Schools urged to become more aware of sports-related concussions

From The Chicago Tribune: Sports-related concussions are the subject of a new effort by athletic trainers in Illinois to make more coaches, parents and athletic directors aware of the symptoms and dangers of playing again too soon. A New York Times report found that from 1997 to 2007, head injuries caused deaths to at least 50 football players on the high-school level or younger. And another study has found former NFL players are far more likely than the general population to suffer from dementia. High school players are vulnerable because their younger brains are at greater risk of serious and long-term injury because the brain tissue is less developed and more easily damaged.