Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
WCU staff, alum monitor players for concussions
Inconceivable as it might seem, there are at least two people at Lincoln Financial Field during Eagles games who aren’t always aware of the score.
But still, four certified athletic trainers, from West Chester University, are busy watching the players closer than almost anyone else in the stadium.
From high above the field, a team of two certified athletic trainers act as an “eye in the sky,” to ensure that players taking big hits, and possibly suffering from concussions, are removed from the game.
WCU Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Scott Heinerichs, Coordinator of Athletic Training Education, Neil Curtis, and WCU alumnus, Joe Iezzi, are employed by the NFL as ATC (Certified Athletic Trainer) spotters to monitor injuries occurring on the game day field.
“We look for any head or neck injuries we might see from up above the press box and call down to the trainer and doctors with a name and (jersey) number,” Iezzi said.
“We’re assisting the medical staff of the teams to identify potential injuries,” Curtis said.
“We’re just another layer of safety,” Heinerichs said.
While the ACTs watch ongoing play closely, they also review hits via live feed and replay. The spotters can watch plays in slow motion, from specific angles and with rewind.
Their main job is to “tag” all sorts of injuries, such as those to knees and ankles. A thumb drive with video and a game clock time stamp of when the injury occurred is presented to the teams following the game.
The NFL reported that about 10 injuries per game are tagged by ATC spotters.
The spotters are in radio contact with the medical staff on the sidelines.
With a possible concussion injury, and to ensure player safety, the spotter calls down to the field when medical help isn’t offered on the sidelines. For non-head and non-neck injuries, they do not notify team staffers.
An injury is usually spotted
“We look for any head or neck injuries we might see from up above the press box and call down to the trainer and doctors with a name and (jersey) number.” — Joe Iezzi, WCU alumnus
during a stoppage of play, Heinerichs said. “We have the ability to stop the game for the player to be removed from the game.”
“If there are signs of distress or concussion and a player is not leaving the game, we have to call down,” Iezza said.
“Players want to play,” Curtis said
The ACTs from WCU have never needed to pull a concussed player from a game.
The NFL reacted quickly when Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy took a helmet-to-helmet hit on Dec. 8, 2011. McCoy reentered the game with a concussion. The Browns said that the team’s trainers missed diagnosing the concussion because they were working on other injured players.
Within two week, ATC spotters were watching from high above for potential injuries.
Curtis note that each year since the program’s start-up, the technology has improved.
The spotters were pleased that a medical tent now on the sidelines will shield the view of fans, allowing privacy for injured players.
“Players wanted this to happen — they wanted medical people to help,” Iezzi said, about the team of about 30 medical professionals attending every NFL game.
“There are so many people involved — it boggles the mind,” Iezzi said.
To work for the NFL, ATC spotters must have earned an undergraduate degree from a four-year college, have a minimum of 10 years of experience as an ATC, have major college or professional sports experience, have never been employed as an NFL head athletic trainer and not been employed by the NFL for the previous 20 years.
Spotters are required to show up at the Linc three hours prior to kickoff.
The spotter program is run like a well-oiled Carson Wentz touchdown drive. A spotter’s work day is typically 10 to 12 hours long.
Two hours prior to start time, spotters meet with referees and pick up thumb drives. Fifty minutes prior to the game, they perform a radio check.
Spotters meet the team medical staff and the referee 60 minutes prior to kickoff, and 10 minutes prior to game time, another radio check is performed.
Radios are also checked at the two-minute warnings and at the start of the third quarter.
WCU has a long history of athletic training education. The local program, founded by Phil Donley, and started in 1970, is the largest in the country. It was the first such program in Pennsylvania and is one of 370 certified athletic training programs nationwide.