With only a minute and 30 seconds left in the football game against Wilmington Lance Langel, a junior offensive lineman for the Cardinals, called himself out of the game.
“I’m just tired,” Langel told trainers that day on the field.
But he wasn’t tired, he could barely remember the play he just ran.
Langel had his fifth concussion in what was going to be his last football game ever. During a play in the third quarter, Langel was blocking a linebacker and had a head on collision, “I knew I got it, but I just wanted to finish the game.”
As a sophomore in high school, Langel got his first concussion in a car accident. He was on the way to school with his sister and they were hit from the side by an oncoming car. Langel was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown into the dashboard. After receiving one more concussion in high school, he received his final concussions in college.
Although Langel at first made a commitment with West Virginia Tech, he decided it was not the school for him and instead became an Otterbein Cardinal in 2011. Langel said, “I knew concussions were a risk going into it, but it was a risk worth taking.
Concussions have become a very popular topic of discussion this past year. With the NCAA and NFL recognizing them they have drawn national attention. The biggest problem occurring right now is that players are not reporting their concussions to trainers and coaches. With the pressure to perform their best, far fewer are reporting concussions after they receive them.
College football coaches are seeing the impact of concussions in their players. Coach Tim Doup, head coach for Otterbein football said, “It is very tough to see concussions because it is a different type of injury. We are dealing with an athlete’s brain. It affects the way they think and act. Imagine having a headache all the time and not being able to concentrate. It is not easy seeing your players like this.”
Otterbein has a process to evaluate, diagnose, and recover players with concussions. Chistan White, a trainer for football, said, “Once an athlete is diagnosed to have a concussion, they are immediately held from activity. The athlete is then instructed to adhere to rules such as limit television watching, long periods of concentration, and get lots of water and rest into the body. The athlete then follows up with the trainer each day.” Athletes then complete a series of tests ranking the severity of their symptoms. Until the athlete can get a score of all zeros showing they are symptom free for 24 hours, they are then slowly progressed back into activity.
White said, “Specifically for football players, the first practice back the athlete is limited participation with only helmet, then the following practice they are in helmet and shoulder pads, and if the athlete remains symptom free they are permitted to continue full go with practice.”
Langel played his final football game of his college career on September 21, 2013. “It is very difficult to see one of your players have to stop playing” Doup said. “He is not going out on his terms. The injuring is causing him to stop playing. I feel very bad for an athlete that has put all the time and work into a sport to have to cut it short.”
This final concussion is not where Langel’s story ends though. Majoring in Health Promotions and Fitness, he has recently opened a business as a personal trainer with his brother-in-law. Langel said, “One day I want to be able to become a strength coach for a football team, to be able to be a part of something I fell in love with.”
