As the Dolores football team gathered on the field to begin practice last Wednesday, sophomore Logan Fuller was in the computer lab.
Fuller, like each of the Dolores players is required, was taking his baseline concussion test, administered by athletic trainer Nick McLaughlin.
The online test provides questions and prompts to test athletes’ short- and long-term memory and reaction, which can later be used to identify wheter a concussion has occurred. And it’s important that the Bears concluded the assessment prior to contact to ensure that the results provide an accurate baseline. Full contact practices began on Thursday.
“What we’re doing is we’re taking their cognitive levels,” said McLaughlin, who splits his time between Mancos and Dolores. “So we run them through a bunch of short-term and long-term memory tests to get an idea of where they sit right now.”
“So later on in the season, if they get a concussion, we can do the same exact test again and compare the results,” he said. “It gives us an idea how bad the concussion is, and it also allows us to track it to see when they are ready to return to sports.”
“A lot of times with concussions it’s just clear and present,” said head coach Chris Trusler. “So this is more for when a kid gets whacked and thinks his bell just got rung, but the next day he still has a headache, or blurred vision or is dizzy or nauseas.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association does not require the test, but Trusler said that it’s best to be proactive when it comes to matters of the mind.
“We tell the kids that their brains will take them further in life than their legs will,” he said.
It’s the second year that Trusler has had his football team complete the assessment, and now serving as athletic director, he also hopes to get the basketball, wrestling and baseball squads involved as a precautionary measure.
Dolores is not the only local school hoping to advance in its concussion protocol.
McLaughlin proctored the test for members of the Mancos football team the day before, and Montezuma-Cortez provided the assessment for its athletes for the third consecutive year.
It’s the second year that the Blue Jays football team has undergone the assessment, and Mancos athletic director Heath Showalter said that he’s planning to have the volleyball and cross-country squads tested as well, just in case.
“We’re going to try to get all of our athletes tested so we have guidelines on where they are now,” he explained. “But hopefully they never get a concussion.”
