2017-18 Report Shows Fewer Concussions
August 8, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Concussions are down, according to data compiled by the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its third year of collecting head injury reports from member high schools.
The work is not done – but this year’s data reinforces trends that emerged during the first two years of reporting and will assist the MHSAA as it explores solutions to continue reducing the incidence of head injuries in school sports.
The 2017-18 concussion report found a 9.6-percent decrease in the number of confirmed concussions from the previous year. Student-athletes at MHSAA member high schools encountered during 2017-18 a total of 3,580 head injuries – or 4.8 per member school, compared to the 2016-17 average of 5.2. Total participation in MHSAA sports for 2017-18 was 284,920 – with students counted once for each sport he or she played – and only 1.3 percent of participants experienced a head injury, down from 1.4 in 2016-17 and 1.6 percent the first year of the study.
As first mandated in 2015-16, member schools are required to report head injuries to the MHSAA identifying the sport that each student-athlete was participating in and whether the injury was sustained during practice or competition. Schools also are required to designate at which level – varsity, junior varsity or freshman – the injury occurred.
The full report of all head injuries experienced during 2017-18 by student-athletes at MHSAA member high schools – including percentages by sport (per 1,000 participants), gender and team level, as well as data tracking when athletes returned to play – is available by clicking here.
Consistent with the first two years of the study, the MHSAA received data from more than 99 percent of its member high schools after the fall, winter and spring seasons and continued to track each injury report through its conclusion this summer. Member junior high and middle schools also were allowed, although not mandated, to report their potential head injuries; and those findings are not part of the published report.
The decrease in overall head injury reports collected for 2017-18 follows a similar reduction from 2015-16 to 2016-17 – and brings the total decrease to 19.6 percent fewer reports since the first year of the study.
MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts noted that the decreases in reports, both year to year and since the first year of the survey, likely have some relation to year-to-year fluctuation, refinement of the follow-up reporting process and a better understanding by schools of what is not to be included for the survey – including head injuries not diagnosed as concussions and head injuries that did not take place during MHSAA-sponsored activities.
However, the findings of this year’s study – and their similarities to the findings from the first two surveys – has begun to clarify the identification and understanding of trends. Continuing to emerge perhaps most prominently is the higher incidence of concussion reports from girls sports – and pertinent questions about physiological and social causes behind those results.
“With three years of reporting by virtually 100 percent of our high schools, what we’re learning is no longer anecdotal; the results are beginning to identify valid trends and genuine issues that need to be addressed,” Roberts said. “For example, it’s even clearer than before that girls are reporting three times the number of concussions as boys when comparing similar sports – soccer, basketball and baseball versus softball. As a result, we’ve already begun to incorporate these gender differences into our coaches education, and the writers of high school playing rules are obligated to focus on these gender differences as well.”
Although the total number of confirmed concussions was significantly lower again in 2017-18, a number of findings detailing those injuries fell in line with results of the first two surveys.
Boys experienced 2,373– or 66 percent – of those injuries, the same ratio as 2016-17, and not surprisingly as boys have a much higher participation in contact sports. More than half of head injuries – 56 percent – were experienced by varsity athletes, which for the second year also fell within a percent difference of the previous year’s findings.
A total of 2,330 head injuries – or 65 percent – came in competition as opposed to practice. More than half took place during either the middle of practice or middle of competition as opposed to the start or end, and 52 percent of injuries were a result of person-to-person contact. The MHSAA also asked schools to report the number of days between the head injury and the athlete’s return to activity – and the two largest groups, both at 24 percent, returned to activity after either 6 to 10 days of rest or 11 to 15. All of these findings were within 1-3 percent of those discovered from the 2016-17 data.
Contact sports again revealed the most head injuries. Ranking first was football, 11 and 8-player combined, with 41 head injuries per 1,000 participants – a decrease for the second straight year, this time from 44 head injuries per 1,000 participants in 2016-17 and down from 49 head injuries per 1,000 football participants shown by the first study in 2015-16.
Ice hockey repeated with the second-most injuries per 1,000, with 32 (down from 36 injuries per 1,000 from 2016-17 and 38 per 1,000 in 2015-16), and girls soccer and wrestling tied for third with 25 head injuries per 1,000 participants – girls soccer down from 28 head injuries per 1,000 participants and wrestling down from 26 per 1,000 in 2016-17.
Also consistent with 2016-17, the next five sports (after football and hockey) to show the highest incidences of head injuries were girls sports – girls soccer followed by girls basketball (22 per 1,000), girls competitive cheer (20) and girls lacrosse (20). Boys lacrosse (17), girls gymnastics (16) and boys soccer (12) were the only other sports to show double-digit head injuries per 1,000 participants.
Females again reported significantly more concussions than males playing the same or similar sports – soccer, basketball and baseball/softball. Female soccer players reported more than double the concussions per 1,000 participants as male soccer players (25 to 12), while female basketball players also reported more than double the number of concussions per 1,000 participants (22 to 9). Softball players reported seven concussions per 1,000 participants, and baseball players reported three per 1,000. Although the percentage differences vary from year to year, the results of all three comparisons remained consistent with what the survey found in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
The MHSAA in 2018-19 is directing its sport committees to focus on a pair of questions – how to increase participation and how to make their specific sports safer – the latter aiming to put some of what has been learned from concussion reporting into practice. The MHSAA also is continuing to invite Michigan’s universities, health care systems and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to take part in analyzing the data and resulting questions that have arisen during the past three years.
“Regrettably, I do not see a nationwide head injury reporting effort likely,” Roberts said. “First, it’s hard to coordinate 50 states’ efforts. And second, if left to medical professionals, the survey tool might become so cumbersome that schools would be reluctant to participate – and certainly, it would not get the 99.9 percent cooperation that we’ve enjoyed from schools over these three years.”
Schools report possible concussions online via the MHSAA Website. Reports are then examined by members of the MHSAA staff, who follow up with school administrators as those student-athletes continue to receive care and eventually return to play. Student privacy is protected.
The reporting of possible concussions is part of a three-pronged advance by the MHSAA in concussion care begun during the 2015-16 school year. The MHSAA completed in spring 2017 the largest-ever state high school association sideline concussion testing pilot program, with a sample of schools from across the state over two years using one of two screening tests designed to detect concussions. The MHSAA also was the first state association to provide all participants at every 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 head injuries sustained during school practices or competitions and at no cost to either schools or families.
Previously, the MHSAA also was among the first state associations to adopt a return-to-play protocol that keeps an athlete out of activity until at least the next day after a suspected concussion, and allows that athlete to return to play only after he or she has been cleared unconditionally for activity by a doctor (M.D. or D.O.), physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner.
In addition, the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program – which includes courses that must be completed by all varsity head coaches hired for the first time at a member school – provides substantial instruction on concussion care. Separately, rules meetings that are required viewing for high school varsity and subvarsity head and assistant coaches at the start of each season include detailed training on caring for athletes with possible head injuries.
2023 Scholar-Athlete Award Recipients Announced in Class C & D
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 7, 2023
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected 10 student-athletes from Class C and D member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 34th year of sponsoring the award, will give $2,000 college scholarships to 32 individuals who represent their member schools in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. The first 30 scholarships are awarded proportionately by school classification and the number of student-athletes involved in those classes; also, there are two at-large honorees who can come from any classification.
Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
The 32 scholarship recipients will be recognized March 25 during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are Saylar Cuthrell, Cass City; Laina Harger, St. Charles; Quinn Watts, Fowler; Brennan Cannaday, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic; Noah Etnyre, Plymouth Christian Academy; and Ethan Green, Kingston.
The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award recipients are Megan Roberts, Hillsdale Academy; Makennah Uotila, Ontonagon; Ryan McDonell, Bay City All Saints; and Amos Norland, Dollar Bay.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class C Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
(NOTE: If an athlete intended to play and was part of a spring sports team in 2020, that sport is counted among the athlete’s total although the season was canceled due to COVID-19.)
Saylar Cuthrell, Cass City
Played three seasons of varsity volleyball, is playing her fourth of varsity basketball and will play her fourth of softball and compete in her third of track & field this spring. Led volleyball team to Division 3 Semifinals this past fall and helped basketball team to District title in 2021. Named all-state first team in softball, all-area in basketball and all-region in volleyball, and won Regional title in track to make MHSAA Finals in that sport. Earned academic all-state in volleyball and will graduate a three or four-year captain in three sports. Participating in second year as dual enrollment student. Served in various leadership positions including as student body president and president of Tuscola County Future Youth Involvement advisory council, and also participated in National Honor Society. Will attend Northwood University and study supply chain management.
Essay Quote: “Our (Semifinal) battle against Pewamo-Westphalia was soon to begin, and when the first whistle blew our student section cheered. What was so chilling about the student section was that it not only had Cass City kids but also the North Branch volleyball team as well. It wasn’t that we knew each other personally but simply because we both live in the thumb of Michigan and share that thumb pride. It was a feel-good statement and was heartfelt. What an amazing teaching moment for all in attendance.”
Laina Harger, St. Charles
Played two seasons of varsity volleyball, is playing her third of varsity basketball and will play her third of varsity softball this spring. Led basketball teams to league and District championships, earning all-area honors in that sport and all-league recognition in volleyball. Served as team captain for both volleyball and basketball. Helped all three varsities to academic all-state honors. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and fourth years of class council, student council and as part of Saginaw County Youth Ambassador program. Serving as NHS chapter and class council vice president. Earned National Merit Rural/Small Town Recognition. Also participating in second year of school Link Crew and third as part of Read Across America program. Is undecided where she will attend college but intends to study physical therapy.
Essay Quote: “As my future plans became clear, I realized that playing in college wasn't the best fit for me. Understanding this, I struggled to figure out what I would get from playing sports if my intentions weren't to play college anymore. … It took me four years to finally see that there is so much more to high school sports than getting to the next level. Sports enhance how you treat others, your resilience in tough situations, your leadership skills, and so much more.”
Quinn Watts, Fowler
Played two seasons of varsity volleyball, is playing her second of varsity basketball and will play her fourth of varsity softball this spring; also played junior varsity golf this fall. Helped basketball team to back-to-back Division 4 Finals championships and volleyball team to back-to-back District titles and a Regional championship. Served as captain of both of those teams. Serving fourth year as student council president and also has served as president during four years on school’s Student Athletic Advisory Council. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and second of National Technical Honor Society. Served as 4-H club leader and earned multiple grand champion awards for showing cattle. Participated in two years of Business Professionals of America and made regional finals. Is undecided where she will attend college but intends to study biology on a pre-medical track.
Essay Quote: “A state championship trophy was what my team and I had to show for this season; however, no trophy could exceed the richness of the lessons I learned. … We chose to act with respect, kindness, and generosity towards our opponents and allowed our performance on the court, rather than the voice of our words, prove our worth.”
Brennan Cannaday, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Played four seasons of varsity soccer, will play his third of varsity lacrosse this spring and also played junior varsity basketball as a sophomore. Earned multiple all-state honorable mentions for soccer in helping that team to league and District titles, and earned all-league in helping lacrosse team to multiple league titles and Regional Finals appearance. Served as soccer captain and will serve as lacrosse captain in the spring. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and previously served two years in student government including as class president. Participated in DECA throughout high school, earning multiple state championships, and posted top scores across all district and state competitions multiple times. Served as DECA vice president of membership and vice president of career development. Will attend Michigan State University and study psychology.
Essay Quote: “There is no truer form of sportsmanship than to be praised by your opponent. … I have made an active effort to acknowledge the successes of not only my teammates but also the other teams as well because of the effect that one comment had on me. My favorite thing to do after games is to walk over to the other team’s bench and meet the coach and players.”
Noah Etnyre, Plymouth Christian Academy
Played four seasons of varsity football and is wrestling fourth varsity season, both as part of cooperatives with Lutheran Westland, and will play fourth varsity season of baseball this spring. Qualified for MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals first three seasons and finished runner-up as junior. Earned all-state in football and helped that team to league title, and earned multiple all-state honors in baseball helping that team to multiple District championships. Set program records in football and wrestling and served as captain of all three teams; also earned academic all-state honors in all three. Named National Wrestling Coaches Association/U.S. Marine Corps Character and Leadership All-American. Took classes from Schoolcraft College as dual-enrolled student for two years. Participating in third years of National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society. Represented school on league leadership council. Will attend Calvin University and study biology.
Essay Quote: “(My Westland teammate) Jack and I share an intense affinity for competition and success, and this common desire presented itself in a garage gym, a local football field, and the 2021-22 athletic season. However, unlike most high school teammates, we never attended class in the same school building. … The importance of sportsmanship is understanding that a sport is so much more than a game. The game is simply there to bring people who need to be together, together.”
Ethan Green, Kingston
Ran four seasons of varsity cross country, playing second season of varsity basketball and will play second season of varsity baseball and compete in fourth of track & field this spring. Earned all-state and academic all-state in cross country, and all-league in track. Ran in three MHSAA Cross Country Finals and won two Regional titles in that sport, and won Regional title as part of track relay to make those Finals as well. Also helped baseball team to District title. Served or will serve as captain of all four teams. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and fourth of student council and school leadership committee. Serving as class and NHS chapter president and will graduate as class valedictorian. Played four years in marching band and orchestra. Will attend Ferris State University and study optometry.
Essay Quote: “As good as it is to be competitive, character and respect towards others is so much more vital in life than having too big of an ego to show an act of sportsmanship. … Now when it's my turn on the court, I always thank our officials that are taking time away from their home and families, tell opposing coaches and players "good game," even after a loss. Another important thing I took away from this experience is that people are always watching, especially the youth.”
Other Class C girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were Alaina Andrews, Ottawa Lake Whiteford; Aziza Burgoon, Iron Mountain; Samantha Dietz, Watervliet; Kylie McGrath, Cass City; Abigail Meyer, Marlette; Tailor Onstott, Beal City; Claire Scholten, Charlevoix; Ruby Sierer, Clinton; and Danni Swihart, Hanover-Horton.
Other Class C boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were Riley DeSarbo, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central; Ty Kohlmann, New Lothrop; Grant Mason, Manistique; Andrew Mleczko, Madison Heights Bishop Foley; Brock Murphy, Menominee; Blake O'Connor, Maple City Glen Lake; Logan Pflug, Cassopolis; Dirk Rierson, Unionville-Sebewaing; and Seth Vanderwest, Kent City.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class D Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
(NOTE: If an athlete intended to play and was part of a spring sports team in 2020, that sport is counted among the athlete’s total although the season was canceled due to COVID-19.)
Megan Roberts, Hillsdale Academy
Ran four seasons of varsity cross country and played four seasons of varsity volleyball, playing fourth season of varsity basketball and will compete in fourth of track & field this spring. Earned multiple all-state honors in track & field and cross country and all-state honorable mention in basketball, and academic all-state in cross country, volleyball and track. Helped 3,200 relay to Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals championship and owns school records in two events. Served as team captain of all four teams and twice represented school at league leadership conference. Earned National Merit Rural/Small Town Recognition. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and fourth of student council, serving as vice president of the latter as a senior. Participating in service club for fourth year, and second as president. Will attend Hillsdale College and study biology.
Essay Quote: “I have found that one of the greatest parts of sports in educational athletics is the friendships made both inside and outside of my team. Although you could become friends with an opponent off the court, most of my friendships were formed on the playing field, often after a time that good sportsmanship was displayed. … I come from a very competitive family and being able to compete in sports with other players who I both respect and respect me makes the sports I play a lot more enjoyable. Healthy competition with good sportsmanship makes sports fun for everyone.”
Makennah Uotila, Ontonagon
Ran three years of varsity cross country and played four of varsity volleyball, playing fourth season of varsity basketball and will compete in fourth of track & field this spring. Helped track & field team to last two Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals championships and basketball team to District title as junior. Earned all-state honorable mention in basketball and all-Upper Peninsula in cross country; also earned all-league in volleyball and won individual Finals title in long jump multiple seasons. Served as volleyball and basketball team captain. Participating in fourth year in student government and third as National Honor Society officer, serving as president of both, and also has served as secretary of Future Farmers of America chapter. Earned FFA District award for public speaking and attended American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program. Participating in fourth year of TANGO service group. Is undecided where she will attend college but intends to study biology with a concentration in natural resources.
Essay Quote: “I always felt as if I was kind to those on and off the court, but I have limited time left to consciously exercise this abundance of empathy as a senior athlete. Learning from the experience firsthand, kindness can change a mindset. In a setting that teaches so many lessons, kindness is a lesson that can be learned and taken with an athlete everywhere life takes them; I'll be taking sportsmanship with me.”
Ryan McDonell, Bay City All Saints
Played four seasons of varsity football, is playing his third of varsity basketball and competing in fourth of varsity bowling. Earned all-league and all-area honors in football and served as captain of football and basketball teams. Will graduate as class valedictorian. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and fourth on student council, serving as NHS president and student council vice president. Participated in Youth Leadership Bay County and the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw’s Youth Encounter Service, both as a junior. Participating in fourth year of Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Club, serving as president. Coached at youth football and basketball camps. Will attend Michigan State University and study biology.
Essay Quote: I tore my ACL, needed surgery, and no sports for nine months. My senior year was finished, and it barely got started. … I was a captain but couldn’t play, how could I lead? But then I thought about my football family. The parents that thanked me for teaching their sons, and my teammates: the offense, the defense, the entire team had to reconfigure their positions to adapt in my absence. … My team was willing to do whatever they needed to do to be successful, not only for the team, but for me. The empathy from my teammates, the unselfishness, and their concern for me to prevail (off the field) was the truest example of sportsmanship I’ve ever experienced.”
Amos Norland, Dollar Bay
Ran four seasons of varsity cross country, is playing third season of varsity basketball and will compete in fourth of track & field this spring. Earned all-state cross country honors all four years, helping his team to two Finals titles and a runner-up finish and winning the Upper Peninsula Division 3 individual championship as a senior. Earned all-state in multiple track events and helped that team win a Finals title as well. Earned all-league in basketball. Served as cross country team leader and basketball captain. Serving fourth year on student council and as president, and also serving as class president for fourth year. Participating in third year of National Honor Society, serving as chapter president, and serving third year on Student Leadership Advisory Council of the Keweenaw, as director of resources. Playing fourth year in band and as saxophone section leader. Will attend Michigan Technological University and study kinesiology.
Essay Quote: “As good as it feels to beat a rival basketball team or win a race, demonstrating good sportsmanship is valuable in a deeper way. Winning gives you a victory. Sportsmanship builds character, forms relationships, and provides you with important lifelong lessons. My cross country coach teaches us how to be respectful almost as much as he teaches us how to run. As a result, we have grown as runners, but more so, we have grown to show the values of being a good sport.”
Other Class D girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were Monique Brisson, Munising; Emma Case, Kinde North Huron; Kylie Quist, Athens; Macey Springer, Three Oaks River Valley; Kasandra Lynn Waldi, Chesterfield Austin Catholic; and Gabriella Wenzel, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.
Other Class D boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were Brody Appelgren, Hillman; James Blackburn, Martin; Caleb Diener, Hillsdale Academy; Caleb Munson, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary; Luke Walker, Clarkston Everest Collegiate; and Matthew Zammit, Marine City Cardinal Mooney.
The Class B scholarship award recipients will be announced Feb. 14, and the Class A honorees will be announced Feb. 21.
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The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.