The Carmel Dads’ Club (CDC) is hosting its second annual concussion seminar sometime this July at the IU Health Sports Performance Center. The seminar will help CDC coaches identify the symptoms and side effects of a concussion, and it is strongly recommended that all coaches attend. Fifty parents attended last year’s seminar in addition to coaches. According to CDC president Jack Beery, the seminar is more relevant than ever with the recent attention to high school sports and concussions. Beery also said safety of athletes is the primary concern of the CDC.

Beery said, “We’re not trying to be doctors, but we’re trying to prevent, you know, putting kids back into the game after getting a concussion.” Beery also said although many people are concerned with high school football as a source of concussions, many other sports such as soccer and baseball are a source of concussions in young athletes and should not be overlooked.

Josh Nickless, CDC basketball player and freshman, said he is pleased to see more attention being brought to concussions. Nickless said he was likely given an undiagnosed concussion when he was 13 during a basketball game, and says he thinks it is important to note that football is not the only sport that causes concussions. Nickless said despite his injury, he still plays CDC basketball every winter.

Nickless said, “A seminar would be a smart idea because many kids are very unaware of the effects and causes of concussions.”