In the past month, two New Jersey high school football players suffered traumatic injuries, which resulted in one Saint John Vianney student paralyzed and one Linden player who tragically lost his life. For years, there has been talk of what can be done to help prevent serious injuries in high school sports, more specifically football. Even with heightened safety protocols, football seems to continue to be one of the most injury-prone sports.

With all of the direct hits and tackles, it is easy to get injured. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Center, “high school football players suffer 34 concussions per every 100,000 plays.”

The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine describes that, “it is estimated that more than one million young men play high school football in the United States each year, and at least 350,000 [injuries] occur annually… of which a large proportion are seen in emergency departments.”

However, most sports injuries for student athletes are minor and treated by school and local medical professionals. While the student who lost his life in Linden is devastating, thankfully, it is incredibly uncommon. According to  Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, “death from a sports injury is rare”.

Although these statistics can be frightening, they demonstrate how important it is that schools and their coaches try everything to keep their players safe. 

Football coach and teacher at PPBHS, Coach McDonald, spoke to us about the recent injuries. He explained, “Obviously it’s a terrible thing… it’s heart-wrenching and you don’t want any of the guys that play for you to be in that situation. It’s just an unfortunate accident.”

Coach McDonald also spoke to us about our school’s safety protocols. He explained that PPBHS puts players’ safety at the top priority. He followed up by saying the communication between the athletic trainer and the  coaches is key and that our program puts players’ physical and mental health over any game. 

While some accidents can’t be prevented, it is reassuring to know that our high school is doing everything in its power to keep players safe.

You can help the family by purchasing items through a fundraiser set up to help with recovery – click the link here!