“Are you ready for some football?” My 10-year old son certainly
is! And while the very idea of having him play football makes me
a bit nervous- he couldn’t be more excited about his first
season of tackle football. And part of the reason that I am a
bit jittery about the whole idea, is that I am worried about the
possibility of concussions in this type of a contact sport. Just
last year, two kids from my older son’s soccer team suffered
concussions and both boys missed weeks of play and in one case
several weeks of school while he recovered. So when I came
across the opportunity to attend a “Heads Up” event sponsored by
the NFL and USAFootball recently, I jumped at the chance! I knew
that I had a lot to learn about concussion safety when it comes
to kids sports. #1- What exactly IS a concussion? According to
Dr Gerald Gioia, PhD (chief of pediatric neuropyschology
Children’s National Medical Center), a concussion is an injury
to the brain due to a blow to the head or to the body that jerks
the head forward. H