Heads Up

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  Wai'anae, Hawai'i
  October 25th, 2013 - Wai'anae, Hawaii
  
  It started with a jump. The stadium lights blinding, the cheers deafening and the coaches on the edge of sanity. Chaz Bollig goes for the ball, which is a little too far- so he springs into the air. Catch! Then suddenly...nothing. In the game of football, the chances of sustaining an injury are fairly high.
  
  Take Varsity football player Chaz Bollig, for example. In the past few years, he’s broken his collarbone, knee, seven fingers and in pop warner season had an intense concussion. Injuries like these are all too common among student athletes now, with over 2 million occuring each year, according to U.S. Center for Disease Control. For Bolig. one affliction in particular stood out. “I lost memory for a long time after my concussion. I think it was for about a whole week, maybe even longer. It was scary, I had no clue what happened or anything,” Chaz said.
  
  A concussion is a brain injury that occurs from a serious hit to the head or body. Of the 2 million student athlete injuries that do occur, 300,000 of them are traumatic brain-related. Chaz recovered from his injury slowly, eventually returning to the field to play once again.
  
  In Hawaii it takes a student athlete 23 days on average to be cleared to play a sport again. Even with recovery time and new studies being done regarding the effects of concussions, The Department of Education has had an increase of 600 reported injuries from the 2007 to the 2012 school year. This jump in accidents has caused concern among sports officials and athlete's parents. "You don't want to think of the death part, it's just more of how is going to be after he recovers or even if he recovers," said Randell Bollig.
  
  On a global scale, the recognition of concussions and its harmful effects on athletes during sports season has arisen. For instance, the NFL has been sued by more than hundreds of their players or the player’s families because of wounds that cut too deep to mend. "Trainers always try to take it pretty serious and try to make sure you don't have a concussion," said Chaz Bollig.
  
  Overall, many adolescent sportsmen and sportswomen from across the nation are encountering numerous injuries difficult to bounce back from. Whether the blame can be pushed on the athlete or the sport, cannot be determined.

“I lost memory for a very long time. I think it was a week,"

Chaz Bollig said.

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Looking Back

Pre-pro (Write Tools)

I didn't know how bad concussion can affect an athlete and how serious this issue has been getting these days.

Gary Domingo-Oka, Photographer

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I found that concussions is a really big game changer especially since it can cause death.

Diamond Tuisano, Reporter

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I learned what it's like to actually experience a concussion through someone else's experience.

Raeanna Labrador, Editor

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People now are realizing how important concussions are amongst younger players because many are getting serious injured.
Courtney Anne Aboy, Writer

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Awards/Honors

2013 STN Challenge Sports Feature Challenge Winner

2014 Hiki No Awards Best Writing

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Award of Merit - Sports