Football trainers continue working hard to limit injury risks
Five injured football players from Western Pennsylvania high schools left games by helicopter in a two-week span earlier this season.
Karns City senior Mason Martin continues his fight to recover from a brain bleed that happened during a game weeks ago. Max Engel, 17, of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, recently died from an intracranial hemorrhage caused by blunt force head trauma on the field.
Football and injuries seemingly go together — but not as much as people may think.
“We can treat injury situations on the field better than ever,” said Slippery Rock University athletic trainer Jackie Crytzer, who is in her seventh year with the team. “Lives have been saved due to the immediate work of trainers and increased knowledge of medical personnel on-site. That’s been well-publicized.
“We’re all about prevention, too. Players spend time with our trainers every day. It’s not just taping them up, it’s about working on range of movement every day, proper nutrition, all of that.”
Research studies have shown that well over half of football injuries happen during the second half of football practices and games. A National Center of Catastrophic Sports Injury report indicated there are 34 concussions per every 100,000 football plays.
John Geist has been athletic trainer at Knoch High School for 34 years. He said treatment and prevention of football injuries “has progressed tremendously” over the years.
“Most players didn’t even report injuries back in the 1970s and ’80s,” Geist said. “They were afraid to tell the coaches. That’s just how it was. You shook it off and if you could, you kept on playing.
“Now everybody’s educated about concussions and the symptoms. Safety comes first. The most common injuries we see now are hamstring and ankle things, a lot of soft tissue stuff.”
Butler coach Eric Christy recalled taking a blow to the head while playing for the Golden Tornado in the late 1990s.
“I got up, felt woozy, started walking sideways on the field,” Christy said. “I left the game briefly. When I felt OK, I went right back in. That would never happen today.”
Dehydration is rarely the reason for players cramping up late in football games, Geist said. It’s tiring muscles that can’t keep up with the body.
“When you see players cramp up, they are generally two-way players, or three-way players (offense, defense, special teams) who never come off the field,” he said. “When you’re physically tired, your muscles don’t react the same way.”
Geist estimates he spends 30 to 40 hours per week working with athletes during football season in efforts to avoid injuries.
“Injuries are going to happen, but we’re preventing a lot more,” he said.
An ambulance is on site at every high school football game. Christy said Butler has its team doctor, trainer, assistant trainers and/or athletic training students on hand at every game as well.
Many high school teams, including Butler, wear Guardian caps — a soft-shell cap that fits over football helmets — to further limit impact during practice.
“I’ve seen that headgear worn during 7-on-7 drills,” Christy said. “I don’t see why they’re not worn during games, to be honest, It’s effective protection to the head.”
Slippery Rock University head football coach Shawn Lutz described today’s football helmets as “safer than ever,” but acknowledged the risk of injury is always there.
“This is a barbaric game,” Lutz said. “When you look at it … It’s guys going at high speed, running into people. But the chances of a truly serious injury on a football field is similar to the chances of getting hit by lightning.
“The rewards of playing football are great. I’ve never heard of anyone — injured or otherwise — saying he ever regretted playing football. What you learn from this game is priceless. You could be in a car accident, get hurt some other way … You have to live life.
“Of course it’s not perfect, but football is safer than it’s ever been,” Lutz added.
National studies indicate there are approximately 500,000 high school football injuries a year nationwide, with fewer than 10% requiring surgery. Ankle sprains, knee injuries, hamstring strains, hip pointers and shoulder dislocations are the most common.
“The time an athlete dedicates to working on prevention with the training staff goes a long way in limiting those injuries,” Crytzer said.
Pennsylvania remains one of the most popular states in the country in terms of high school football participation. As recently as 2019, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Alabama were the only three states to show an increase in high school gridders from the previous year.
“Times have changed recently,” Geist said. “COVID changed people’s attitudes toward a lot of things. People were forced to sit around and do nothing and many found they liked that better than playing sports or working. That’s affected roster sizes somewhat.
“School enrollments have gone down, so football numbers have gone down accordingly. Proportionately, kids are still playing football. Our job is to keep making it safer for them to do it.”
