Let’s face it guys: We all love watching those big hits every week during the National Football League season.

Something about them makes us excited and eager for more. They are what makes football the intense sport it is, and without them the sport could become boring.

But what about the victims of the incident? The players that are lying down on the ground, practically unconscious? They can receive concussions from brutal blows like those, which could drastically change their lives.

Concussions have been the cause of persistent headaches, nausea, and trauma over the course of victims’ lives. It is a different kind of injury from a broken bone or pulled muscle, simply because it can have a variety of recurring symptoms.

According to Head Case, a website dedicated to concussion management, 47 percent of all reported concussions occur during high school football.

These injuries are very frequent in states with very competitive high school football programs, such as Texas.

In Pasadena, Texas, the Center for Disease Control estimates nearly 200,000 kids are treated in emergency rooms every year for sports-related concussions, KHOU.com, a Texas-based news website, reports.

Doctor Summer Ott of the University of Texas Health and Memorial Institute claims that they see about 10 to 15 new concussions a week.

It is a very frightening statistic, but fortunately the situation is much better at Brookline High School. Keith Thomas, the varsity football coach, said that his players are well trained about the proper methods of tackling.

“In terms of improvement, I think we’ve definitely come a long way,” Thomas said.

The team follows the heads-up method of tackling. This forces players to tackle with their heads up and focus on chest to chest contact. This method can greatly reduce the risk of concussions.

The implementation of the method has had a noticeable effect over the years, as the concussion numbers from the 2014 season were down from 2013. As players get older, they mature and understand the proper method of tackling more thoroughly.

This makes sense considering children ages 12 to 15 suffered 47 percent of sports-related concussions seen in the emergency department, as stated by Youth Sports Safety Statistics.

Younger teenagers are still learning how to efficiently reduce the risk of concussions, giving older high schoolers a leg up.

Rob Sprague, the coach of the girls varsity soccer team, said he believes that the more skill and experience a player has, the less susceptible that player is to injury.

The preparation that the team does to try to avoid concussions has proved to be very effective, as Sprague estimates only two to three players per soccer team get concussions at the high school each year, which is considerably good in comparison to other schools.

Even with the concussions that are contracted each year, and all bias aside, Sprague trusts Brookline High School sports medicine a lot more than a regular practitioner.

They have improved their protocols over time and know how to treat the various symptoms of concussions.

So does the high school really have a concussion problem?

Not at all.

If anything, the high school is way ahead of the game, using the proper technique in sports, as well as having a superb medical staff to complement the procedures.

The school can only get better by perhaps introducing more concussion training programs, as well as elaborate concussion tests to specify exactly how far along a player is in his or her road to recovery.

If the high school keeps up this pace, the concern for safety and parental stress will be greatly reduced.

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