Concussion Management Program

As part of our overall commitment to the safety and health of our student-athletes, the Florida Tech Department of Athletics has instituted a Concussion Management Program 1) to provide facts to student-athletes and coaches regarding concussions, 2) to facilitate quick identification of student-athletes who may have suffered a concussion, 3) to provide a thorough and professional assessment of student-athletes who have been concussed, 4) to provide any supportive services needed by concussed student-athletes as they recover, and 5) to insure that student-athletes who have been concussed are recovered fully before returning to athletic activities.

Preseason baseline testing of your normal cognitive abilities will take place as part of the overall medical examinations that insure you are physically able to play your sport without endangering your health and well being. In the event that you are suspected of suffering a concussion, we will have your normal performance as a comparison.

The forms that follow are intended to educate you regarding concussions, and also to introduce you to the research component of the concussion management program. Because, in addition to protecting you in the event of a concussion we also are committed to studying circumstances under which concussions occur, how best to identify concussions on the sideline, and how best to evaluate when you have fully recovered and can return to practice and play. You will find consent forms that describe this research and that require your signed approval for us to use your information for this research effort. As the forms say, you can never be identified from our research data since scores are averaged.

Importantly, if you will not have reached your 18th birthday by August 22nd, it will be necessary for your parents to sign the Parental Permission Form (HeadMinder, Inc.) for the baseline concussion test and to also sign the consent forms. Since participation in the research is voluntary, not signing will not impact your beginning practice, but not returning a signed the Parental Permission Form will prevent you from being administered the concussion baseline assessment, and hence from being cleared to practice and play.

Although some information in the Personal Data Forms may duplicate what is asked elsewhere, please complete it as accurately as you can. Different members of our team will be reading the forms to alert us to any issues that may be important in understanding the cognitive tests.

Concussion Fact Sheet for Student-Athletes (PDF)