The Illinois High School Association has approved a new policy requiring high school athletes who leave a game with head injuries to be cleared in the days that follow by a doctor or an athletic trainer working with a physician.
The IHSA board approved the new policy Tuesday. Previously the organization's concussion policy didn't require medical checks after the day the injury occurred.
The policy change follows months of reports on long-term damage athletes suffer from concussions in both pro sports and in college and high school.
Scott Hamilton is head football coach and athletic director at Unity High School in Tolono. Hamilton suspects most if not all schools have athletic trainers at football games but said the new requirements might prove difficult for some to meet in other sports.
