Lakewood athletes are to be tested for concussions next year.

By TONY O’NEAL

SNN Staff Writer

In the summer of 2012 Lakewood coaches will get a breath of relief when the athletic program brings ImPACT into play.

ImPACT stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. According to impacttest.com, it is a test that determines if a player has recovered enough to return to playing a sport after a concussion.

ImPACT, which was created by doctors Mark Lovell and Joseph Maroon, assesses a player’s attention span, working memory and reaction time among other things by comparing an individual’s original “baseline” test results to their post-injury results.

All athletes will get a first test, the baseline test, before they start their season, said health teacher and trainer Erika Miller.

Then if a student receives a head injury, he or she will get a second test. It will be compared to the first to determine whether a student has recovered from a concussion. They both give a coach the knowledge to let a child play or not, said football coach Cory Moore.

“It’s a good test. It takes pressure off of all the trainers,” Moore said.

Miller decided to bring the test to Lakewood because of all the media attention and long-term effects of concussions. Lakewood is receiving the ImPACT for free for one year from Dick’s Sporting Goods, but after that the school will have to pay $500.

Dan Reaves, a defensive back for Lakewood’s football team, got a concussion during practice this year before the season started. Because of the injury, he said he chose not to play the season. He thinks the ImPACT test will benefit athletes.

“It’s good because it will help determine if you have a concussion, because you don’t want to get hurt more,” Reaves said.

-SNN staff writer Katie Blevins, Nastassja Sielchan and Brooke Skinner contributed to this story.