During an afternoon soccer practice on Monday, Oct. 3, both senior midfielder Keagan Angevin and junior goalie Natalie Sheeks found themselves plagued by the same headache and dizziness. The two went through the same sideline assessments by an athletic trainer; pupil examinations, balance exercises, and the typical Maddock memory questions. What field are we on? How many fingers am I holding? Try to follow my finger back and forth? Which team did we play last week? Did we win?
In just one year, the Center for Disease Control reported nearly 1.6 million concussions and The Journal of Athletic Trainers has said 62.7% of all soccer players will eventually experience some sort of concussion-like symptoms. It was not a coincidence that the two DePauw students found themselves sharing the sideline. It was almost mathematical certainty.
“There’s the headache, obviously, but you just don’t really feel like yourself. You just feel like a suppressed version of yourself,” said Sheeks, who has had four concussions.
Angevin also felt the dull difference the days following his first concussion. “The first couple days after, it took forever to process things and you are very sensitive to sound and light. Which is the weirdest sensation I’ve ever had,” he said.
Not only did the two share the same injury, but they also occurred under similar circumstances. Angevin, a midfielder for the DePauw men’s soccer team, received the injury in a drill when he was elbowed across the forehead while attempting to head the ball.
Sheeks, a goalkeeper for the DePauw women’s soccer team, dove in front of a teammate’s shot and took a knee to the same section of her head as Angevin. “I was laying there. It hurt really bad and I remember I was just saying ‘get up. Come on just get up.’ And I couldn’t get up,” she said.
Soccer is not traditionally identified with a high risk for concussions, yet soccer players are often put into positions that put their heads at risk.
“Close confines, more bodies and more appendages. So you throw your head in there, dangerous things can happen,” said athletic trainer Roger Dorch.
According to The Journal of Athletic Trainers, the incident of concussions in soccer may be as high as 18.9 per 1,000 athlete exposure, counting each game or practice session as being equivalent to one exposure.
In addition, the repeated head trauma of headers, passing the ball with your head, can add up. Although an integral part of the game, headers peak acceleration impact can be 160%-180% greater than collisions that occur on every down of a football game.
Dr. David Harsha, is a crucial member of the DePauw Athletics staff in terms of concussion protocol. As the team physician, he ultimately diagnoses concussions and determines when players are ready to return to play and return to class.
Concussion protocol has drastically changed since Harsha began his career. “20 years ago, because you can’t see a concussion, if I felt someone was concussed and I pulled them. I’d have coaches in my face,” Harsha said. “The problem was people used to think getting your bell rung as a non-consequential injury.”
This greatly differs from the philosophy of current coaches, parents, and players. In recent years, player safety has become an emphasis amidst early retirement decisions from professional football players like Calvin Johnson and Marshawn Lynch.
Recent studies done by the National Football League (NFL) show that the average lifespan of players ranges from 53 to 59 years of age, depending on position. In addition, the cumulative effects of three or more concussions is associated with a fivefold greater chance of developing Alzheimer's disease earlier and a threefold greater chance of developing memory deficits, according to The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
Newly developed information about concussions has players reevaluating their love for the game and parents are growing wary. “It’s something everyone else has given thought to. The amount of times my dad has said, ‘I’m not going to let you become a vegetable’,” said Sheeks.
Both students emphasized that the DePauw athletic department was meticulous and attentive in its treatment. Dr. Harsha stresses that although concussions are complex and unlike normal injuries where the trauma is physically apparent, DePauw’s multifaceted diagnosis and treatment is up-to-date with latest guidelines.
While DePauw athletics is well-equipped to keep student athletes safe, concussion protocol relies heavily on the cooperation of students. “For me, it’s making sure athletes are telling the truth. I have to trust that these persons’ scores are what they are,” Dorch said.
Trust is most important for the SCAT2 test, where concussed players are asked to rate their symptoms on a scale from 0-6. Symptoms such as headache, blurred vision, and neck pain are rated by severity, forcing trainer or physician to rely on an athlete’s responses.
While some believe an athlete’s competitive nature may pressure them into a dishonest situation Angevin emphasized the importance of his health. “Obviously I want to get out there but it never crossed my mind to fake it because it’s my last year. I understood how serious this was for my long term health.”
There are objective tests that can make accurate deductions about an athlete’s cognitive function. The Impact test, which players take at the beginning of the season, includes memorization, speed of processing tests, and visual exercises that are used as a baseline for their cognitive function. These results can be compared after an athlete experiences head trauma to accurately see if their brain function is back to baseline levels.
“If a parent or coach told me an athlete was fine and they weren’t, I could point right to the baseline and say ‘no look. Here’s evidence there not fine,” Harsha said.
Despite his injury, Angevin hopes to finish his senior season while Sheeks hopes to return to goalkeeping to help her fellow goalkeepers train for their competitive season.
Both Angevin and Sheeks plan on returning to the field this week but have both put their health before competition. “It’s a highly subjective thing and a day by day recovery,” Sheeks said. “You can’t get back into it until your 100% good.”