The days of shaking off concussions are over in Florida.
A law that went into effect last year prevents student athletes with concussions from getting back into the game. They can't go back to playing sports at all without a doctor's OK.
And in some counties, including Orange and Seminole, the school district requires memory, concentration and reaction-time testing for athletes at the beginning of the season. If an athlete gets hurt, then he or she must stay out of sports until being able to perform at least at their baseline level on the test.
These types of precautions might put parents such as me at ease when our kids reach high school.
Younger kids are a different story.
Their brains are less developed and more susceptible to the effects of head trauma. That surprised me, considering kids typically bounce back faster than adults from injuries.
"It's the exact opposite of what you would say intuitively," said Dr. Walter Taylor, a primary-care doctor who specializes in sports medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. "Their brains heal slower than adult brains."
Virginia Tech researchers put sensors in the helmets of seven 7- and 8-year-old boys in 2011 and measured the force of 753 hits. Most hits were low-impact, but a handful measured at forces equal to the hard hits we see in college games.
Shortly after those results were released last year, Pop Warner altered its practice rules, saying only a third of practice time could be devoted to full-contact drills. The youth league also teaches kids to lead with their shoulders and not tackle with their heads.
All good safety improvements.
But when it comes to my own son, flag football will have to do until he's older.
I asked Davis point-blank what she would do if she had kids.
"Does an 8-year-old need to play tackle football? In my opinion, no," she said. "I probably would not like my child to play tackle football until eighth or ninth grade."
It makes sense for my son to wait until he's 14 or 15 — and removing a decade of concussion risk before moving into tackle.
Then I'll pray he becomes a kicker.
bkassab@tribune.com or 407-420-5448
