that occur after a concussion that make schooling significantly more difficult for the child. There is also some research that indicates that continuing to "work through" and not allow for rest and healing from cognitive stresses can increase the length of time that it takes to recover from the injury. It is therefore up to the parents and the school to communicate these issues with each other and to make sure the child appropriately taken care of. There is a large range of accommodations that can be made for these children, but that is the topic of another post.

The last problem that was brought to my attention by a lawyer who tweeted me. He said the trial lawyers are going to have a "field day" with this new law. The "willful and wanton misconduct" clause leaves a lot of room for interpretation by prosecutors and juries to determine whether or not a coach is going to be held liable for a child's injury. While I agree that this is very subjective, I can't think of a better way of doing this.

In conclusion, most interested parties in this this process are happy to see this law pass. The effective date for this will be April 26th, 2013, which happens to coincide with National Athletic Trainers Month. It will be very easy to help promote both the profession and this new law in Ohio when it goes into effect. The Ohio Athletic Trainers Association is already working to promote both ATs and the law and has encouraged their members to share this video to explain the importance of athletic trainers in this process. Of course, this could also bring a large amount of attention to the lack of athletic trainers in schools across Ohio and increase the job market opportunities for ATs.

For more information on what a concussion is, please refer to this video that was produced by the National Athletic Trainers Association in partnership with the National Hockey League.

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-70989427297100211162012-12-11T16:17:00.000-05:002012-12-12T14:16:45.045-05:00A new ideaI was in a discussion a couple weeks ago with a few colleagues on Twitter where they were showing pictures of some the most damaged and scratched football helmets that were turned in for reconditioning at the end of the 2012 season. During the discussion, I thought that taking pictures and documenting the helmets of those who are sustain multiple concussions throughout a season can tell a lot about the athlete's style of play. If I can combine that with the game videos and compare this data with those kids that are not subject to multiple head injuries, I believe that this can go a long way to helping to change coaches' minds about leading with the head when tackling.

Unfortunately, all of our helmets were already sent out for reconditioning before I had this idea, so it will have to wait until next year. I am writing this here to see if there is interest from the research type personnel out there in this kind of data. I think that it could be very valuable, especially if we can design an online reporting system of the data (or add it to some existing database.)

I am sure that this is something that could be easily replicated by many high school ATs around the country to help get more information about the frequency of these injuries and their causes.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-16802558305487855452012-11-27T11:16:00.003-05:002012-11-27T13:20:41.043-05:00Head Games ReviewLast week, I downloaded a copy of the video documentary Head Games. This film has received high praise from many in the film industry and the medical community. It shines a spotlit on the ever growing issue of concussions (mild traumatic brain injuries) in athletics today.

Much of the first half of the film is a thorough explanation about who some of the key people are in the country who are working to raise the of awareness this issue. During this time, the film describes the ongoing fight to bring a greater awareness of the seriousness of this injury into the public consciousness, especially with how that struggle was, and is continuing to be fought with the National Football League. The producers try to show how the NFL was working to keep the concussion issues covered up and likens the NFL's actions to a police officer at a crime scene telling everyone to "Keep moving, there is nothing to see here." As to whether or not they were also trying to hint that the NFL should be liable for some criminal misdoings, please draw your own conclusions.

After the film finishes with its history of the NFL, they spend time showing that this is not a problem that is exclusive to football. The producers tell about the prevalence of concussions in the National Hockey League, soccer, boxing, and other sports. They interview some victims of TBI who range from high school to retired professional athletes. All of interviewees tell the similar stories. They were so anxious to play, to not let the team down, that they were willing to risk sacrificing their future for a game. The interviewees also state that they were often making these decisions from an undereducated position. They then attempt to reinforce that if they knew what they do now, their decisions would likely have been different.

This is welcome and I am excited to see the advocacy for changing the attitudes about concussions in the public eye. I have had too many confrontations and overly tense discussions with athletes and their parents when I decide to hold them out of competition because of a potential concussion.

The biggest criticism that I have with this film is that the lack of attention that is given to the often required academic accommodations for youth victims. This is such an important part of the recovery that is often being overlooked and even scorned by many school districts. I am lucky to work in a school district that understands the issue well and is willing to work with me to help accommodate the needs of their injured kids so well. (Many thanks to the school nurses, administration, and teaching staff at http://www.perry-lake.org.) However, one does not have to work hard to find horror stories about how kids were treated by their peers and, in some instances, adults when they were recovering from a concussion. Too many people do not understand that cognitive rest could be just as important in the recovery process as physical rest.

I understand that there are limiting factors such as time and money when making a film of this kind, but I saw no references that would have allowed viewers to go to a website like the CDC's (http://www.cdc.gov/concussions) to find more information. This is a very easy and inexpensive thing to add to any movie. To really make this easy, a QR code could have been added to the credits to allow viewers to jump to a website with a listing of additional resources.

I know, I'm being a little picky here, but two things are motivating this small rant. The first is my educational background that always has me thinking about how to improve the use of technology to educate populations. (My thanks to Cleveland State University for that Masters degree in Educational Technologies; I hope I am putting their instruction to good use.)

The second reason is that the film has such a golden opportunity to educate that I think they just missed a chance to make it significantly better at little cost. Like I said, this might be a petty criticism, but I think it needed to be done in this film. There are many subtopics to concussions that need to be discussed. Further complicating the problem is that the data surrounding concussions, and all of its subtopics, is constantly evolving. The producers could easily make each of these subtopics into their own full length films if they wanted to give them the attention they deserve. I simply think that the follow up to this film could have been improved by giving convenient access to information that is continuously updated and relevant.

In closing, I highly recommend this film to anyone with an interest in youth athletics and I will probably show this film to my colleagues in a movie night. We may even try to make a continuing education discussion using the film as the centerpiece of our discussion. The film also serves as a notice for those that are still skeptical as to why this issue is so important. This film explains why the changes need to be made in the games we play before we end up losing them completely.

One small addendum:
I meant to include Dustin Fink's work at The Concussion Blog in the list of links of highly valuable resources. I can't state enough how much praise he deserves for the work he doing there.Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-77532448325878008702012-11-12T18:03:00.002-05:002012-11-12T18:04:44.026-05:00Some Changes to Ohio's Wrestling AssessmentsThis past May, the OHSAA asked all of the state's master assessors to join them in Columbus for a meeting. At this meeting various issues regarding the assessment program were discussed. Chief amongst these complaints were the unauthorized changes that occasionally occurred to some kids' records after they were entered into the database by the assessors.

This was an experience that I had dealt with last year when I performed an assessment on a young man only to have the information inadvertently deleted by another assessor. This assessor thought that the young man's information was somehow a "leftover" from last year and never got deleted, for whatever reason. While this was not a big deal and I was able to reenter the information very quickly, there were other instances around the state where changes were being made of a much more troublesome magnitude.

Therefore, beginning this year, once the data has been entered into the database by the assessor, only a master assessor can go back and edit the information. If a mistake is made by the assessor, then they must contact a local master assessor and request the edit after providing a copy of the individual profile form that they recorded all the data on. It is the hope of the OHSAA that this will limit some of the issues that we have seen in the past.

The coaches also made one request of the OHSAA to "close a loophole" in the rule. The part of the rule the coaches had a problem with was that a kid could fail an initial hydration assessment and then try again two days later with the same general assessor (these are usually the schools' athletic trainers) without a second team there to make sure that everything is being done properly. (Part of the previous rule required a minimum of two teams present to perform these assessments to limit cheating. However, it was understood that for the one or two stragglers that couldn't make the assessment or failed the first assessment that the assessor could just do them individually.)

This year, the wrestler that fails their initial hydration test must go to another assessor for the test if the original assessor it that school's AT. It is the hope of the coaches that by doing it this way, there is less chance for cheating. This does not apply to the master assessors.

Finally, a rule that didn't change but was heavily reinforced by the OHSAA this year was requirement of 48 hours need to pass before a wrestler can retest following a failed hydration test. There were many stories of kids who would fail the initial test in the morning and would then schedule an appointment with another local assessor later that day to retry and get the test done. This was happening far too often because the assessor who did the first exam was not getting to enter the data immediately following the exam when a wrestler failed, if they entered it at all. It was stressed to all the assessors that in the event if a failed hydration test, entering the data immediately is the only effective means of preventing a kid from getting retested within 48 hours of the initial test. Hopefully, this emphasis will help to alleviate this problem.

In closing, if there are any questions from any Ohio general assessors, please feel free to ask your local master assessor first before contacting the OHSAA. The OHSAA gets bombarded with questions that are easily answered by the master assessors and we can help to ease tis burden by following some common sense protocols like this.Brad E. Morganhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-38724928065095213112012-11-10T21:55:00.001-05:002012-11-10T21:55:45.543-05:00Heat Acclimatization Policy Comparison
A recent post on the Korey Stringer Institute/University of Connecticut's web site compares the heat acclimatization policies of all 50 states to that of their own recommendations. Not surprisingly, most states did not comply with their guidelines. What is interesting is that many southern states, where the heat lasts longer into the season and is more intense, have not complied with these guidelines.

For Ohio, where it affects me, I am aware that the Ohio High School Athletic Association considered these guidelines, but rejected them. Their argument, from what we were told, is that our region of the country does not experience the same kinds of weather conditions as the southern states do. I agree that we don't have the issues as far into the season since the temperatures usually moderate by the 3rd week of the season in early September, but these guidelines weren't meant to control practices after the start of the regular season. These guidelines are meant to govern the two a day sessions that fill the first 2-3 weeks of practices. During that time, we often do have temperatures that can be threatening. But even this is not consistent. The most common weather pattern is to have 1-3 days of hot temps followed by up to a week or more of moderate temps and occasionally even have some really cool days thrown in the mix. Some years we never see a temperature above 80 with very low humidities. To comply with these rules with the wide variance in local weather patterns would, at times, be difficult to explain. Therefore, I think the better solution is to have a certified athletic trainer at every school that can make these recommendations based on their education and experience. I would advocate for the OHSAA to mandate every school that fields a collision sport has a licensed AT on staff. Currently, it stands as a "strong recommendation."

I guess I could be waiting a while van this one.

Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-366054078379113639.post-62534501685297176772012-10-15T15:25:00.001-04:002012-10-15T15:31:04.163-04:00Concussions and our Kids -- reviewAfter getting the chance to sit and read this book, I found a great many points that reinforced what I had read in other texts and heard from other experts. This book does a nice job of summarizing the issues surrounding the traumatic head injuries in youth sports today.

In the book, Dr. Cantu does call for no hitting in football, no heading in soccer, and no body checking in hockey until age 14. All of which are very controversial stands to take in a culture where these sports are such an integral part of childhood and how parents raise their children. I think that one part of the chapter is overlooked in which he does make the concession that this complete ban is probably unrealistic, but better efforts should be made to change the number of hits children sustain in practice. He cites several examples, but the soccer reference stood out the most to me. He describes parent (volunteer) coaches kicking the ball with a great deal of force and then asking the kids to repetitively practice heading those kicked balls. This might go on for about 30-40 times per kid in each practice.

He questions if this is really necessary. During the course of the game, it is more probable that there will only be a few headers with this kind of force that are even possible. He argues that there is no reason kids should be trying to head balls that are given that much velocity in practice at all, much less 30-40 times. The same skill can be taught with less force and be much safer to the kids in practice.

Dr. Cantu also questions the practice of tackling in football and cites St. John's University in Minnesota that has not had a full contact practice since the Eisenhower administration.

"The Johnnies' football coach is John Gagliardi, who sets the records for wins and longevity every time he steps on the field. That happens when you're well into your seventh decade of coaching college football. Coach Gagliardi has notched more victories than any college football coach in history, approaching five hundred. His teams have won national championships four times. He is one of two active coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame."
He uses this example of how weeks of avoiding collisions on the practice field can still produce a quality football team that wins championships and does so at a lower risk to their athletes. Dr. Cantu states that in order for this to become more widespread, it requires many more football coaches to take the same leap of faith that Mr. Gagliardi did and try it for themselves. However, changing this belief may be even harder than moving mountains.

Finally, I have read a couple of reviews of this book that took a decidedly harsh stance on Dr. Cantu's reference to the older standards of grading concussions according to their symptoms. Today, this is widely frowned upon since all mild traumatic brain injuries are completely different from each other and grading the injury is not effective in predicting time away from sport. In short, concussions that were once thought of as "mild" occasionally keep a child off the field longer than some concussions that were once thought to be "moderate" or "severe." Therefore, the old system of grading the head trauma is not effective.

I don't think that Dr. Cantu was trying to advocate, however, for the continued use of the grading system that he developed. It is my belief that in this chapter, he was trying to do nothing more than give a history of the progression of how we treated this injury and include his contributions to those efforts. I don't think that it can be understated that he was not trying to advocate for the continued use of the grading system of concussions in this book.

Overall, I would recommend this book to parents of kids in all contact and collision sports so that they can have a greater appreciation for the risks that their child assumes when they take the field. While some sports certainly have a much higher risk and greater rate of injury, (i.e. football and hockey) no sport is safe from the possible effects of TBI.Brad E. Morganhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com


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This free 3.5 hour Junior Angler Class is a fun way to learn how to fish. Class size is limited to 10 anglers per class. Registration will be taken at park headquarters up to one hour before start of class that day. Classes are for ages 6 and up. Fishing equipment and bait will be provided. No fishing license is required. A parent or guardian must accompany minor children. Lunch will be the responsibility of the participant. Each participant who passes the course will receive a pin and certificate. Meet the ranger at the Acorn Bird Blind just north of the main campground loop. Follow the walking path between campsites 39 and 41.


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Document Type Doctoral Thesis Author Gwekwerere, Gadziro URN etd-05092010-211059 Document Title The evolution of Zimbabwean gospel music 1980- 2007 Degree DMus Department Music Supervisor
Advisor Name Title Prof M Nzewi Supervisor Keywords
- gospel music Zimbabwe
Date 2010-04-20 Availability unrestricted AbstractThis thesis explores, traces, analyses and discusses the development and evolution of Zimbabwean gospel music from 1980 up to 2007. Gospel music in this study defines urban black music culture which is influenced by Christian religion as well as gender, foreign music cultures, indigenous music, the economic and political climate of the country.
A general overview of gospel music in Zimbabwe is given including the history of Zimbabwean gospel music and the gospel music industry. Relevant literature on gospel music is reviewed. Selected Zimbabwean gospel musicians and their music are discussed. Methods of collecting data are discussed and their strengths and weaknesses are outlined. Mainly the survey method is used and questionnaires, observation and document analysis are used as instruments of data collection.
Gender issues are discussed in relation to Zimbabwean gospel music and the impact of gender on music is also noted. The effects of foreign and indigenous music on Zimbabwean gospel music are explored and analyzed through transcription and analysis of selected songs but it is not the researcher's intention to go into deep musicological content in the analysis. Political and socio-economic influences on Zimbabwean gospel music are the main focus.
The history of the socio- economic and political development of Zimbabwe during 1980- 2007 is explored in relation to gospel music. Until about the mid 1980s, the general atmosphere in the newly-independent state of Zimbabwe was characterized by liberation euphoria and great optimism for the future. Equally so, local gospel music during this period was largely celebrative and conformist as far as the political and socio-economic dispensation was concerned. Socio-economic hardships crept in as a result of the government's implementation of neo-liberal economic reforms under the guidance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the early 1990s. The ruling party soon found itself confronted by a number of gospel musicians criticizing its policies and malpractices. The lyrics of various gospel artistes (song texts) are used as evidence.
This research is an addition to the study of gospel music and popular culture in Africa. It is also a multidisciplinary research, handling sociology, politics, religion and music by looking at music as an expression and reflection of a socio-economic situation. The research has offered a second level of development realizing the theoretical conceptualizations through the analysis of gospel music.
The research results presented, interpreted and analyzed provide implications on the future success of Zimbabwean gospel music. Recommendations on the development of Zimbabwean gospel music are also given.
© 2009 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
Please cite as follows:
Gwekwerere, G 2009, The evolution of Zimbabwean gospel music 1980-2007, DMus thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05092010-211059/ >
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28.8 Modem 56K Modem ISDN (64 Kb) ISDN (128 Kb) Higher-speed Access 00front.pdf 104.34 Kb 00:00:28 00:00:14 00:00:13 00:00:06 < 00:00:01 01chapters1-3.pdf 243.43 Kb 00:01:07 00:00:34 00:00:30 00:00:15 00:00:01 02chapters4-5.pdf 233.31 Kb 00:01:04 00:00:33 00:00:29 00:00:14 00:00:01 03chapters6-7.pdf 472.31 Kb 00:02:11 00:01:07 00:00:59 00:00:29 00:00:02 04back.pdf 1.21 Mb 00:05:35 00:02:52 00:02:30 00:01:15 00:00:06


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» News
Is This a Case of Common Ground With Proggies?
Lawmakers charged with merging the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act decided on Tuesday to drop a provision that would have explicitly barred the military from holding American citizens and permanent residents in indefinite detention without trial as terrorism suspects, according to Congressional staff members familiar with the negotiations.
Says Adam Serwer, another journalist who treats these issues with the urgency that they deserve:
Of the four main negotiators on the defense bill, only one of the Democrats, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), opposes domestic indefinite detention of Americans. The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), believes detaining Americans without charge or trial is constitutional, and only voted for the Feinstein amendment because he and some of his Republican colleagues in the Senate convinced themselves through a convoluted legal rationale that Feinstein's proposal didn't actually ban the practice. Both of the main Republican negotiators, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz) believe it's constitutional to lock up American citizens suspected of terrorism without ever proving they're guilty.
As Serwer puts it, "The demise of the Feinstein-Lee proposal doesn't necessarily mean that Americans suspected of terrorism in the US can be locked up forever without a trial. But it ensures that the next time a president tries to lock up an American citizen without trial — as President George W. Bush previously tried — it will be left up to the courts to decide whether or not it's legal."
Don't let the dearth of attention fool you — this is a scandal. Congress has turned its back on safeguarding a core Constitutional protection and a centuries old requirement of Western justice.
» 4 Comments
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2:
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
As I read that, it says rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it, which I take to mean that the public safety is only in danger by way of rebellion or an invasion. I know SCOTUS could have a different take on it, and probably will.
Unless the democrats are telling us that we are under an invasion. I believe we are, by the muzloids. Though Omarxist is likely to claim a rebellion is happening because of those conservative terrorists that were mentioned in the report that DHS released a few months into the Omarxist regime. Remember that? Yeah, that chicken is coming home to roost right now, don't ya think?
However, the law seems to be stated differently.
…detaining Americans without charge or trial is constitutional…it's constitutional to lock up American citizens suspected of terrorism without ever proving they're guilty.
It just sounds like they're going to jail people individually for whatever purpose they want. It doesn't sound like a mass rebellion or invasion. Sorry, but The Great Writ would quash that idea in the blink of an eye. I just hope that the Chief Justice is on the side of liberty when the first of these appeals comes before his court.+4
The "common ground" with the progressives will end up with most or all of us IN the ground. They're communist zealots.+7
Isn't is a damn insane shame we allow 535 dipshits run the lives of 310,000,000 people?+7
does anyone have faith in our "ganster government" anymore?
they exempt themselves from every law they write for us.
they disregard our constitution as they wish.
they hold office for absurd lengths of time all the while enriching themselves at the taxpayers expense.
how much longer are we going to put up with them?+7


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Young Entrepreneurs Muslim Business Competition
AML Management is proud to present the first annual muslim business competition.
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6 Comments
Thank you for the information. I have just applied for it now
Jaza Ka'Allah for the info. Is this open for Muslims across the world ? or just USA?
Assalamu alaykum,
It is open to everyone, but the winning teams will have to go to California to collect the prizes, to take the training, to collect more funds, etc.
Contact at email@example.com for any information.
Wa elekum salam
Jaza Ka'Allah….
Al-Hamdullilah this is a beautiful thing.
it is but its too late for me around 1 year 2 late!


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Crocs Outlet Store in Merrimack Premium Outlets (New Hampshire)
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In 2013, guided by the artistic resurrection of La Villita's arts community, a cadre of music lovers from San Antonio united their passion for music, in an effort to elevate live concerts in the Alamo City to the next level. Armed with a wide array of collective experience from different backgrounds, they organized a music festival in the heart of San Antonio's historic downtown. As a result, the first annual Maverick Music Festival was born.
In 1939 Maury Maverick himself declared:
"Today (La Villita) stands as a forlorn ghost of vivid life and stirring events. Once the scene of art and culture, time has brought it down to a vile slum. Early steps must therefore be taken for its re-creation. Tomorrow it will stand as a symbol of the
accomplishments and sacrifices of the past, and as a Light pointing to the future."
With this guiding principle, Mayor Maverick saved La Villita from demolition and spearheaded a holistic renovation of the village."
Now, almost 75 years later, La Villita is a hidden gem in San Antonio's trove of cultural assets: attractive, clean, and fascinating, but lacking sufficient programming and awaiting a new beginning. Maverick Music Festival was conceived in part to build upon Maverick's vision and contribute to both La Villita's long-term vitality and capital improvements throughout the village.
In this spirit, we continue to grow this festival, for the community, city, county, and culture. 2014 promises to continue the momentum created and contribute further to La Villita's growth.


text:
Drop files here to add tracks or artwork to your playlist
Hey everyone. It's Shane Harper. I decided to take the time to share some of my favorite tunes of the holiday season. With a wide range of artists including Lenka, Coldplay, and The Jackson 5, there is a little something for everyone. Also check out my Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/shaneharper


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Ten guys and 10 microphones.
The a cappella group Straight No Chaser doesn't need any instruments, digital manipulation or computer-generated effects. Their voices are the real deal.
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Ten guys and 10 microphones.
The a cappella group Straight No Chaser doesn't need any instruments, digital manipulation or computer-generated effects. Their voices are the real deal.
"There's so much music out there now, and with all this great technology, it's a double-edged sword," says singer Don Nottingham from a recent tour stop in Columbia, Mo. "It's so easy to make music, but it's so easy to make music. Anybody can do it. But you come to the show, and it feels more pure. What we do is straight up. There are no backing tracks."
One can expect a SNC show to traipse through a wide gamet of songs, including "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. A healthy selection of holiday music is also part of their repartee. And they don't do just covers. They make each song their own, with beatboxing, harmonies and backup vocals.
"You can't get too attached to any one song," Nottingham says. "Maybe we'll be singing Miley Cyrus in a couple weeks."
The group got together in 1996 at Indiana University, and went their separate ways after graduation four years later. In 2006, when the guys got together for a reunion show, member Randy Stine put up some old clips on YouTube. Their "The 12 Days of Christmas" video went viral, Nottingham says, and caught the eye of Atlantic Records management.
The group never looked back. Nottingham quit his job as a deputy district attorney in Jefferson County to chase the dream.
It's panned out. Their fourth album, "Under the Influence," came out in May and features collaborations with big name musicians including Phil Collins, Dolly Parton, Sara Bareilles and Seal.
"There's something about when you're singing, with no guitar to hide behind," Nottingham says. "For me, it's so raw and human. People really take to that."
Contact Jennifer Mulson: firstname.lastname@example.com, 636-0270
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