‘I don’t remember it at all’
Chips’
Jaskiw, Portagers’ Gillespie trying to bounce back from concussions
MATT WENZEL, Manistee News Advocate Sports Editor -Published
Wednesday, October
14, 2009
As quarterbacks, Onekama’s Dan Gillespie
and Manistee’s Carl Jaskiw are expected to be leaders on the field for
their respective teams.
However, the last time they put on a uniform, they left the field
without their teammates, strapped onto backboards and loaded into
ambulances after suffering concussions.
Both took hits while playing other positions, trying to make
game-changing plays.
Trailing Ashley 28-0 late in the first
half on Oct. 2, Gillespie made an interception in the end zone with only
seconds left on the clock.
“I thought about taking a knee, but it
happened so fast that I thought I would take it out and see if I could
score right before the half and change the momentum of the game,”
Gillespie said. “I saw an opening, took it, and it just closed, I guess,
and I went helmet-to-helmet with two other kids on both sides.”
Gillespie, a senior three-year starter at quarterback, estimated he was
unconscious for more than a minute before being taken off the field.
“It was crazy,” he said of the hardest hit he’s ever taken.
Jaskiw, a junior who started the first six games of the year under
center for the Chippewas, was trying to make a play on special teams
against Cadillac on Oct. 2.
Manistee trailed in the fourth quarter, had just punched in a score and
was attempting an onside kick.
“I don’t remember it at all,” Jaskiw said. “I think it was
helmet-to-helmet. It knocked me out basically. It was a chaotic onside
kick — you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The injury and on-field treatment that ensued might have been especially
scary for the Jaskiw family. Carl’s older brother, Trevor, suffered a
broken neck during a punt return for Valparaiso in 2007. He has since
recovered from the injury, but will never play football again.
Meanwhile, Jaskiw is gearing up for a return to the Manistee lineup on
Friday night against Big Rapids with a spot in the playoffs on the line.
“Carl is medically cleared for full contact starting (Wednesday),”
Kapolka said before practice on Tuesday. “He’s back in the mix.”
However, Kapolka acknowledged that it’s imperative for coaches to be
cautious when it comes to concussions, which have become more of a
concern.Recent studies have shown
that former NFL players were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and
dementia at a substantially higher rate than the general population. The
UPMC Center for Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh claims that about 10
percent of all athletes competing in contact sports such as football,
hockey and soccer sustain a concussion every season. Its studies also
determined that a concussion can alter brain function for 24 hours to 10
days, where the brain can be more vulnerable and a second concussion
during the period could result in permanent injury. |
Onekama's QuarterbackDan Gillespie
(Dylan Savela/News Advocate file photo)
“It is something you always have to have
in the back of your mind,” Kapolka said, “because the more research is
done, the more you find out that even one or two concussions at a young
age can have residual effects later in life.”
With that in mind, Kapolka said he will restrict Jaskiw’s involvement in
certain situations.
“From a practice standpoint, he won’t get any more contact — not like
our quarterbacks get a lot of contact in practice anyway — but he won’t
get anymore contact in a practice situation the rest of the year,” he
said. “We’ll limit his time on special teams, which is where he got hurt
the last two years.”
A day after his first practice back from injury, Jaskiw said Tuesday he
felt “really good” and was eager to get back on the field.
“Everything was good,” he said. “We installed new plays and everything
was fine.”
Kapolka said he’s not worried about Jaskiw missing a step, one game
removed from senior Tim Jensen getting the start under center in a 13-0
win over Reed City.
“He’s in tremendous shape,” Kapolka said of Jaskiw. “He can run all day
and he gives us great energy on offense. We saw a little bit of it
(Monday) night at practice, where it’s actually more of everybody else
on the offense catching up with Carl than the other way around.”
While Jaskiw appears to be ready to start this week, Gillespie isn’t
penciled in for the Portagers against Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart on
Friday.
“In the NFL they say game-day decision, that’s probably where we are
with Danny,” Onekama coach Jim Hunter said. “With a concussion, you want
to be symptom free for at least a week. So far, so good. Danny did a
little bit of light running and he responded well to it, and hasn’t had
any symptoms for almost a week.”
Onekama’s Thomas Koon stepped in as quarterback last week and led the
Portagers to a 48-0 win over Brethren, and Hunter said he’s got
confidence that the senior has all the skills to get it done.
Gillespie said he’s not fearful of returning to the field and will be
ready to go when the time is right. “I’ll just go out there and play,”
he said, “and whatever happens happens.” |