Tag Archive | "concussion"

aHead of the Game Brain Injury and Concussion Education Awareness Program Launched

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April 17, 2012 – Spring has arrived! A crazy but no less exciting winter has now been put to rest. This summer in New England holds the potential to be one of the best yet for Nordic skiers interested in improving their skills and mixing it up with their peers. You can check the event calendar HERE for all the upcoming camps, clinics and happenings.

Speaking of camps and training, A topic of popular discussion at the National Governing Body (NGB) level right now is that of concussion education. While it is not something we like to think about I want to pass along this info to you as a resource, supplied to us as a benefit of our CODP Progam.

aHead of the Game
The NCYS endorses the “aHead of the Game” brain injury and concussion education and awareness program. Click HERE and then scroll down to the bottom of the page under Call to Action. That will take you to a page where you can access free educational materials. Also check out the CDC’s Head Up program; follow the same instructions as above from HERE. These are both good resources.

The aHead of the Game initiative is new and current. “aHead of the Game® is an initiative to reduce the risks of concussions and other head injuries in amateur youth sports. Through greater awareness and education, we want to help coaches, parents and young athletes learn signs and symptoms of concussions, seek proper treatment and follow appropriate return to play protocols to avoid the significant dangers of multiple concussions.”

While Nordic skiers may be at less risk than other sports, it is our responsibility as coaches to become familiar with the signs of trauma and know how to respond. Case in point: at a summer camp I attended a few years back we took part in a warm up game of soccer. One of the girls who was an accomplished soccer player, headed the ball and instantly passed out. It scared the you know what out of us! She came to immediately and seemed fine, but thankfully, the coaches knew what to look for in her response testing, to know what was required as the next step in ensuring her safety.

Drew Goldsack Suffers a Mild Concussion in Whistler

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January 20, 2012 (Whistler, BC) – Canadian Ski Team member Drew Goldsack suffered a mild concussion on Saturday when he crashed during the NorAm freestyle sprint races in Whistler. Due to his concussion, Goldsack has announced he will skip this weekend’s Western Canadian Champs in Canmore. Read his blog for the inside scoop on his crash…

Whistler… I Hope I Didn’t Brain My Damage

Ah Whistler, I have to say I saw these NorAm races going differently in my head movies.  (If you don’t get the ‘head movies’ reference, stop reading, go watch the movie Tropic Thunder, and report back.)

With the extended holiday break over, it was back to business last week with the continuation of the Haywood NorAm race series. The weekend also doubled as selection races for the U23/World Junior Championships so it was an exciting three days of racing with lots on the line! Props to the Alberta World Cup Academy crew who dominated the podium all weekend and managed to qualify a whopping SEVEN athletes for the WJr./U23 Champs., claiming nearly half of the available spots on the World Champs team! A huge part of this success is thanks to the incredibly hard working Academy coaches and technicians who put in long hours behind the scenes every weekend, ensuring that things run smoothly come race day.

The week kicked off with the 30k Pursuit on Thursday and it was a bit of a rough start. On the best of days a 30k is a challenge for my largely fast twitch muscles and despite feeling good on the first lap, the race quickly turned into a suffer fest for me. I blew up early in the race and spent the rest of the time trying to recover, not an ideal way to race a 30k!

Saturday however brought my bread and butter, the freestyle sprint.  The qualifying round went ok for me through heavy snow and on extremely soft tracks which made the course ski way harder than usual. I was feeling a bit sluggish from the 30k, but I also knew that my body would loosen up as the day went on. As expected, I began to feel better with each round and was very confident going into the final. The soft, deep snow made it extremely hard to pass, so a good start and energy conservation were key in order to have a good final push to the line. I started well and was in a good position on the final downhill coming into the stadium but just as I was about to start my attack, another skier went down and I tangled up with them.

Before I could react, my feet whipped out from under me at full speed and I rag-dolled to a stop. Ouch. As I lay there a little dazed, still trying to process what just happened, I took an inventory of my body and in the moment didn’t feel anything too seriously injured. In this case, the insult would come before the injury, my pole had somehow managed to break off at the handle and I was horrified to look down and see my very best pair of race skis shattered just in front of the binding.

Immediately, a feeling of loss that’s nearly impossible to explain to anyone who isn’t a high level ski racer, washed over me. The same pair of skis that faithfully carried me to numerous NorAm podiums and a 5th place finish in Dusseldorf only a month before were now splintered and lying awkwardly twisted in the snow beneath me. It’ll be hard, if not impossible, to find a replacement for that pair of skis.

For a few more good shots of my crash caught by Jesse Winter, have a look here: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3

Upon my return to the hotel that afternoon, the physical effects of the crash began to set in. I began to feel nauseous, drowsy and a headache was setting in. I knew I had hit my head but didn’t think it was anything serious. The next day I felt ok when I woke up save for some serious whiplash, a stiff shoulder and some new bruises, but as I began to move around I knew something wasn’t right. I started to feel nauseous again and my headache was getting worse… could it really be a concussion?

Am I now part of the hottest statistic in sports? I talked it over with the coaches and we decided that it was best to play it safe and sit the 15km classic as a precaution. Through the day my symptoms got worse and I utterly suffered through the twisty, stop and go van ride to the airport in Vancouver for my flight home.

After seeing our team doctor on Monday, I was diagnosed with a mild concussion. Brutal. Despite this setback, the word ‘mild’ left me optimistic that I would recover in time for the Western Canadian Champs being held at home in Canmore this weekend. However, I have been unable to train due to headaches and nausea and consequently my hopes to race this weekend have been dashed. I could insert any number of cliché’s here but the reality is plainly that luck has not been on my side so far this season. I guess as a small consolation, my many years spent as an athlete have certainly taught me how to be resilient and persevere…so persevere I will.

More great photos from Whistler NorAm weekend can be found on Angus Cockney’s Picasa album HERE.

Overheard:

“I suck at cooking” – Graham Nishikawa… good thing you’re getting married, Congrats man!

In the tape deck:

Artist: Andrew Bird, Track: Tenuousness

Artist: M83, Track: Midnight City

On the tube:

Andrew Bird performing Tenuosness live, incredible use of a looping pedal. If you don’t know what a looping pedal is, look it up, it’ll make you appreciate the video and song a whole lot more.

http://youtu.be/1sivcS6uvIg

This blog and other updates can also be found on www.drewgoldsack.ca