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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: CONCUSSIONS
By IAN MATTHEWS editorial@kcchronicle.com
Glimpses all we have of Bears’ offense so far BOURBONNAIS – The voice was unmistakable as it originated behind the line of scrimmage and traveled into the ears of Bears players lining up on offense. “We’ve got work to do!” the voice barked. “We’ve got work to do!” the voice repeated. Who says coach Marc Trestman requires multisyllabic words to motivate his team? Ditch the thesaurus. Forget the corporate seminar lingo. After 18 days, 13 practices and one preseason game, the status of the Bears’ offense can be whittled to one simple message. The Bears have work to do. Today, the Bears will wake up in their dormitory beds and march toward the fields at Olivet Nazarene University for the 14th and final practice of training camp. It will mark the fans’ final look from the sidelines before the Bears head north with their newlook offense. What have we seen? What have we gained? What have we learned? Glimpses. Nothing more. Two-and-a-half-hour practices that represent a one-Mississippi in the Bears’ master plan. Ask Trestman. “I know we can always accentuate what we’ve seen
out here, but what we’ve seen out here is not the games,” Trestman said. “It’s not the real games. We’ve got to keep that perspective, and we’ve got to look at the big picture right now.” The big picture will be a collage featuring at least 16 snapshots. The Next up first will come Sept. 8 when vs. San Diego, the Bears host 7 p.m. Thursday, the Cincinnati ESPN, AM-780, Bengals in the regular-season 105.9-FM opener. In the days leading up to that game, the Bears will unveil a game plan. It will be intricate, exciting and tailored to showcase the Bears’ strengths while exploiting the Bengals’ weaknesses. We’ll see almost none of that game plan, of course. Not until after the opening kickoff. Backup quarterback Josh McCown offered a few of the most common glimpses from camp. “I think you do see glimpses of the ball getting out of our hand, getting the ball out quickly, finding completions, things like that,” said McCown, an 11-year NFL veteran. “But there’s still a lot
here tonight,” Trevino said. “I think any concussion can be a big deal, but the one I experienced involved bleeding in the brain. Mine happened playing softball, and the doctor told me if he didn’t know what happened, he would have thought I was hit by a truck.” Injuries to Trevino, along with student-athletes around the country, are bringing the dangers of concussions to public consciousness more than ever before. Preventive measures have vastly improved, but the panel made it known that it is very difficult to try and prevent concussions, much less eliminate them. So, through a collective effort, the athletic training staff
at Geneva has put steps and plans in place to try and deal with concussions as best they can. Durand and his staff are at all sporting events that have the highest concussion rates – namely football, soccer, baseball, softball and volleyball. Because concussions are so hard to diagnose, all incoming athletes at Geneva must complete the imPACT test, an assessment that provides the training staff a baseline to go off of when dealing with potential brain injuries. The test provides the training staff more insight into each athlete and checkpoints when dealing with a potential concussion. Upon diagnosing a concus-
sion, each athlete visits Babka for further evaluation and does not return to play until passing a five-step, physical process. Once cleared, the athlete will still be watched closely as post-concussion symptoms can still pop up weeks and even months after the athlete suffered the concussion. The importance of the event was not lost on Trevino, a small-business owner. “I’m still recovering so anything our kids do in sports, concussions are always a big deal,” Trevino said. “This was a great thing and I wish there were more people here. But, this is a good start with a lot of information which was very, very helpful.”
VIEWS Tom Musick of things to correct and work on after that first [preseason] game.” It seems that way during practice, too. On one play, Alshon Jeffery readjusts his route to make a leaping catch along the sideline. On another, Jay Cutler is swarmed by defenders and floats a pass out of bounds. But this is training camp. Even throwaway passes carry a purpose. “Sometimes, there’s guys not open, so you’ve got to throw it away,” McCown said. “It’s that fight to know that’s still a good play, too. You don’t want to have a lot of them, but at the same time, if you’re not getting sacked and you’re not throwing picks, you’re helping your team.” Perhaps the Bears’ second preseason game Thursday will represent something more than a throwaway pass in the grand scheme of the season. Probably not. When it comes to NFL action in August, the flavor is decidedly vanilla. “In the first game, we’re not running all of our stuff,” quarterback Matt Blanchard said. “We’re running a lot of base stuff, so you’ve got to be productive with the plays you’re given.”
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• Tuesday, August 13, 2013
GENEVA – Omar Trevino scanned the auditorium at Geneva High School on Monday night and wished he saw more student-athletes at an education presentation called “Concussion Education: From injury to return to play.” Trevino, a Geneva resident, circled the date on the calendar and made sure to attend the event that included Geneva’s head athletic trainer, Bill Durand, Geneva team physician Dr. Erik Bartel, and Cadence Health’s Dr. Brian Babka. Babka and Durand spearheaded the talk that centered on educating parents and stu-
dent-athletes about concussions, in what still is a very unknown and scary injury. Trevino nodded and listened intently as Durand and Babka outlined the steps that both the high school and its athletic staff have taken over the years to better treat concussions. It was six years ago that Trevino was playing softball and had a 12-inch ball hit him head on in the temple, causing internal bleeding and head trauma. Trevino is still dealing with symptoms today, hampering his ability to function normally on a daily basis. “It’s such a personal thing for me and my family – especially because my son plays baseball and football – to be
SPORTS | Kane County Chronicle / KCChronicle.com
Geneva forum addresses concussions head-on