WECSSAA tackling player safety

With yet another death of a high school football player, local coaches say WECSSAA is taking the right steps towards protecting their players.

Kenney Bui, a senior at Technology, Engineering and Communications high school in Seattle was playing defensive back when he was struck in the head during the fourth quarter of a game Oct. 5. 2015.

Bui’s death is the fourth high school football-related death in the U.S. in the past month and highlights a concern in player safety in WECSSAA football.

Football is the most common sport with a concussion risk for males – a 75 per cent risk.

A convener for WECSAA football said at any point in time where an adult, coach or parent puts a student athlete in jeopardy, WECSAA absolutely will respond to it.

“We don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” said Rob McIntyre. “It’s a game and it’s supposed to be fun. The last thing we want to see is someone getting seriously injured. We’re not going to risk anyone’s safety to win a high school championship, I can assure you that.”

Although WECSAA has guidelines and concussion protocol, Dr. Christopher Abeare said he recommends that players who have been concussed visit specialists rather than physicians.

“Athletes can shop around for physicians who are willing to say the athlete is ready to go back,” said Abeare. “These regulations require notes from physicians and unfortunately, many physicians are still under the old belief system that concussions require loss of consciousness.”

Abeare also said although it is good to educate the public about concussions and how they can be severe, many people are “fear mongering” and making people believe that concussions will end your life.

“The majority of people with concussions recover in two to three days,” said Abeare. “The vast majority, about 80 to 90 per cent will recover in eight to 10 days. Most people recover fairly quickly.”

The website concussiontreatment.com estimates that 47 per cent of athletes do not report feeling any symptoms after a concussion blow, something Chris Church, football coach at Cardinal Carter High School is trying to address.

“The biggest thing for us is keeping your head up,” said Church. “Guys want to hit with the head but you just can’t do it.”

In addition, WECSAA also ran coaching clinics prior to the season teaching blocking and safe tackling as well as getting more involved in youth sports to teach young athletes from a younger age the proper ways of blocking and tackling.

“Football’s never been safer than it is right now,” said McIntyre. “You can’t prevent every single thing from occurring. People are going to get hurt, it’s a violent game. We’re just trying to reduce it as much as humanly possible.”

In an effort to keep the league safe for all athletes, McIntyre is taking the dad route to safety.

“We’re teaching it as if every single player on the field was one of our sons,” said McIntyre.