There were only 10 minutes remaining in the

game when senior defender Caitlin Acevedo went

up for a header against a Downers Grove South

soccer player.

The contact did not immediately draw the attention of players or coaching staff, whose focus

shifted to another part of the field to follow the

action of play, according to Varsity Head Coach

Michelle Vale-Suarez.

Though Acevedo stayed on her feet after the hit,

she had suffered a head injury.

“I stumbled to the sidelines, over to my team

and coach,” Acevedo, Div. 569, said.

After her injury, Acevedo felt disoriented and

dizzy. Although Acevedo is a veteran player – having been on the Varsity Girls Soccer Team for

three years – she said she was terrified.

“It was my second concussion, but this one was

worse. I was so scared.”

The fear stems from the most dangerous possible

result of a concussion – brain injury, which can

be either immediate or gradual and can range in

severity. Because of this, any visible symptoms are

approached with extreme caution.

Lane’s athletic trainer, Albert Buzun, said that

any athlete who experiences a head injury and

shows any signs or symptoms of a concussion

must be removed from play, and cannot return

the same day.

“They must be evaluated by a trained medical staff member before returning to play,” Buzun

said.

Some symptoms can develop or worsen in the

aftermath of a head injury.

“The trainer told my mom that if my eyes ever

dilated, or I started to vomit and I started to lose

consciousness again, I needed to go to the hospital,” Acevedo said.

During their child’s concussion, the Acevedos

were brutally aware of any changes in physical

behavior, and Caitlin’s own life was under close

scrutiny in the weeks following her injury. She

was prohibited from driving, texting, watching

TV, and being exposed to sunlight for long periods of time.

Promising to attend intensive physical therapy

for six weeks and stay away from headers, Acevedo

rejoined her team on April 18, playing against Oswego East, and just missing the cut to play in the

game against long-time rival Whitney Young.

Acevedo is not the only player on the team with

a prior concussion who suffered a second one this

season. Senior forward Natalie Wade, Div. 565,

received her first concussion when she was hit in

the head with a softball her freshman year.

Wade’s concussion this year resulted from a collision with an opposing goalkeeper.

“I was out for about 3-4 weeks [this season], but

my recovery was much faster than my first concussion. I was scared because I wanted to be able

to play, and also because of the lasting effects. I

was even considering getting an MRI just because

of how bad my first concussion was,” Wade said.

After the collision with the goalie, the referee

stopped the game, and Buzun examined her. Later, she felt an intense, pounding headache. After

going through memory and balance tests, Wade

said, her injury was obvious.

“Athletes have to realize that every concussion

is different. Their symptoms and recovery may

be different from their teammates who sustained

either a more severe or milder concussion than

them. The key to concussion recovery is plenty

of rest – that is, physical and mental rest,” Buzun

said.

In the past few years, concussions have become

more commonly detected and properly treated.

“There’s definitely more of a cautious feel. Every-
one immediately starts thinking about the player’s

well-being when they go up for a header or their

head hits the ground,” Vale-Suarez said.

This past November, a class-action concussion

lawsuit was filed by a former high school foot-
ball player against the IHSA, claiming that more

precautions need to be taken against preventing

concussions. The lawsuit’s intent is to grant court

supervision over the management of head injuries

in high school sports.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the IHSA

said in a statement that “coaches and doctors – not

lawyers- should manage high school sports.” They

believe that the lawsuit could add additional, un-
necessary expenses to playing high-contact sports, like soccer and football, that some students may not be able to afford.

All other high schools aside, Margarita Mercardo, Div. 581, feels comfortable with the way

concussions are handled here. They are not an in-
jury taken lightly.

“I do feel that proper measures are taken, and

especially with our trainer Albert. He is really

cautious when it comes to concussions,” Mercado

said.

Mercado is the third senior on the team who

suffered a concussion this season. Early in the first

half of a game during the annual Pepsi Showdown

tournament, Mercado was struck with two blows

to the head; first the ball, second, her competitor’s head.

“The first thing I felt was a headache that didn’t

go away for days. I did not know it was a concussion until three days later. I had the urge to cry

for no reason and I felt really depressed. I couldn’t

focus or sleep,” Mercado said.

Only halfway through the season, three senior

girls on the varsity squad had been sidelined with

symptoms of concussions. “It follows the same trend as last year.

Girls soccer has the second-highest incident rate for con-
cussions right behind boys football. This year we

were very lucky that all athletes who did sustain

a concussion recovered quite quickly with no set-
backs,” Buzun said.

In the past few years, concussions have been

monitored much more closely and recognized

more often, Buzun said. Buzun recalls how he

has seen more protective measures being taken in

his years as a trainer. Among these is the “RTP,”

which is a 7-day program that eases an athlete

into both full play and full contact.

“Each day of the protocol the athlete is perform-
ing tasks that involve cardio, balance, memory,

cognitive thinking, and eye (ocular) exercises,”

Buzun said.

In addition, coaches and officials receive mandatory concussion training prior to each season,

and student-athletes and their families also receive

information about recognizing symptoms.

“I think that we are much more aware of the

issues concussions can lead to in the future, and

worried about the negative impacts they can have

on us – not only as a student, but as a person,”

Wade said.