Clayton High School Student Project Is Making Sports Safer for Student Athletes

A science research project developed by three Clayton High School sophomores led to the school’s implementation of an innovative software program, ImPACT, which establishes a baseline for student-athletes on a variety of cognitive tests. The project gives the athletes greater support from their physicians and athletic trainers in the event of a head injury.

“We really felt we needed to have some basic information to better treat and evaluate our student-athletes in the event of a head injury,” said CHS Athletic Director Bob Bone in a press release. “This program helps us to evaluate a student’s health and determine when is the right time for the student to safely return to play.”

If a head injury occurs during a sports practice or competition, the student will retake the ImPACT cognitive tests, which evaluate memory, reaction time, speed and concentration, to provide post-injury data, according to the release. Health professionals will be able to use the preseason and post-injury test data to evaluate the injury and develop the best plan for the student’s recovery.

When the CHS Athletic Department first was considering the use of a program to assist in diagnosing concussions, sophomores Sarah Casteel, Richard Hollocher and Maxwell Sorensen invited Bone to attend their mock grant proposal presentation discussing the merits of the ImPACT program. The focus of the presentation was to convince their classmates of the value of implementing the program.

Following the presentation, the Athletic Department conducted its own research and decided to move forward with the implementation of the ImPACT program during the 2012-2013 school year. The success of the program led to its continued implementation this school year. 

“It has turned out to be a very helpful program. It’s even quick enough to do on the field,” said Hollocher in the release, who said ne of his soccer teammates was diagnosed with a concussion during a game the night before by using the student’s data from the ImPACT program.

As the 2013-2014 school year and athletic seasons continue to progress, Bone expects the ImPACT program will continue to make a difference in the lives of CHS student-athletes. 

“For the safety of our students, we feel that the program is really important to have in place,” Bone said in the release. “We hope to continue refining its implementation over the years to better serve our students and their families.”