Livingston High School Football
ATTN: ALL PARENTS AND LHS ATHLETES:
Concussion screening will soon be available at LHS. Please see attached forms.
These forms will also be available at Mr Genova's office as well as via email on lancer flash news and via the LHS Football Parents Association.
Just this past April, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is the governing body of high school athletics in New Jersey, has developed a policy in which they are asking each member school to develop a concussion identification, management, and return to play policy to be implemented in their district. This informative document must be shared with those students and their parents who are participating in athletics with signatures required of the student athlete and their families.
Attached is this new document, which will be required of all students wishing to tryout and participate in high school athletics at LHS, is now attached to this email for your review.
If you have a child who is currently involved in our FALL athletic program, please download and print out this two page document. Once you have reviewed it, the student and parent must sign the form, which simply indicates that you have read it, and return it to the fall coach by this Friday, August 27th. We need 100% compliance with each student who is participating in fall athletics.
For future athletic seasons, the form will be attached and be part of the district athletic packet that is currently posted on our website. We know that there are a lot of forms now in this packet however they are all needed and we appreciate your understanding and patience.
The second item of importance also deals with concussions in athletics and more specifically, the ImPACT Concussion Management Program. This Internet computer based program is widely used by high schools and other groups to develop a baseline testing score for each participating athlete. Each student will be asked to take this 30 minute computer test here at the high school in our computer labs, which will measure certain items as attention span, memory, response, and problem solving. Once this baseline score is in place for each child, we will be able to use this data to retest the student 24-48 hours post injury in the event there is suspicion of a concussion. That data can be used to evaluate the student’s condition with results forwarded to personal physicians, if requested. In order for your child to be part of this program, parental permission will be necessary and a sign off form will follow however at this point we just wanted to inform everyone that this program is about to be put into place. More details will follow in the immediate future. If you would like to know more about ImPACT, please go to their website at www.impacttest.com. Again….fall students and their families, please fill out the attached form and return immediately to your coach.
More information: ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is the first; most-widely used, and most scientifically validated computerized concussion evaluation system. Developed in the early 1990's by Drs. Mark Lovell and Joseph Maroon, ImPACT is a 20-minute test that has become a standard tool used in comprehensive clinical management of concussions for athletes of all ages. Given the inherent difficulties in concussion management, it is important to manage concussions on an individualized basis and to implement baseline testing and/or post-injury neurocognitive testing. This type of concussion assessment can help to objectively evaluate the concussed athlete's post-injury condition and track recovery for safe return to play, thus preventing the cumulative effects of concussion. In fact, neurocognitive testing has recently been called the "cornerstone" of proper concussion management by an international panel of sports medicine experts.
Get tested! It's a FREE test that is invaluable in detecting and managing concussions. What is more important than the safety of our children!