Head injuries are increasing in high school's across the nation(Photo taken by Glen Photography, Redmond, CA)
Redmond, CA – It was supposed to be like every other game. Sixteen-year-old Pete Stenhoff and his football teammates of Chula Vista High School would play their hearts out. Charging the other team’s ball carrier Stenhoff was aggressive and in control… but then his helmet failed him.
Stenhoff, a 210-pound linebacker, cracked the vertebrae in his spine and is now confined to a wheelchair for life. Many of his hopes and dreams are shattered, but he is not alone. In fact his injury is just one among the 20,000 that are reported in high school football each year.
A recent study has shown that 7,000 players receive injury to their neck or head. Another 2,400 of these players leave the field permanently disabled. And, 13 of these players never leave the field alive. (I would need to include the actual studies name here for attribution)
Shockingly, many critics are blaming the helmet. They argue that the helmet has created a false sense of invulnerability.
“When players think they are invincible it encourages them to collide more often and with more force,” said Dr. Bob wise, head of the Brain Injury Resource Center at the University of Springfield. “In actuality, the helmet can only protect against a minute fraction of injuries” he added.
Stenhoff thought that while wearing his helmet he was invincible. Now that his injuries have left him 38 pounds lighter and unable to graduate with his friends he thinks otherwise. “I knew the risks involved when I decided to play football,” he said, “but I wish I would have known just how bad it could be.”
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