But this is hockey. 

As a club sport in Indiana, hockey doesn't necessarily fall under the state law (Ind. Code 20‐34‐7) which mandates a protocol be observed in the event there is a head injury or concussion sustained by an athlete during an interscholastic event.  Even if it did, the phrase "protocol be observed" has very loose meaning and is open to interpretation.  Most of the time, the best we can hope for is an injury competent coach and maybe a doctor somewhere in the rink watching their kids play.  Unfortunately, the enormous volunteer energy it takes to get a season of hockey off the ground means trying to coordinate consistent sports medicine coverage is usually an after-thought.  So, without legislation specific to non-IHSAA club sports, there's no real motivation or urgency to address it...but shouldn't player safety be enough of a reason?  

In the case of my son, when he came off the ice, we gave him the cursory “let’s check your pupils” test, and subsequently talked ourselves into letting him play in his next game which was on the following evening.  We're usually pretty good about staying on the side of caution... 

But this is hockey.

As a father, there's a certain pride you take when your son wants to "push through the pain" of an injury.  Even when all those whistles and red flags are going off in your head, being hockey-tough is sometimes synonymous with being hockey-stupid.  In this case, I was the latter.  Suffice it to say that after his next game in which he looked clumsy and had a terrible headache afterwards, we took him into Franciscan Sports Medicine.   Not surprisingly, he had a concussion and was out with symptoms for about a month before he finally returned to playing games just after Thanksgiving. 

I've been around youth sports for twenty years either coaching, training, or administrating.  I've been through countless concussion training sessions, webinars, and generally believe myself to be well-read on the subject.  That being the case, I always thought I would be the last one to blow a call with my own son. 

So what happens when other parents who don't have any real knowledge about concussion testing or symptoms are faced with the same decision?  What about you?  Would you have made the same decision in our shoes? 

Now that I've got you thinking about it, how important do you think it is to have qualified sports medicine professionals available during games to help parents and coaches make the right decisions?

Sadly, we’re just now beginning to understand the extent of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by concussions.  Information is being released daily on the subject and while some of it is conflicting, almost all of it is overwhelming.  Over the course of the next few weeks, in our INSider series (published every Wednesday at noon), INHockey.net is going to examine what we know about concussions, CTE, it’s relation to hockey and what we can do to protect our players as a hockey community. 

In our second article of the series, to be published next Wednesday, we'll examine the medical description of concussions, symptoms, causes as related to hockey, treatment, what we know about CTE and the long term effects of head injuries.  Additionally, I will share a story with you about a young hockey player from Winnipeg that was allowed to play after having eight diagnosed concussions.  It's a sad story with a tragic ending but every parent, player, and hockey community leader needs to read it.

Our third article will focus on the Indiana concussion legislation mentioned above,  some of the current litigation in professional sports, what it means to hockey, and how our hockey community compares to other major sports with regards to sports medicine coverage.

The fourth and final article will deal with the next steps for the Hoosier Hockey Community as we strive to better protect our players.  We'll include resources, game plans, and what you as parents should be asking of your local hockey association.

Ultimately, this series is a call to action - a team meeting for the Hoosier Hockey Faithful.  Our players....our kids are depending on us to make sure they have a safe place to play the game we all love.  An open and honest conversation about where we are and where we need to go is the only way to make sure that happens.  We hope you follow the series and begin to ask questions and have conversations that result in the "best yet" version of Indiana hockey.