Concussion Testing Pilots Kick Off Fall
August 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association kicked off the 2015-16 school year Monday by hosting 70 member high schools for training in two pilot sideline concussion testing programs aimed at assisting in decision-making regarding the removal of athletes from activity after possible concussion events and record-keeping of those events beginning this fall.
Illinois-based King-Devick Test and Maryland-based XLNTbrain Sport each will be used to monitor approximately 10,000 Michigan high school student-athletes drawn from schools representing all four classes and a variety of regions statewide.
The pilot programs are part of a three-pronged advance by the MHSAA in concussion care this fall. In addition to becoming the first state association to offer pilot sideline concussion testing, the MHSAA will be the first to mandate record-keeping by member schools of all possible concussion events from detection to an athlete’s return to play. The requirement applies to both practices and events, all levels of all sports in grades 7 through 12.
The MHSAA also this fall is the first state association to provide all participants at every MHSAA member high school and junior high/middle school with insurance intended to pay accident medical expense benefits – covering deductibles and co-pays left unpaid by other policies – resulting from concussions sustained during MHSAA practices or competitions. There is no cost to either schools or families.
“These pilot programs are intended to not only improve what’s actually happening on the sidelines at practices and contests in these communities that are part of the pilot programs, they’re intended to spread the word of the need for improved concussion detection across every community,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “We hope these schools involved will become involved in their leagues and conferences and with their peers across the state as we expand the awareness of the need for better sideline detection and provide ways to get it done.”
The MHSAA asked schools at the end of this spring to volunteer for the pilot programs and then selected participants in order to guarantee a variety of schools based on enrollment and location. Schools are committed to involving at least two sports for each gender each season.
Schools participating in the XLNTbrain Sport pilot program are: Adrian, Adrian Madison, AuGres-Sims, Bay City Central, Bear Lake, Brethren, Belding, Birmingham Groves, Brighton, Chesaning, Corunna, Detroit Collegiate Prep, East Kentwood, Fennville, Fowlerville, Gibraltar Carlson, Grand Rapids Christian, Grandville, Greenville, Grosse Ile, Hamilton, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Hazel Park, Kalamazoo Christian, Lansing Christian, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, Owosso, Pewamo-Westphalia, Portland, Reese, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, St. Johns, Stanton Central Montcalm, Vermontville Maple Valley, West Bloomfield and Wyoming Kelloggsville.
Schools participating in the King-Devick Test pilot are: Bay City Western, Benton Harbor, Buchanan, Calumet, Caro, Caseville, Detroit Cody, Detroit Martin Luther King, Fenton, Flint Kearsley, Frankenmuth, Fruitport, Garden City, Grand Ledge, Grand Rapids Northview, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Lincoln Alcona, Midland Bullock Creek, Montague, Muskegon, Niles, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Romeo, Saginaw Heritage, Scottville Mason County Central, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Joseph, Tawas, Vicksburg, Whitehall and Yale.
The King-Devick Test is a rapid eye movement screening evaluation that requires athletes to read single-digit numbers displayed on a tablet computer in order to detect impairments of eye movement, attention, language, concentration and other symptoms of abnormal brain function. The test has been validated in more than 50 recent peer reviewed articles published in elite medical journals and is associated with the Mayo Clinic.
The test is administered on the sidelines during evaluations for suspected head injuries, and the post-injury results are then compared to an athlete’s preseason baseline. Any worsening of performance (increased time and/or errors) suggests a concussion has occurred and the athlete should be “removed from play” for further evaluation.
“The first and most critical step in managing concussion in the youth athlete is to recognize when one has occurred – not always a simple task,” said Dr. David Dodick, professor of neurology and director of sports concussion services at the Mayo Clinic. “The King-Devick test helps take the guesswork and subjectivity out of the sideline evaluation in a rapid, accurate, and objective way.”
XLNTbrain Sport includes balance and web-based neuro-cognitive tests also used before the start of a season to create a baseline measurement of reaction time, attention, inhibition, impulsivity, memory, information processing efficiency and executive function. The test also assesses mood, anxiety, stress and emotionality.
After a possible head injury, a sideline assessment is done using a smartphone or tablet with those results then compared with the athlete’s baseline measurements. The program documents the severity of a concussion, provides a guide for on-the-field decision making regarding treatment and recovery time and can report results via email to parents, coaches, training staff and medical professionals.
Dr. Harry Kerasidis, who designed the XLNTbrain Sport software, presented at the Coalition for Concussion Treatment Summit at the United Nations building in 2014.
“We included an objective balance test that relies on smartphone accelerometer technology which is effective in the field during practice and game situations,” Kerasidis said. “Should a concussion injury be suspected, the system automatically generates a notification to parents and medical professionals and creates a recovery protocol and post-injury tracking so the right people can monitor the athlete’s progress. Then, the system assists medical professionals with the all-important return-to-learn and return-to-play clearance.”
Click for information on XLNTbrain Sport. Click for information on the King-Devick Test.
For more on Health & Safety, including preseason physical examination, hydration and cardiovascular resources in addition to concussion information and online training sessions, visit the MHSAA’s redesigned Health & Safety web page.
PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage athletic director Peter Ryan (right) is administered the King-Devick baseline test by K-D's Samantha Figueroa. (Middle) XLNTbrain Sport creater Dr. Harry Kerasidis provides insight on his program to those being trained to use it Monday.
Football Helped Bond Father & Son, But Fermans Will Meet As Rivals 1 More Time
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 14, 2022
For about 2½ hours Friday night, Jeremy and Bryce Ferman will be opponents.
During that time, it will be about North Branch and Almont battling to remain unbeaten on the football field. About getting another win in the Blue Water Area Conference.
It will be a football game they try to treat like any other football game.
But immediately before and immediately after, their dynamic will be a much more familiar one, and one that was strengthened by the sport: father and son.
“I love him more than anything,” said North Branch coach Jeremy Ferman. “Just to see him over there, that part of it right there is special. Just to see how he’s grown up and the person that he is – the young man that he is. But yeah, once kickoff goes, it’s game on. We’re both competitive people. We probably hate losing more than we enjoy winning.”
Bryce Ferman is a senior running back and linebacker at Almont. He’s also a captain.
He grew up on the Almont sidelines, as his dad turned the Raiders into a perennial power. From 2004-15, Jeremy Ferman led Almont to the playoffs eight times, including trips to the Semifinals in 2011 and 2014. The Raiders won five BWAC titles, three District titles and two Regional titles during his time there.
And that success was made more special by the fact Bryce was right there for all of it.
“There’s a picture of him wearing an old headset, and it wasn’t working, but he had it on,” Jeremy Ferman said. “Some reporter took a picture of him and said, ‘Coach Little Ferman making the calls.’ It’s definitely been in his blood.”
As the Fermans were strengthening their father-son bond through football, Bryce also was soaking in lessons of how to be successful on and off the field.
On it, all he knows is winning. Almont has been to the playoffs every year since 2010, including a run to the Division 5 Final in 2019, Bryce’s freshman year.
As a player, he’s won a pair of postseason games – one during his sophomore year when he was called up late in the season, and one as a junior. This year, the Raiders are off to a 3-0 start.
“I learned how a good, sound football team should run,” he said. “I mean, that’s what my whole life has been. I’ve never been around a poorly run or structured team. It’s always just been that every year the playoffs were expected, and that’s how it still is.”
The greater lesson learned on those sidelines, though, was how to be a leader. It’s something he focused on as he worked to be part of Almont’s leadership team heading into his junior year.
“We had to go through interviews, write letters, all the stuff that really prepares you for jobs and everything,” Bryce said. “What I wrote my letter on is how I saw all these leaders growing up. That’s all I know. That’s all I know how to be.”
Watching his son make the most of those lessons has been a point of pride for Jeremy Ferman.
“To watch him mature, to watch his leadership – as a dad, it’s pretty (darn) special,” he said.
Following his time with Almont, Jeremy Ferman spent a year apiece with Durand and Flint Kearsley before taking over the North Branch program in 2017. Over his first five seasons, Ferman has taken the Broncos to the playoffs four times, including a run to the Regional Final in 2020. Prior to his arrival, the program had three playoff appearances all-time.
“Every year, I expect him to win – I mean, that’s all he does,” Bryce Ferman said. “That’s all he does.”
The benefit of the two now competing in the same conference is that they get to compare notes on other teams. And having grown up around football, Bryce has become quite a student of the game. The two break down film together regularly, and even when their teams or opponents aren’t involved, their viewing experience involves analyzing the action on the field. Jeremy Ferman remarked that he would welcome Bryce on his coaching staff, whenever he’s done playing.
So while this week there will be no talk of strategy, there is normally plenty of it.
“We both played Imlay City already, I played them the week before he did, and he picked my brain a little bit and we watched film together,” Jeremy Ferman said. “I help him out with personnel, and vice versa. He’s helped me out. We talked about Hamtramck (Almont’s Week 2 opponent, which North Branch plays in Week 5), a little bit. … He wants me to be successful, and I want him to be successful, as well.”
The common opponents also give Jeremy Ferman a chance to see his son on film as he’s breaking down other teams.
“I always have my dad hat on, but my coaching hat kind of gets bigger sometimes,” Jeremy Ferman said. “I have a job to do there. But yeah, you’re watching film and he’s playing against them, and I’m peeking. I’m seeing what he’s doing and then I’ll say, ‘Oh crap, that’s right. I’m Dad, but I’m the head coach right now.’”
Friday night’s game won’t be the first time the two have squared off. A year ago, North Branch defeated Almont 20-14 in a hard-fought game.
That doesn’t make this upcoming matchup any easier, of course, but the Fermans are approaching it in the same way.
“I want him to have the best game of his career Friday night, but I want NB to win the game,” Jeremy Ferman said. “That’s the best of both worlds in this situation. … He’s going to run his (tail) off this Friday night, and he’s going to block, and he’s going to be the leader because that’s what is expected of him.”
Added Bryce: “It doesn’t matter who I’m going up against. When we’re out on the field, between the lines, we’re playing football. But from before and after the game, (this week) is a different story. And that’s with a lot of the kids up there, too. I mean, I know a lot of them. But it doesn’t matter when we’re between the lines and we’re playing.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) North Branch coach Jeremy Ferman and Almont junior Bryce Ferman hug after last year’s matchup between their teams. (Middle) Jeremy Ferman, then the coach at Almont, accompanies Bryce across the field about a decade ago. (Photos courtesy of the Ferman family.)