Direct Hitts by Shari Hittesdorf

The topic of concussions has been hot and heavy the past couple of years, from the professional level all the way down to the high school age group. Research has shown concussions can cause lifetime effects if not treated properly. The biggest hurdle, however, is recognizing when someone has, in fact, sustained one and then taking the necessary precautions in dealing with the injury. (Yes, concussions are a brain injury!)

Our local high schools are fortunate to have New Ulm Medical Center (Allina) trainers attending many of the games and practices. They are experts at assessing this type of injury, an injury that is not always obvious. Problem is, they can’t be everywhere at all times.

This year the Minnesota State High School League is stepping up requirements in hopes of helping those involved with youth sports better recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion.  The Minnesota Legislature passed, and the Governor signed legislation that requires each coach and official (licensed, registered, or volunteer) working at the MSHSL varsity, junior varsity or b-squad/sophomore level to receive initial online training and online training at least once every three calendar years thereafter. READ FULL REQUIREMENT>>>

The course is actually available for anyone to take (click on icon at top of page or go to http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/online_training.html)  I went through it myself and and even as someone who has had training on the subject, found it enlightening. It’s nice to know the emphasis is now sitting the athlete if there is any doubt.

I recommend every parent spend about 1/2 hour of their time viewing the information and learning what to expect should a head injury occur during competition or a practice.

Another standard that will be followed during high school games and practices includes: “Any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion (such as loss of consciousness) headache, dizziness, confusion, or balance problems) shall be immediately removed from the contest and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health care professional.”  READ COMPLETE RETURN TO PLAY PROTOCOL>>>

As the campaign says, be “Heads Up” about concussions.

I’m back and really, and this time I promise I’m here to stay. It has definitely been a crazy year, fun year, getting Sleepy Eye ONLINE rolling, but it has also taken a ton of work and time, thus the break from posting to my blog. I spent the summer playing with different formats for our e-news and sports pages. And after much deliberation, the building and designing is complete.

Just in time too, the fall sports season is underway. Tennis meet tonight. Yes, photos to be uploaded later.

The new sports format, the one that took seven months to finally decide on, but well worth the wait, I guarantee , has a lot to offer. (I apologize for being so fragmented today but, hey, I’m just really excited, sports tend to do that to me. First day fall season you know!)

SESN- You can see stories about your favorite teams simply by picking them from the category menu or by looking under the TEAM NEWS section on the upper right hand side of the page. The Varsity teams also have their own information pages that will include schedules, team photos, school records, history, links and much more.

We also have links to both of the schools’ sports schedules, find it at the top, center of the page.

If you want to know what’s rolling on our SPORTS PHOTO GALLERY PAGE, look at the thumbnails on the center of the page.

Who’s Sizzlin’ ??? Well, check out the sports page to find out.  Yep, a new feature we’ve added.

Find scores at the center of the SESN section of the sports page.

Oh so excited. Bring it on, bring it on, The fall season is here, here, here here. Can’t wait for my first cross country meet, volleyball match and football game.

Yeah, sports get me excited.