MSL making a positive impact to protect its athletes

One of the biggest high school sports tragedies in this area's history is approaching its 29th anniversary next week.

Hersey's Kurt Thyreen was a special kid. A successful football player who made up for his lack of size with heart and smarts. An excellent student who had a wide range of interests outside of football.

A kid with a bright future.

But in the fourth quarter of a 1981 game against Forest View, Thyreen left the field complaining of double vision. Five days later, the Daily Herald's honorary captain of that year's all-area team died at age 17 from injuries to his brain.

Hal Hilmer had just started at Hersey as an athletic trainer. Three decades later, he doesn't want to see another kid end up like Kurt Thyreen.

And that's why the protocol put in place by District 214 and the use of the ImPact concussion testing system by everyone in the Mid-Suburban League is making a huge impact. Especially by keeping kids from irreparable damage from enduring more impact too soon.

More football players around the MSL seem to be spending more time sidelined with concussions than ever. It may not be good for the team, but it's definitely the best thing for the athletes.

Buffalo Grove didn't have starting quarterback Mike Garrity last week and starting safety Connor Cheever the last two because of concussions. Better to be hurting on the scoreboard than in ways much worse.

"This isn't the day or time or place where kids are left to make those decisions for themselves," said BG coach Jim Farrell. "I think the MSL and 214 has spent a great deal of resources to put our kids in the safest possible situations."

Conant coach Bill Modelski has no complaints with the procedures even though he was missing two key players last week - Kenny Kalish and Trace Ancona - with concussions.

"The testing tells us some things we didn't know before," Modelski said. "It's best for the kids and I think it's a really good thing. I have two boys playing in our program and I'm a parent in this as well."

Yet Hilmer said that's the one area - not from players and coaches - where he's met the most resistance.

"Parents still try to say, 'My kid isn't that serious and it isn't that bad,' " Hilmer said. "We tell them, 'You have to be concerned about this,' but we see this quite a bit."

Playing with a sprained ankle or a bad knee is one thing. There is nothing admirable or gutsy about trying to play through a head injury.

The concerns are real and well-publicized. The equipment is better and stronger but so are the athletes involved in regular high-speed collisions.

Dementia, memory problems and even suicide are all part of the price athletes are paying for playing when their brain is in pain.

"Now we've found through long-term research this is pretty serious," Hilmer said. "People are taking a step back and saying these things are a lot more serious than we once thought."

So in the MSL, it's no longer up to coaches, players or parents to decide an athlete who suffered a concussion is ready to return. Specific amounts of time off from activity are required and cognitive tests are taken to determine if the athlete is ready to return.

There is no way to cheat these tests or accelerate the process. Hilmer said failing a cognitive test isn't like one in English or Math - you can't make it up a day later or do an extra-credit project to get back quicker.

"It's not up to a coach to say, 'I need this player to play,' " Farrell said. "(The tests) don't care how bad you win or lose on Friday night. They're in the best interests of the kids."

Hilmer knows some kids will try to withhold information regarding symptoms or signs of a concussion.

But Hilmer said he's finding kids aren't afraid to let their athletic trainers or coaches know if a teammate doesn't seem to be acting quite right.

"They're looking out for each other and trying to make sure nothing happens," Hilmer said.

Particularly what happened to Kurt Thyreen.

"You're talking about children," Hilmer said. "They're still kids and we have to take care of them. You don't want something bad to happen to them later in life."

Or right now.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com