Do three concussions in a short period of time need an external recommendation?

Sorry to read about the injuries of your daughter.

ann-1827366 Parents are the ones who are supposed to protect their children and you didn't stop her from becoming part of the cheer squad so what happened is YOUR responsibility!

Ann, don't listen to these people that have no idea until it happens to them. This article was about my daughter and it was not like she had 4 concussions all in the same week. They were not all from cheerleading. Like someone said, you can get hit by a ball or whatever. My daughter was hit by a softball at a junior high school dance in the gym, how is that a parents fault, should I have been standing next to her with a catchers mitt on just incase because when you think of school dances you think of some kid throwing a ball from across the room and it hits someone in the head. The second was a similar type thing but she had started high school and the kids were playing football after school in the parking lot, she was talking to a few of the kids that were part of the group and then BAM, so yes, I was not there ready to catch the ball because she happened to be leaving school and stopped to talk to some friends playing catch. The third and forth were from cheerleading. The fourth one I didn't learn what happened fully for a long time. She didn't remember and her team didn't bother to make it seem like a big deal, when I finally did find out it was a big deal, a flyer was afraid to do a stunt so instead of practicing with adults that could coach she, she practiced on her teammates and my daughter was kicked and throw to the ground. She didn't remember or think it was much of a big deal, who knows why but the main point is she was a minor and not one adult told me what happened. She said she was kicked by accident but I had no idea what they were trying and that the girl doing in was afraid so the stunt did not work out. The fourth concussion was when I fully found out about the third. Not right when it happened but a while later when the concussion specialist which I didn't know one existed kept asking her different questions to get her to remember. The fourth concussion was during "warm-ups" at an event and parents are not allowed back there. No one is except the team and the owners, coaches, and event producers plus medical staff (I would hope and was told) because if I was back there she would have never received that last blow that caused her daily struggles she has now. A fellow teammate was injured during warm-ups and the team thought she was dead since she fell partly on a thin mat and the other part on the hard floor, she was not moving and was taking to the hospital by ambulance. The team was hysterical and wanted to go to the hospital to tell her they loved her since they thought she might die but the owners, coaches and event producers didn't stop them from performing, when the coaches have to sign a contract saying they would abide by the rules which one the broke was that they would not put competitiveness before safety, they did not do that plus other things listed that they signed saying they would abide by. So instead of having some common sense and seeing that these girls were in no frame of mind to perform an extremely difficult stunt that requires much concentration, they grabbed a girl from a lower level (this is all-stars) and switched the girls around and my daughter ended up being her back spot then was told to hurry up and tell her the stunts (there was no time to teach her the entire routine, they practice for months and build trust with their teammates, not a girl the never stunted with who was NOT even allowed to do the stunt according to her level that she was in so it was an accident waiting to happen) the team within her group was still in stock by the other teammate and what she must be going through or if she was even alive but the coaches, etc kept saying to hurry up and yes, if these were adults, they would probably tell the coach to go you know where but these are minors doing as they are told and they lifted the girl up and she fell full force on my daughters head. My daughter started crying but no one was paying attention except for her stunt group she was in to ask if she was okay and she was she thought so but she knew she had a concussion, then they were pushed toward the stage to perform.

It's always about what you would do after you know. People judge when they do not know that in cheer you are constantly told that safety comes first and how they do progressions and do not move on to the next thing until the first is perfect. That's all a bunch of bull. All these or should I say MOST of these places and schools only care about getting the trophy because thats what makes them looks good. The kids do not get the trophy, the school does or the gym does and parents are not told that out of all the sports cheerleading is not regulated and the rules do not matter, they are only suggestions. No one ever tells you that and I asked to see certifications, just like you would do at a doctors office, I wanted to know everything and was considered over protective and now look.

When the rules and regulations are not there and those facts are hidden from parents, you cant say you should have known. That is why my daughter is doing stories like these so she can spread awareness and pray people take it seriously. To doctors, concussions are normal and to just wait until symptoms go away and then you can go back and they give you the letter saying there are healthy again. I'm not a brain specialist. I did not go to medical school, that is why I pay these doctors. They need to learn about it as well and report injuries to www.cheerinjuryreport.com and be counted because the numbers are so much higher than what they are saying. The stories are being done to inform parents, not so people like some here can say well, it's your fault because you are the parent. It would be my fault if I wasn't told by "certified" coaches that they are qualified when the training is inadequate to what the standard of care should be. Coaches need to learn more, doctors as well, and schools, plus parents. I want everyone to know everything I didn't know and believe me I asked and saw the impressive pieces of paper that meant nothing. They won National championships and were so experienced, that is what I was told and saw so why would I think they would ever do something this stupid ever!!!

I wanted to find out how this could happen at an event which the event producers were there to see the chaos, not the parents or anyone else in the arena since this happened back stage, and I went on the web downloaded everything that the coaches get, when down the list of violations, and the event producer with "spirit cheer" written all over the contract for the coaches with the rules to abide by, told me it wasn't really there rules, then I went to the next person who they said was in charge which was USASF and they told me that it was AACCA's section of the safety rules and it went on and on. It was insane. I was told by the director of AACCA that the livlihood of the coach was more important. I have his emails and it was insane. I could go on and on about how screwed up they are and they for over 20+ year have not wanted it regulated with rules that are enforced, for high school, All Stars or any kind of cheer, so take all their information about safety first with a grain of salt because it's all talk and no action. My daughter is not the only one. This happens all the time. Everyone in cheer is at a high risk because it is not regulated and proper enforced or enforced at all so until it is and it will be, which will not make them happy but too bad, our children matter and I'm finished listening and believing their lies. If you keep your child in cheer please know that yes their are judging rules and yes their are some wonderful coaches out there but the training is NOT good enough which I found out from the source. It's nice to find out after the fact, which is a disgrace that they do not care about children and it's equal to the tobacco companies, knowing what they are doing but doing it anyway. They got away with it way too long until good people pushed and did something about it so hearing about your story, I'm so sorry about that but just know the more people open up the more others are going to learn and get rules and regulations enforced just like all the other sports. This is the only sport that it is not. There's sneaky reasons for that but I won't get into it.

I just hope that all of this information about cheer really sinks in and other do not look at it as we should have known. Easy to say when you are not there being told certain things constantly. Plus kids to me, from what I know now are being abused not just in this way but by not speaking up, they know if they do there's going to be consequences for them and my daughter at the time was afraid her entire team would hate her (although the damage was already done, she didnt think of what could happen before) since if she said no i'm not competing then the entire team cannot. It was a horrible position to be in especially when you are still in stock over your teammate and the team is still hysterical over it and then while still stunned and what had just happened to her brain, she just did what she was told. Thankfully, no one else was hurt and that girl did not fall on her again because then she did see a doctor that knew about concussions, her brain was so badly hurt that another hit would have killed her. As a parent, I protect, as we all do and all the kids that play other sports, not just cheer, since I'm talking about cheer as a whole since it is not regulated because another sport this would not have happened, but concussions are something everyone in any sport needs to be aware of and the mini one and one that your child and yourself does not even know they have are the ones that are adding up to the big blow. My daughter and myself, learned a lesson the hard way, and don't think I don't beat myself up daily over something there was no way of me knowing at the time but as a parent you do anyway when you see your child suffering. The best we can do it take this information and get it out to others so they can protect their child.

If your child is going to even start a sport of any kid, get an ImPact test which is a test done on the computer and some schools have it, the NFL has it, and find a doctor that has it, it's a memory type test and measure response time and many other things so when they do suspect a concussion you have something to base it on. If your child does not have a baseline test but has a concussion, go and have the ImPact test. Steve Young who was my neighbor growing up wrote a statement that couldn't have been worded any better. I will not share that statement right now but he was basically saying that cheerleading is no different than football, gymnastics, and other sports and should be treated as such. Concussions are not something to take lightly and cheerleaders should be treated just as everyone else and the sport should be regulated with enforceable rules and the coaches should have proper training. Also, make sure there is always an athletic trainer or medical staff around. This goes for any sport because concussions are the same for all sports. You are all at risk. So learn about them. You child might not say he has one or he might brush it off as a headache or whatever the case may be because he doesn't know, it was small, HIS parents didn't notice, he didn't want to lost his spot of the team of look like a sissy, whatever the reason is, THEY are all at risk and know the signs and symptoms and look up how to treat it whether the doctor say they are okay or not. Dr. Michael Lee from Southport, CT has written a lot about concussions for all sports and how schools should handle them and what to look for and how dangerous they are in his Sports Med Newsletters that you can find online if you google his name. Protect your children and do not fault others unless you have lives in their shoes. So any concussion and multiple like someone said in a short period of time can kill.

Please be safe and I hope I at least helped on person. I also hope my daughter helped someone as well since it is not easy for her to remember and it's not something she really likes to think about even though cheer was her life since grammar school so this can happen to the most experienced athlete. There's always a chance of anything happening but when you hear that you were lied to and what the truth really is hurts a lot. Lastly, with concussions, it's a very complex subject and don't ever let a doctor tell you to wait a week or two or until the symptoms stop is not good enough. We all can't be doctors, coaches, organizations who certify (and be careful, the NFHS and others use the same manual as AACCA and USASF uses the safety manual but are supposed to have more training but at the gym where they do there hours the owner gives the okay to go on to the next, meaning they put in all there hours even if they didn't)so until cheer is regulated with enforced rules, keep getting the word out that it is not like other sports and my daughter who did youth, high school and All Stars could have gotten hurt at anytime and the coach did nothing wrong, even if they did because the rules right now are "suggestions" so my daughter was lucky but it only takes one coach or one owner to destroy every reason we put our children in sports to begin with then take that pride they have away from them forever. So do get involved and know whether regulated sport or not, that your child is at risk since youth regulated sports could probably be better as well. I can't answer that. I just know about cheer and all sports to do with concussions. Please also get an rehearsed emergency plan and the best by far is from a website that you can just download it and it's free, it's nationalcheersafety.com where you can find it. They are also the one's fighting for your children's safety.

Sorry to write so much but I'm trying to get to as many people as possible. You can always email me if a link it put up, not sure about this site, or you can reply and I will do whatever I can to help you ad your child.

My daughter did finish the end of the cheer year, with restrictions so she could not be injured further. Restrictions were never suggested by the dr.s, it was me as a parent. We did not allow her to try out for cheerleading any further.... So- Basketball is where her next concussion came from. My point also---- the ped. dr.'s need more education on concussions to give the parents better recommendations. More and more information is surfacing on concussions, thankfully. My daughter was told last evening she needed to not be such a wimp-- and still play basketball. People have no clue!! Each new concussion the symptoms get worse.... WOW!! She might lose her entire short term memory for good.... to risky!! AGREE completely: cheer needs regulations...and required coaches training!

getalifevirginia---- you must not have kids. this is not my responsibity-- nor my fault. you are pretty heartless. karma.

Jason, The difference is that sports are regulated with strict rules. When someone signs up for cheer they think it's just like anything else, something they need to learn by a highly skilled coach or the school would not have them doing it. They are not going to do something that can cause a lawsuit, and the school/gym has had these squads for years, have won trophies and no one says anything negative about it. All that is said is that safety comes first. They are not thrown up a million times and they do have mats. The difference is that no one is ever told the truth and that is why articles need to come out to spread awareness since others will not be told that CHEER is NOT regulated and the rules are not enforced. A playground is regulated now, it once wasn't. Coaches do not have to do any of the suggested guidelines because of how it is set up and it is meant to be that way, for liability sake and the cheer industry, which is much like how the tobacco industry because they knew and know what is happening and what is to come. They are safe whether it's complete negligence. They have been doing this for 20+ years and it takes a few people to finally care enough to figure it out and now fight to have it changed.

If it was regulated like ALL sports then they would have to go by strict rules and have mandatory equipment that is proper for the type of stunts they do, plus a lot of the stunts would be taken away, they would lose a lot of money on their multi billion dollar industry. They would have set limited practice times, and everything would change and safety would finally be first like everyone is always told. Once it is regulated the injuries will fly downward but until then people will keep getting hurt because there are no consequences for the certifiers, coaches, schools or anyone. If the parents knew that cheer was not regulated, since its not something you would ever think or that the coaching certification that you check out and make sure they are qualified, is not good enough, you wouldn't have your child participate but it's been a big secret for a long long time and with cheer so popular these days and all the children joining, it is becoming more and more dangerous.

Yes, a lot of things are dangerous like you said, and I could get hit by a bus tomorrow but to not tell people an activity or sport is not regulated and the training is not good enough, but the school/gym is jam packed with people trying to get in, and you did not take the class to see if they are teaching everything properly, how would you know. Did you know it was not regulated? The NFL didn't even know. Other sports didn't even know. Althletes in cheer didn't even know. A lot of the coaches didn't even know. So you see a list of rules and you believe they are real rules, especially when the coach has to sign saying they will abide by those rules, but they do not and your child gets severely hurt, and no one that is in charge cares and you cannot figure out why until you find out their dirty little secret that no one knows. They can do whatever they want and nothing happens and that is what happened to cause harm.

Football players, not minor children, but the NFL had to fight for stricter regulations recently on concussions, and they had regulations already in place with strict rules, but they needed stricter ones and now they see that youth needs stricter regulations so they too just went to congress about that but that is in general for all sports because a helmet doesn't seem to help when they are bashing into each other, and same goes with other sports. They are learning a lot more about concussions now, but they had no idea that these minors in cheer do not JUST need stricter regulations, they need regulations period!

The cheer industry has made cheer this way on purpose and did not tell anyone so everyone assumes what they call rules and regulations are real and enforced until something goes wrong. Then they still think bummer, things happen but it some cases when you know it's not just bummer, they broke a ton of rules,or it was total neglectfulness, you then take weeks and weeks, to months and months to finally find out because you caught them in lies, that these rules are basically fake rules which are not enforced AND that is the huge difference. It's not a little thing to research, it took a long long time to figure out the truth because they are not handing that info out for free. So that is probably why its so dangerous. Actually it's not probably, it's the only reason, so once it's regulated, the training will be better, the rules and equipment will be mandatory and there will be consequences if not followed. Without consequences, it's a free for all which unknowingly, it has been.