Football in B.C. more successful and popular than ever despite concussion concerns

The inspiringand alarming infootball intersected this past week. laying bare the best of the game achievement, fame, and the potential for big money; and the worst an uncertain futurecaused by a brain that's been bashedone toomany times.

On Wednesday,Abbotsford Secondary wide receiverChase Claypoolbecame the first B.C.playerto sign with the fabled NotreDame Fighting Irish.

On the same day, Surrey defensive end Jonathon Kongbo a former Holy Cross Crusader made the highly anticipated announcement he had chosen Tennessee over countless other division one NCAA programs that were jockeying to land him.

Slightly less prominent Wednesday was the retirement announcement by former B.C. high school and CFL star Shea Emry, due to the estimated 10 concussions he suffered in his careerand continued headaches and blurred vision he's dealing with at age 29.

"It's a relief," said Emry about making retirement official."There's mixed emotions around not being able to play football again. But at this point in time I've recognized I've got a few too many concussions and realized that I'm not willing to put myself through that anymore."

Emry's story is hardly uncommon. News aboutthe potentiallygrim toll the game can take concussion, brain injury, CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) abounds,providingcautionary tale after cautionary tale.

• Football concussion risk too great for high school, say doctors
• Ontario's proposed youth concussion law needed in B.C., says football association
• Concussions plague Quebec's young football players

And yet, footballhas never been more popular or successful in B.C., thrivingdespite all the worrying news.

Long time high school football writer Howard Tsumura says there's no simple explanationbut believesleaders in B.C.'s football community deserve credit for not only building the sport, but tacklingthe concussion issue head on.

"[High school football] isbetter right now than it's ever been, and that comes amidst all of these issues with head injuries," said Tsumura, calling Notre Dame's signing ofClaypool the most significant recruitment in B.C. highschool football history.

"I think they've beenat the highest level of Football B.C. and B.C. high school footballso acutely aware of what's out there around concussions ...and know they have to be proactive."

In fact, Football B.C. was the first provincial association in Canada to come up with a concussion policy, something that was motivated by a 2008 CBC fifth estate investigationinto the premature deaths ofEdmonton Eskimos players from the 1970s and '80s.

"When I saw that I said 'oh my God this is terrible. We have to do more."' said Pat Waslen, executive director of Football B.C., recounting the impact the show had on the football community.

"We worked with Think First Canada to put the policy together in 2010," he said."It's still a work in progress, and we struggle to getthe information out and to get people to buy in. But it's something you have to do."

The policy includes mandatory training for all coaches in concussion recognition and protocoland a volume of on-line resources and educational material. As well, there is a huge emphasis on making sure players learn how to tackle properly.

Waslenhas also lobbied provincial politicians to adopt something similar to Rowan's Law proposed legislation in Ontarionamed forRowan Springer, the 17-year-old Ottawa girlwho died after suffering a concussion playing high school rugby.

"I'll say this until I'm blue in the face," said Waslen. "Rowan's law is going in because Rowan isdead. For the love of God, who wants to put their name on the B.C. one?"

Educationand research are keyto making football safer, but as in any sport where hittingis part of the game, it will never be completely risk free.

That's somethingShea Emry knowsand lives every day.The two-time Grey Cup Champion hasmoved back to Vancouver to be near his "concussion support network,"a team at UBC that's helping him cope with and hopefully recover from, the headaches and vision problems.

As the father of a 16-month-old boy, he's also nowconsidering the game from the perspective of a parent.

"For me, I'm not going to say that my son can't play football, but I'm definitely not going to be feeding him football helmets and pads and cleats anytime soon," he said.

"To say that openly and honestly about something that's given me so much and allowed me to learn so much about myself, itbreaks my heart," he said. "But that doesn't mean there isn't an issue."