September 30, 2011 [13]
www.bellevuereporter.com [ Head games from page 12 ]
Coaches, players, parents all shifting trend conduct baseline testing for athletes. Phillip Chermak, who is the head athletic trainer for the Knights, says baseline testing protocols are somewhat unproven and out of the price range of cash-strapped school districts. “Especially in the current economic climate, it’s not something that is going to be implimented right away,” Chermak said of ImPACT. “I don’t know if ImPACT is the final answer, but it’s a good first step in getting testing standardized.”
A shift in culture Blake Miller knows all is not lost. While the Issaquah senior missed a chance at major playing time for the Eagles’ state-ranked squad and a possible college football career, stories like that of Zack Lystedt remind him of just how lucky he is. “Even though it (football) is my favorite sport,” Miller said. “I don’t want to be brain dead by the age of 30.” Things are turning around for Lystedt as well. While his parents still offer him assistance for most all daily activities, there is progress. After years of assistance from Dr. Herring and countless others, he Blake Miller is able to walk with a cane, carry a conversation and is slowly working his way back to even greater self-sufficiency. “We get very excited about the new things we get,” Victor said. “The fact he can stand next to the sink and brush his teeth is like the longest ball he ever hit.” The Lystedts met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and even attended the Super Bowl with him. Goodell has been a feverish advocate for concussion reform since taking over the role of commissioner and has been more than willing to hand out fines for players who cross the line. Herring says Goodell has promised to remain on board with himself and others around the country until every
state has adopted a Lystedt Law. Zack also met with football legend John Madden, who decided after meeting him to modify a feature in his bestselling video game franchise, forcing players who suffer a concussion to remain sidelined. Previously, gamers could simply substitute a player with a head Zack Lystedt injury back into the game, something they could not do for players with other serious injuries such as ligament tears or broken bones. National sporting goods retailer Sports Authority is pushing concussion awareness to the public as well with a TV advertisement that has been running during college and NFL games this season featuring Jerome Bettis, known for a punishing running style that earned him the nickname “The Bus”. The commercial is to promote a program through Sports Authority where every pair of athletic shoes purchases is accompanied by a donation to ImPACT that will help subsidize the cost of the program for high schools nationwide. If the financial burden is lessened on the already cash-strapped school districts, the hope is they will be able to get on board with ImPACT for the safety of the student-atheltes. “We have a greater responsibility to get that message out to everybody,” Victor Lystedt said. “It’s a cultural change. It doesn’t make you any tougher to have your brain impaired.” Herring, who has worked around professional sports for nearly three decades, has begun to see that cultural shift take place even at the highest level. “For the first time in my almost 30 years of doing professional sports, a professional football player came up to me and told me he thought the guy next to him wasn’t right,” Herring said. “That’s a huge step forward. It was nice to see that change socially.” But cultural change is a painstakingly slow process. Until the protocols that are now commonplace at the youth level
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translate to the collegiate and NFL ranks, that process won’t be complete. The torchbearers for that movement aren’t those currently in the professional, collegiate or even high schools ranks. It’s those playing youth football, those who have an introduction to the game that includes concussion awareness, education and prudence. The Greater Eastside Junior Football Association has clubs based at every 2A, 3A and 4A KingCo school and has a dedication to ensuring those who come through the various clubs understand concussion awareness. John Veentjer has been president of the GEJFA since 2000. “Player safety is our highest priority,” Veentjer said. “Before the coaches are allowed to step out on the field, they are required to take concussion training.” But it isn’t just coaches who are getting schooled on the critical importance of recognizing possible concussions and removing the athlete from play. Parents and players are given literature at registration and educational videos and other materials are available online. Club officials can view which coaches have completed knowledge-based concussion tests and remove those who have failed to do so. Veentjer, like Herring, said he is also beginning to see the cultural changes on an individual level. “The culture has changed a lot,” Veentjer said, adding that during his days as a player 50 years ago, athletes were denied water, given salt pills and told that getting one’s “bell rung” was just good football. “It’s gotten a lot better.” While each and every day is still a battle, the Lystedts never lack for motivation. Victor said he has been contacted by numerous parents from around the country thanking him and Zack for standing up and being heard on the issue. And while that won’t help his son recover any faster or more thoroughly, it provides a type of catharsis knowing that others will not be forced to suffer through what he cannot avoid. “Because we decided to stand up and move forward with this,” Victor said. “I guarantee you he has saved kids’ lives.”
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