Concussion reports on the rise in high school athletes
Posted: 04.08.2012 at 3:55 PM
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Taylor Looten was a star soccer player at Jefferson City high school a few years ago, but one scramble for the ball changed all that.

"I went up against a girl, fought for the ball, I hit her head before I hit the ball, and then went down, blacked out, got sick. So [I was] rushed to the hospital," she said.

She later learned she had a concussion, which athletic trainers like Scott Schlueter with Capitol Region, say is nothing to take lightly.

"A concussion is any type of jolt or blow to the head, and it can either make the brain change in the way it works, and it can be just due to the direct impact, or it can be from an impact to the body that makes the brain go back and forth against the skull," said Schlueter.

Back then, Taylor knew the routine all too well.

"[I was] off the field for weeks, You couldn't play, you can't run. I mean, you couldn't lift heavy stuff. So it gets pretty intense after the first couple."

During three years of playing soccer in high school, she received eight concussions.

A recent report by the associated pres said that Taylor's case could be the norm , because in 2011, there were over 850 concussions reported for high school athletes in Missouri.

That may seem like a lot to many parents, but doctors trainers, and coaches say the high numbers are actually a good thing, because it doesn't necessarily mean for concussions; it shows people know the signs of a concussion, and they're reporting it.

Scott Schlueter says parents and coaches are becoming more away off telltale concussion signs.

"There's better education and knowledge of what a concussion is actually defined as. And there's better record keeping, and documentation of these events,” he said.

Taylor says she will always love soccer, but the risks of playing again may be too much.

"I'd like to get back in it someday, but you still get kind of iffy, worrying about it, because the doctors always say that once you have the concussions, you're always able to get more. It's not something that just goes away."