For many athletes concussions have been huge roadblocks during their highschool years. Here at Lakes, some of our athletes have been unlucky enough to endure this injury. The football team this year took a big hit with one of their primary starters suffering a concussion. Senior cornerback Tayvion Pitts suffered a concussion in practice going into Grayslake North week. When asked what it was like to have a concussion, Pitts described the injury as “A very bad migraine, you’re very light sensitive and you have limits to activities you would normally be able to do”. For Pitts, this game was very important to him as he was looking to play against his childhood best friend Michael Jefferson for potentially the last time ever. It was hard for Pitts to miss the sport he loves but he knew he had to take the process carefully if he wanted to play as soon as the next week. “I hated not being able to play, not being out there to celebrate and pick up my teammates. The recovery was tough on me but I was committed to coming back as soon as I was cleared”. Fast forward two weeks, Pitts cleared concussion protocol and would go on to play a crucial role in Lakes week 8 win against the Grant Bulldogs.
With the way other fall sports’ game schedule is, concussions can be tougher to manage especially with how frequent volleyball games are. Junior middle blocker Kylie Ledyard was another athlete who was unlucky enough to experience this injury this season. For Ledyard, volleyball is a very important part of her life as she has been playing since freshman year. She has suffered multiple concussions, the second was harder mentally than the first. She missed games in tournaments and throughout the regular season. Ledyard said “It was hard to watch the team play, the worst part was definitely hearing that I would miss eight games in a week, including multiple conference games.” Her most recent concussion came from taking a volleyball to the head on an overpass early in a game against Vernon Hills. Ledyard said “ The recovery process is definitely a process that you need to take seriously. It really limits you with the things you can and cannot do”. For Ledyard, she would return as a leader, playing a key role for the team for the remainder of the regular season. With the girls volleyball team falling short in the playoffs this year, Ledyard and many key returners look to bounce back for their senior season next year.