IHSA

IHSA Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - 2007-08

sports medicine Advisory Committee

April 16, 2008

The IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington, Illinois, on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Committee members present were Senator John Davidson, Gregory Gaa, Dr. James Green, Dr. Richard Everett, Dr. Cynthia LaBella, and. Phil Morrison. Members not attending: , Dr. Bill Marcuzzo, John Wator, and Dr. Preston Wollin. Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson was also in attendance. Guests present were Dr. Steven Broglio, University of Illinois, Dr. Edward Pegg, Bloomington.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOARD ACTION

The committee recommends the adoption of the following four classes constitute the association’s banned drug classes for the 2008-09 school term: Anabolic Steroids, Diuretics, Stimulants, and Peptide Hormones and Analogues.

RATIONALE: In making this recommendation, the committee believes that the four drug classes that were prohibited this year by the association are the same four that should be prohibited next year when the performance-enhancing drug plan takes effect. The committee reviewed a document that identifies the four drug classes and potential examples of each. This document will be forwarded onto the IHSA Board of Directors for their approval.

Items of Discussion
1. The committee reviewed and approved the minutes of its November 2007 meeting.

2. The committee reviewed and discussed the performance-enhancing drug testing program that will be implemented by the association next year. The committee also reviewed the board-approved consent form and discussed future education and awareness raising efforts. IHSA Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson shared with the committee three resources that will be available to member schools later this spring to assist schools in preparing their students, coaches, and communities for the program’s implementation. Two of the resources will be booklets schools can download from the IHSA website to use as needed. The remaining resource will be a video presentation individuals will be able to download and view from www.ihsa.org. This presentation will focus on specific details of the drug testing program and should be an asset to schools in their planning for next year. The committee also decided to develop a survey to administer next year that will provide some data from student-athletes on the drug testing plan.

3. The committee reviewed the football playoff injury report compiled by Mr. Dennis Snep. The committee decided to follow up with schools that reported concussions on their report forms to see if any additional information regarding concussions can be gleaned for future committee use. The committee thanks Mr. Snep for his continued efforts in preparing the report.

4. The committee reviewed and affirmed its position on player acclimatization in the summer and fall for those athletes playing football at their school. The committee affirmed its position from the November 2007 meeting that the current football by-law that requires football players to have at least 12 practices before participating in an interscholastic contest is appropriate and no interpretation should be made to offer any exceptions to it.

5. The committee discussed, but took no action, on a request from the IHSA Wrestling Advisory Committee to consider adding language to the skin condition form that would have required wrestlers who have a potentially non-contagious lesion cultured. Currently, there are no restrictions that would prevent an athlete from having an active skin lesion cultured if he/she chose to do so, and the committee felt that the current skin condition form is appropriate.

6. The committee heard two presentations regarding concussion management. Dr. Steven Broglio, from the University of Illinois, presented to the committee results of a study on concussions he conducted with Tolono (Unity) High School last year. To briefly summarize Dr. Broglio’s efforts, his study tracked 32 varsity football players who had six accelerometers inserted in the padding of their football helmets to collect data on the location and intensity of contacts made by the players using their helmets. The study was not a diagnostic study; rather, the study’s purpose was clinical and aimed to assist the athletic training staff and coaches in determining if an athlete needed some attention during a practice or contest. The hope is to collect data that could be used to someday assist in determining at what threshold a player may be susceptible to a concussion following helmet contact. Dr. Edward Pegg, a Bloomington neurologist, discussed the ImPACT concussion management system and its potential value to IHSA member schools. Dr. Pegg has worked with Normal Community (West) High School on implementing this particular concussion management system. The committee noted that the ImPACT system has been used in other member schools and has the ability to offer physicians or neurologists with excellent comparative data to assist in determining the appropriate return to participation time for student-athletes who have suffered concussions. The committee recognizes that concussion identification and management is an important area for their concern, and the committee agreed to begin looking at the issue and how to begin raising awareness within the membership during the 2008-09 school term.