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Student athletes in Princeton will be required to wear SG360 headgear for boys and girls soccer, girls lacrosse and field hockey. The photo was provided by HRP Products, Inc., which manufactures the headgear.

(Submitted)

PRINCETON — When sixth-graders in the Princeton school district head out onto the playing fields for team soccer, lacrosse and field hockey this autumn, their standard equipment will include for the first time protective headgear that school officials hope will reduce the incidence of concussive injuries.

It’s a requirement that school officials hope to introduce in successively higher grades as the years go by, until students in sixth through 12th grades are all wearing headgear during those sports.

It will make Princeton the first in the state to introduce such a requirement, and the step has aroused criticism and praise alike, while sparking fears in districts that cannot afford such protection that Princeton athletes will have an unfair advantage and play may become more aggressive.

“We’re very aware that for players in all sports there’s a risk of head injuries and we’re just trying to do whatever we can to prevent them,” said Timothy Quinn, president of the Princeton school board.

Unlike a helmet, the headgear Princeton intends to buy would have a soft exterior and would cover the temples, the forehead and the top of the head, said athletic director John Miranda, who made the recommendation to require protective headgear.

NO COST TO STUDENTS

Miranda said the students will not be responsible for the cost of the equipment.

“The decision of our board was that it was important enough to fund,” said Molly Chrein, a member of the committee that advised the school board on the decision. “We think it’s a really important step to be taken. You have to start somewhere.”

Princeton plans to encourage other districts to adopt a similar headgear policy to give all players equal opportunity, according to board member Daniel Haughton, but some schools said they couldn’t provide the equipment unless students and their families paid for it. The soft helmets can cost up to $70 each.

“Princeton is very fortunate that they can do that,” Judy Goldstein, the field hockey coach at Hamilton High West, said. “If that ruling were to be made in Hamilton, the students would be responsible.”

Goldstein said the girls in her field hockey program, who number 60, have experienced multiple concussions, with one girl being out for the season last year; but injuries come with the sport and trying too hard to protect students may be overdoing it, Goldstein said.

Caitlin Townsend wears the SG360 headgear that will be worn by Princeton student athletes as she plays lacrosse at Fairfield University in Connecticut. The photo was provided by HRP Products, Inc., which manufactures the headgear.

“Accidents are going to happen. I don’t know if we can protect these kids with every single step. I just think it’s too much for the headgear in field hockey,” she said. “I have a feeling that the more you load onto the kids, the less likely they are to play the sport.”

Miranda said head injuries and concussions are not a frequent problem at Princeton, but such injuries have happened and proactive steps should be taken early because the effects can linger for a long time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1.6 million to 3.8 million concussions occur nationally each year, many of them sports-related, and soccer poses the greatest risk of concussion to females.

NOT EFFECTIVE?

Pediatric neurosurgeon Alexander Post from the New Jersey Pediatric Neuroscience Institute in Morristown has given numerous lectures on concussions and said he does not believe that the proposed headgear would even be effective in reducing the risk.

“You can get a concussion from pretty much doing anything,” he said. “Any activity carries a certain degree of potential risk and you have to weigh that risk. In general, the headgear is good for reducing abrasions and lacerations, but not for protecting against concussions to any significant degree.”

Barbara Greiger-Parker, the president of the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey, agreed, saying, “I don’t think that there are any scientific studies that show that this headgear works. I am unaware that there is gear that has been approved to reduce concussions in soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.”

Critics of the use of headgear in these sports also have argued that the added protection would result in more aggressive play, even though girls lacrosse and field hockey are supposed to be non-contact sports.

“Adding headgear could potentially give athletes a false sense of protection that would make them play more aggressively,” Robb Rehberg, the athletic trainer at the Center for Concussion Care at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, said.

Rick Meana, the director of coaching at New Jersey Youth Soccer, said he doubts that more aggressive play would result, but said it is something that should be monitored. He also doubts that headgear would lead to any changes in the rules of soccer, even for heading the ball.

“I don’t think it would change the game at all — it’s great. You want to make sure that the safety of the children is priority one,” he said. “Having something is better than nothing.”

MEDICAL CLEARANCE

In 2010, the state Legislature passed a law that requires education for coaches, athletic trainers and others, in recognizing and handling athletes who have suffered head injuries, as well as setting rules for their return to competition. That includes medical clearance from a doctor trained in the evaluation and management of concussions after any suspected concussion, before that athlete is allowed to return to practice.

Many districts, including Princeton, now test their athletes for cognitive function, such as reaction time, and visual and verbal memory. If an athlete sustains a head injury, he or she must take an additional test — the “IMPACT” test — to measure any changes before they can play again.

According to Miranda, a child cannot return to the sport at Princeton until they pass the test, even if they are cleared by a doctor.

Initially at Princeton, the test was only administered to high school athletes, but last year the school expanded testing to all sixth- through 12th-grade athletes, Miranda said.

"We're very proud of that. We're actually being very proactive in trying to protect our students," he said.

The school board is expecting some pushback from parents and students about mandating the headgear, which is why the decision was made to phase it in one grade level at a time, Quinn said.

“We suspect that there are people who are not going to want to do this. We do, however, think that it’s very important and we want the athletes and their parents in the seventh grade and up to have the option to opt-out,” he said. “We were certainly aware that this would be a topic of discussion and we didn’t expect that everyone would agree, but I think that we’re acting in the best interest of our athletes.”

Contact Kelly Johnson at kjohnson@njtimes.com.

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