A week before the Sept. 26 football game at Central, I received my monthly copy of the Time Magazine. The cover showed a 16-year-old boy who had died while playing high school football.  As I read more into this article, I was appalled by the high school sports injuries statistics.  According to Time Magazine, there are 33 concussions per every 10,000 high school players in games (National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study).  Time also stated “the potential for dangers is particularly acute at the high school level, where concussion rates are 78% higher than in college football.”

Fast forward to that Friday game when Central was playing Glenbard West at Dickinson’s Field, during the game, two Central players were carried off the field on stretchers.  Each time,  Central students in the students’ section dropped to the bleachers as they watched their fellow classmates rushed to the hospital. The injuries were later reported as two non-traumatic neck injuries and one concussion. According to the Hinsdale Central trainers, both players will recover.

As a student, I was terrified seeing the first player lying on the field immobile, but things only got worse when the second player went down and the game was called.

From experience, I am an advocate for safe playing protocol and safety requirements.  When my brother was younger, he suffered two concussions from playing peewee football and was severely affected.  He suffered from migraines, experienced behavioral issues, and suffered neurological damage.

Hinsdale Central is an athletically rigorous school and most know it for its multiple state championships.  However, I find it hard to grasp that young teenagers will risk their well being for a sport they most likely will not pursue above a high school level.  For adolescents, there are so many cases and issues pertaining to brain injury that gravely affect their future, which causes me to think, are the high school glory days really worth it?