Metro Sports Report

New Iowa law focuses on concussions

I wrote about concussions in my April 3rd sports medicine installment for the Metro Sports Report that was titled "Spring no respite from concussion concerns."

Iowa passed a concussion management law on April 7 (Senate File 367). Interestingly, in February 2011, only 11 states had concussion management laws for high school sports.

Fast forward to August 2011 and 32 states have passed laws, and 10 others have legislation pending to protect student athletes from the dangers of concussions.

What is driving this monumental change across America? Plain and simple: RESEARCH.

In a landmark study published in the journal of Pediatrics this summer, results revealed that between 1980 and 2009 there were 1,827 athletes under the age of 21 who suffered sudden death while participating in high school sports.

About 14 percent of those (261 athletes) were caused by trauma; 57 percent (148 athletes) of those occurred in football. More importantly, 11 percent of those football deaths were trauma to the head and face after sustaining a prior concussion within weeks or days of death.

Committee should ban open enrollment

As populations shift and neighborhoods change, so does the landscape of high school district boundaries.

In a short time, the lines for the Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington districts may well change.

At a meeting last week at the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, the Enrollment Study Stakeholder Committee comprised of teachers, parents, administrators and community members convened to discuss the matter.

The committee, formed by the Cedar Rapids School District, was given these marching orders for the three local high schools: "Make recommendations regarding boundaries with attention to longevity and balance enrollment consistent with the projected future of the District."

Enrollment in the high schools is at a historically low level, but the dip has affected some more than others. Tumbling enrollments naturally affect athletic teams and their success. Larger schools often win many of the championships.

Cougars hoping for faster start in 2011

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy football team wrote its own version of "The Agony and the Ecstasy" last year.

The Cougars dropped their first three games of the season and began the year with a 1-4 mark.

That was the agony.

They rallied, won six straight games and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs.

That was the ecstasy.

"That's probably not the plan this year," said Josh Jahlas, who led Kennedy in tackles last season. "We want to start off strong."

Starting the season with a 1-and-4 record is usually a recipe for disappointment.

"It worked out last year, but we hope not to do that again," said tailback Trevor Heitland, who rushed for 929 yards in 2010. "Hopefully we start strong and end strong and play strong throughout the whole season."

There were three main reasons for Kennedy's slow start last year.

Freese nixes Sox offer, off to LSU-Eunice

Dakota Freese plans to leave Cedar Rapids at 6 a.m. Sunday and drive to Louisiana with his mother, fully intending to enroll at LSU-Eunice and start college this month.

Freese said Saturday night he has rejected a final offer from the Chicago White Sox to sign a pro baseball contract. The signing deadline is Monday,
but Freese said the negotiations have ended.

"It's over," he said. "There's no chance."

Freese, 19, said the two sides were far apart in terms of money. "Oh, yeah. Big time," he said.

He declined to reveal what the White Sox offered or what he wanted as a signing bonus.

The White Sox picked Freese, a 6-foot-4 pitcher from Cedar Rapids Washington, in the 34th round of the draft this June.

"He had a decision to make," Rick Freese, his grandfather, said Saturday night. "There was an offer. It just wasn't in the cards for us. It wasn't enough."

The signing deadline is Monday, Aug. 15.