By CRAIG FREILICH

Armed with new knowledge about the seriousness of repeated head injuries to athletes, schools in St. Lawrence County and around the state are acting to keep their athletes healthy with new rules and standards.

“It used to be it was just a part of the game -- you know: ‘You got your bell rung...you’ll be all right,’” said Canton’s Williams High School Girls’ Varsity Hockey Coach Anita Francis.

“But now we’re all aware of how severe it can be, and the long-term effects,” Francis said.

For decades, the stereotypes of the punch-drunk boxer or the slow-witted football lineman were seen as a humorous byproduct of sports with brutal potential.

But new data are proving that repeated “small” brain injuries typically suffered by athletes in many sports can add up to serious damage, damage which might not be evident until years after their playing days are over.

While football and boxing are not the attractions here that they are in other parts of the country, hockey has long been a mainstay of the sports scene in the North Country, and most any serious hockey player can tell you of “having their bell rung” after a cranial encounter with a stick, the boards or the ice.

Now testing of athletes even before they start the first practice session is being used to establish individual baselines that can help prevent an athlete from returning to play too soon after a suspected concussion and keep the damage to a minimum.

Potsdam High Boys’ Varsity Hockey Coach Al Benda said that when a player has had a head injury, among the tools they use to see how an athlete is recovering is having them take the same computer test again, to compare with the pre-injury results.

Benda said the protocol they use requires an athlete to be symptom-free for seven days before they even consider letting him or her back to practice session.

After that, “first, they can engage in low-impact exercise such as aerobics. There will be no contact until at least four days later, depending on the severity.”

Carl Normandin of the Section 10 Athletics office in Canton said committees were established five or six years ago and concussion management teams of athletic directors, nurses and doctors have been formed.

He said all school athletic programs “have adopted concussion management return-to-play protocols” that set out guidelines for coaches and athletes to follow after a suspected or confirmed concussion. Athletes, coaches, trainers, nurses and doctors have all been involved.

Potsdam Central’s Athletic Director Mark Wilson said the state now “requires every school district to have a concussion management policy, including a concussion management team” which includes provisions for including parents in the process.

“We’ve spent some time on this. Ours is a little stricter than some school districts, but that means more benefit to the students,” Wilson said.

Wilson said a handout goes to parents describing the concussion policy, what the signs and symptoms of concussion are, what happens if there is a concussion, and how it will be handled from there on.

“Parents are notified if a student is hit in the head and given a concussion test.”

He notes that a person need not necessarily get hit in the head to get a concussion. It can happen with a rapid-acceleration head movement such as might happen with a hard check into the boards.

Wilson said the time between the injury and return to play is typically two weeks, but that will vary depending on the severity of the injury.

One of the difficulties with an injured athlete is the pressure an athlete might put on him or herself to get back at it as soon as possible, or pressure applied by parents on the student or the coach, Wilson said.

“We do run into those parents who don’t like it – mostly former athletes who don’t see how so many kids might have to sit some games out.

“The safety and well-being of the athlete is first. I’ve had parents yelling at me over things like this, but if we’re not confident we can send them out safely, if it’s too soon, we won’t do it. No game is worth it.”

“A lot goes by what the athlete tells us, so we have to get them to be totally honest with us.”

He said one of the good things about the computer test they use, which measures verbal and visual memory and reaction time, is that the software “uses different testing items each time the test is given so you can’t practice and get better at it.” A trained person administers the test. It takes about 20 minutes.

Wilson said eventually the plan is to establish baselines for every student, not just athletes, starting in seventh grade, so medical personnel have something to work with if a student has a head injury due to sports or for some other reason.

A concern to Canton girls’ Coach Francis is the life-cycle of hockey helmets.

“There’s an expiration date on new helmets now. They only last so many years. Many helmets are better designed now. The new ones are more expensive and will probably become mandated.’

Her concern with that is that “the girls usually get hand-me-down helmets. They might not be up to date.” She has seen girls in equipment “that could be 15 or 20 years old. If I see a really old-looking helmet, I’ll get it updated to new.”

But Francis agrees with her colleagues that they are all taking the head injury problem more seriously.

“We’ve all had training in what to look for. There’s a checklist in the med kits we have.

“Most coaches have been aware of the problem for some time, but now we know we have to take precautions to prevent permanent damage.”