Personal Experience: The Importance of Proper Care and Diagnosis

As a collegiate soccer player with over 7 years of experience at the elite youth level and now 2 years of college athletics, my journey has been shaped by successes and setbacks, including enduring concussions. Although frequent in contact sports, these injuries have marked pivotal moments in my and teammates athletic journey.

One of the most unforgettable concussions took place during an elite youth soccer game when I was in middle school. At the time of the collision, I was struck by a ball in the temporal and then moments later, an opponent collided with me as well. I immediately fell to the ground and it took me a few moments to recover. When I stood up, the field was blurry, and I had an immediate headache. Whilst finishing the game, I was noticeably slower to make decisions and seemed confused at times per my parents. The following week was alarmingly difficult for me academically in school and athletically at practices and such.

Years later in my first year of college athletics at 18, I was struck by a ball awkwardly on the top of my head and it took a second to regain balance. I noticeably needed a second to figure out where the ball was and myself in space. Immediately, when my coaches had noticed, they had a teammate lead me to the training room where I was evaluated and concluded to have a minor concession. Thankfully, this was at a time when classes had not started and I was extremely fortunate enough to not have to go through the process of halting my learning though, soccer was halted.

Learning from my past experience and witnessing the detrimental effects of concussions on several teammates, I am a well-educated advocate for athletic safeguarding. My approach to athletics has forever been changed and it has been for the better. The importance of proper care and diagnosis has changed throughout the years and I value my experience to ensure the well being of myself and teammates.