Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24 UCW OCTOBER 30- NOVEMBER 5, 2019 KARISSA NIEHOFF Executive Direc- tor National Federation of State High School Associations., COMMENTS? Ear- lUCWSports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS When it comes to the long-term effects of concussions in sports, there is a wide range of information published — almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately, much of the media coverage as it relates to high school sports — and particularly the sport of football — is misleading. Recently, the Concussion Legacy Foundation introduced its new public-service announcement that compared youth football dangers to smoking. As the pre-teen football players puff on cigarettes, the voiceover says, "Tackle football is like smok- ing, the younger I start, the longer I'm exposed to danger." The "Tackle Can Wait" campaign by the foun- dation is an attempt to steer children under the age of 14 into flag football. Although establishing a finite age may be difficult, reducing contact at youth levels is certainly a positive. USA Football is doing just that nationally through its Football Development Model. Likewise, the 51-member state associations of the National Federation of State High School Associations have enacted limi- tations on contact during preseason and practice sessions. Our concern is the term "exposed to danger." These types of messages continue to spread unwarranted fear to parents of high school stu- dent-athletes. The "danger" refers to reports that players who incur repeated concussions can devel- op chronic traumatic encephalopathy. A 2017 study from the Journal of American Medical Association linked CTE in the brains of deceased National Football League players. Even if this report is accurate, these are individuals who endured repeated blows to the head for 20 to 25 years BEFORE any concussion protocols were in place. Less publicized is a study by Dr. Munro Cullum and his colleagues at the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, which is a part of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Cullum's group studied 35 former NFL players age 50 and older who had sustained multiple concussions throughout their careers. The findings showed no significant association between the length of the individuals' careers, the number of concussions and their cognitive function later in life. Two studies, two different conclusions. Regardless of the outcome, however, they are not applicable to kids playing football before and dur- ing high school. There is absolutely no linkage to CTE at these levels, and the word "danger" should not be a part of the discussion. A more applicable and significant study was also published in JAMA in 2017. In a study of about 4,000 men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957, there was no difference in cogni- tive function or decline between those who played football and those who did not as they reached 65 years of age. We would assume the majority of these individuals discontinued football after high school. With more than one million boys — and girls — playing the contact sport of football each year, severe injuries do occur from time to time, but parents should know that efforts to lessen the risk of a catastrophic injury, including head injuries, have never been stronger than they are today. In fact, new data from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study indi- cates some positive trends in concussion rates. The study, which was released in the American Academy of Pediatrics online issue of Pediatrics this week, indicated that concussion rates during football practices dropped from 5.47 to 4.44 con- cussions per 10,000 athletic exposures between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons. In addition, repeat concussion rates across all sports declined from 0.47 to 0.28 per 10,000 expo- sures during the same time period. Concussion laws are in place in every state. All NFHS sports rules books have concussion man- agement protocols. Helmet-to-helmet hits are not allowed in football. Limits on contact in preseason and practice in football are in place in every state. After considering all the available research, we encourage parents to let their kids play their sport of choice in high school, but we would discourage mov- ing away from football – or any contact sport – solely based on the fear of developing CTE later in life. No clear link between concussions, CTE by DR. KARISSA NIEHOFF Is it fair to compare tackle football to the dangers of smoking? Clark reaches milestone running football for Bulldogs by EARL VAUGHAN JR. There has been no shortage of great running backs at Fayetteville and Terry Sanford High Schools, dating back to the tales of the great Nub Smith during the post-World War II era. In modern times, names like Roger Gann, Booten Jackson, Louis Craft, Dwight Richardson and Jordan McRae were often in headlines. But all of them never achieved the numbers that current standout Dorian Clark has. Clark recently became the all-time rushing leader in the rich history of Fayetteville High and Terry Sanford. Through last week's win over Douglas Byrd, Clark has rushed for 4,724 yards in his career as a Bulldog with 50 touchdowns. This season alone he's amassed 1,125 yards and 15 scores. None of this came as a surprise to head coach Bruce McClelland, who saw Clark's potential as he came up through the middle school ranks. He arrived at Terry Sanford as a freshman eager to learn and get even better. "He's one of those gym rat type of kids that always wanted to know what was going on and when we were working out,'' McClelland said. "Combined with the skill set and wanting to work, you put those two together and you see the promise of him.'' McClelland describes Clark as a downhill runner who can put his shoulder into a defender and carry two or three of them with him. "I would probably say at least half of his yards have come after con- tact,'' McClelland said. While Clark doesn't possess sprinter's speed, McClelland said he's got enough to to make him an effective runner. It's also been enough to attract the attention of colleges like Wake Forest, Wofford and Elon to name a few. If anyone is surprised by Clark's success, it's Clark himself, who just came to Terry Sanford hoping he could live up to the reputation of the running backs that preceded him. As far as his thoughts on his running style, he considers himself a disciple of the Dallas Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott. "I watch him and study how he runs,'' Clark said. "That's my favorite football player. That's who I feel like I run like, with toughness, the physical part of running.'' Clark said he still wants to hit 5,000 yards for his career. With three regular season games and a near certain first-round state playoff game left, he has time to make that happen. But he and the Bulldogs are seeking bigger prizes. "I want us to win our conference,'' he said. "I want us to be conference champions and go undefeated (in conference play). I'm really excited about what's going to be coming up for us and all the things we are about to do.'' Dorian Clark EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? EarlUCWSports@gmail. com. 910-364-6638.