DUDLEY, Mass. (Jan. 23) – On Sunday night, renowned concussion expert Chris Nowinski delivered a presentation to a packed auditorium on the campus of Nichols College. The event was co-sponsored by the Fischer Institute and Nichols Athletics. In addition to student-athletes, sport management and educator preparation majors were encouraged to attend as well as members of club teams.

Nowinski, a two-time All-Ivy league football selection for Harvard, has been instrumental in the research on the lasting effects on concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). The former WWE star began his crusade following an estimated six concussions while in sports-entertainment and two while on the gridiron.

In 2007, Nowinski teamed up with Dr. Robert Cantu to form the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) with a mission to combat head trauma and educate various constituencies on the subject.
 
“Chris is a gem in terms of the health, well-being and safety of sport from this point forward. Dr Cantu and Chris are gifts to all levels of athletics,” stated Nichols College Director of Athletics Charlyn Robert. “Without their passion, without their devotion, without their dedication there is a lot unknown and it's pretty scary.”
 
Current men's lacrosse assistant coach, Brian Gattie '11, was in the audience as a student-athlete the last time Nowinski was on campus for a talk on January 24, 2010.
 
“Actually having to go through a concussion, his talk proved valuable and is what made me speak up,” commented Gattie. “If Chris hadn't come I might have made a mistake. It's something you really need to pay attention to.”
 
According to the SLI's research fewer than 10% of concussions lead to unconsciousness and depending on the severity of the impact it can take a month to fully recover. Nowinski emphasized that a “ding” or “bell-ringer” are in fact concussions and should be addressed.
 
In looking for opportunities to cut down on head trauma, the SLI recommends that soccer players limit headers and even propose tracking the stat similar to a baseball pitch-count. Nowinski stated, “We live in the safest country in the world for elbows, but not for our brains.”
 
Statistically, women are more likely to be diagnosed with a concussion which Nowinski speculates may have more to do with them being more upfront about it rather than physiology.
 
Sophomore women's soccer and lacrosse player Gabriella Sarkis remarked, “It was inspirational. I didn't know a lot of the information.”
 
Concussions have been shown to lead to deeper issues such as major depression, anxiety, and cognitive problems among others. In rare cases it can even lead to death.
 
“I never really knew how dangerous concussions could really be,” said women's ice hockey first-year forward Samantha Vicari.
 
Currently there are no definitive tests on when one can return to the lineup as every athlete is different and every concussion is different.
 
“Chris was very informative,” acknowledged head football coach Kevin Loney. “Looking at our own season we had some student-athletes with concussions. You wonder what effects they have on each guy.”
 
Nowinski urged the audience to not only speak up for themselves but to be aware of potential concussions suffered by teammates.
 
“A lot of concussions go unnoticed nowadays and it's important to see what actually is going on,” said first-year men's ice hockey forward Louie Educate. “If you know someone who has a concussion or concussion-like symptoms you should let someone know.”
 
As the program came to a close Nowinski summed up the talk with, “You only have one brain for the rest of your life.”