Golfing event will raise money to lessen effects of student athletes' concussions

By Sara ShecKler, CORRESPONDENT

May 11, 2011
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS — Golfers are needed to help raise funds to purchase a concussion-management program that will aid local high-school athletes.

On June 11, the Lake County Schools Athletic Department and the National Training Center Sports Medicine Institute Foundation in Clermont will host the first annual Lake County Schools Golf Tournament at Mission Inn Resort & Club.

Proceeds will allow purchase of the Immediate Post-Concussion Management Program, or ImPACT, a computerized assessment tool used by medical professionals to help them determine an athlete's fitness to return to play after suffering a concussion, district athletic director Trish Highland said.

"Lake County schools' athletes have had their share of concussions while playing a variety of sports. It was not one incident which drew us to considering the ImPACT program, but research," Highland said. "Research shows that high-school athletes are four times more likely to suffer a concussion today than they were 10 years ago."

The four-person scramble tournament will begin at 7 a.m., with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Cost is $90 per player or $320 per team and will include range balls, golf, buffet lunch, door prizes and goodie bags. Sponsorships also are available, ranging from $250 packages to the $5,000 celebrity sponsorship that will include teeing-off with a former National Football League player and other perks.

The goal is to raise $25,000, which would cover ImPACT's software costs, training of the program's athletic trainer and testing of school athletes.

The district would like to implement the program by fall.

"We are trying to take the care of our student athletes in Lake County schools to a higher level," Highland said. "A concussion is a brain injury that frequently involves physical as well as cognitive symptoms."

"ImPACT can help answer difficult questions about an athlete's readiness to return to play, protecting them from the potentially serious consequences of returning too soon following a concussion," she added.

For more information about this article, please visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-golf-concussion-program-20110511,0,5530454.story

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