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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2017)
B S PORTS Section B Concussion concerns calmed Wednesday, August 16, 2017 South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com High school fall sports start practice By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com The start of fall sports means high hopes for the upcoming season, great expectations for what is to come and an increased awareness of concussions. A concussion is defi ned by the Center of Disease Control as “a type of traumatic brain inju- ry” that is caused by a direct hit to the head or by an impact sus- tained by the body that results in a whiplash affect. As more and more research from the National Football League begins to circu- late about concussions and what the long term damage might mean, high schools across the country are fi nding ways to pre- vent injuries of this nature in the present. At Cottage Grove High School, athletic trainer Jared Hutchins works with student athletes to help them understand the dangers of concussions and how to move forward if they have experienced brain trauma. In 2013, Hutchins imple- mented the use of the national test called ImPACT. ImPACT is an assessment that measures cognitive functions in an indi- vidual. All athletes at Cottage Grove High School are required to take it before the season starts to provide a baseline in case they suffer a head injury. If they do suffer a head injury, they will take the test again to see where they scored and based off of the results Hutchins can work to see if they are ready to come back and play or if they need more rest. “With the new tests we can put them through they can know, ‘Oh yeah, okay I’m not ready.’ Because we have enough tests now that show enough results and they get some feedback that I’m not ready to go yet,” said Hutchins. “It isn’t just me say- ing no you can’t go back in, or kind of guessing, now we have more tests which helps.” While the type of concus- sion that has been glorifi ed and is most commonly thought of when this topic comes up is the head-to-head collision in foot- ball, Hutchins notes that this is by no means the most common type. “It’s you’re going down and someone knees you in the head or you get hit and your head whiplashes off the ground. Just awkward things like that,” said Hutchins. “Girls soccer, basket- ball you catch an elbow on a re- bound. You think of concussion and you think of this big colli- sion and two people got really hurt but a lot of time they just got hit, a bump.” It is after these bumps and hits occur that athletes have to proceed with caution and not just power through the pain. Eh- san Hazrat MD, who works at the Cottage Grove PeaceHealth clinic, also sees the danger of concussions and that patience is the key to getting better. “With sports we always have this mentality to be tough. And yeah, the tougher you are the more you do. This is that one time that you don’t want to be tough,” says Dr. Hazrat. “Even if you suspect you have a con- cussion it’s a good idea to kind of take it easy for a week, or two weeks. In the long run you will benefi t from it.” The Cottage Grove High School football team working on 11-on-11 drills on their fi rst day of practice. Fall sports started across all of Oregon on Monday. Football camp wraps up By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Last week, the Cottage Grove High School (CGHS) football team hosted their annual football camp. The camp that lasted from Monday to Thursday featured morning sessions of middle school students and high school underclassmen and the evenings had students from kindergarten to fi fth grade. Despite two of the evening sessions having to be cut from two hours to one hour because of poor air quality due to the fi res in the area, the camp continued and was seen as a success by the coaches and players. This year there were 45 kindergarten through fi fth grade campers, 34 middle schoolers and 30 high schoolers. The camp is a way for the players to work on position-specifi c skills before the start of the fall season. With the younger students in the evenings, the campers would rotate to different drills that focused on a specifi c skill. At each station they were led by a current CGHS football coach and a host of current football players who were wearing their jerseys. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA One of those play- ers was junior DeJean Alonzo. Alonzo, who is currently the backup quarterback and a defen- sive back, was leading drills in each of his re- spective positions. With excitement that matched the energy levels of the kids he was working with and a constant stream of positive language, Alonzo was enjoying his time leading the drills. “I was in their shoes at one point and it’s fun to look up to the people in the jersey,” said junior PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA DeJean Alonzo. While A pair of campers take a water break on the last day of camp. noting his role as a role During the evening while the fi eld was fi lled with model to the students, he also acknowledged that football drills, the sidelines and bleachers saw the working with the younger kids can be a lot to handle. parents of the kids watching. Sitting on a bench was “It’s funny when the little kindergartners come in, it’s a Rachel Moses of Cottage Grove who has two sons, a handful. They don’t know what they’re doing but they nine and ten year old, playing football for the fi rst time like to be here doing the drills.” this year. Head football coach Gary Roberts noted that seeing “I was a little uneasy before we got started [playing his players work with kids is a good lesson for them in football] but the coaches are so gentle with them and a number of ways. they really take into account that it is their fi rst year. “It’s a good week for our kids because they learn It’s been a really great experience,” said Moses. that it’s not that easy to be a coach,” said Roberts. Athletes of the Week This week's athletes of the week are the 45 kindergarten through fi fth graders who were at football camp. The group was clearly excited to be at camp but were even more excited to have their pictures taken. PHOTOS BY ZACH SILVA No races this weekend. See you next weekend enjoy the fair!