San Rafael High School Applauded for Proactive Approach to Concussions

Last May, San Rafael High School announced it’s athletes would begin using head impact sensors to track the force and frequency of hits to the head that occur during practices or games. Throughout the spring sports season, the Bulldogs’ Girl’s Varsity and JV soccer teams and Boys’ Varsity and JV lacrosse teams became the first teams in the Bay Area to use Triax Smart Impact Monitors for enhanced player safety. The devices help athletic trainers and coaches identify significant impacts that may need immediate attention and/or further clinical evaluation.

This fall, the school’s football team will be wearing the devices. Concussions in football are a hot topic, and in addition to monitoring for potentially concussive impacts, the coach will be using the technology as a tool to teach and reinforce proper tackling technique.

Monday marked the first official day of practice for the Bulldogs, and Danny Schmidt of the Marin Independent Journal spoke with the football team’s head coach, athletic trainer and several players for their thoughts on the innovative monitoring technology. Read the article in full here.

“Anything we can do to increase safety, I’m all for it,” said Ted Cosgriff, San Rafael’s first-year football coach. “The two guys on my team who wore it said they never noticed it once the game started.”

When any significant force is applied to a player’s head, Shana McKeever, San Rafael’s head athletic trainer, instantly receives a text message saying which player it was and the linear and rotational forces of the blow. The devices don’t prevent injuries, they provide information.

“It tells us the level of contact an athlete is sustaining and whether we have to make adjustments at practice,” said Tim Galli, San Rafael’s athletic director.

This allows McKeever to pull a player who was struck aside and ask if they’re dizzy, have a headache, remember the hit, etc. Immediately treating the blow can lower the potential health risk.

“We want to make sure it’s safe for the athlete to return,” McKeever said.

KTVU Channel 2 also stopped by Monday’s practice to see the head impact sensors in action on the football team. Check out the interview here.

San Rafael’s Athletic Director has started a fundraiser to bring the head impact monitoring technology to 100% of “at-risk” athletes, or athletes competing in contact, high-risk sports. Click here to learn more about their fundraising efforts and to support the campaign.

Photo Credit: Alan Dep, Marin Independent Journal