It was 90 feet across the rink from me, midway through the second period. Tom had dropped his stick in a tangle, leaned down to pick it up, puck came into his area, and he kicked it, returned to his task of pick up his stick, and got blasted in the back of his head with a forearm to the brain stem.
11 year olds playing roller ball. Disgusting.
I went out to tend to him, but was called in by coach Steve. We have three coaches, and one is a trained Emergency Medical Technician. He sent the right guy to deal with Tom. EMT/coach Kevin escorted Tom to the locker room, checked his eyes (not dilating to the light), his memory (returned quickly after first forgetting the day of the week and the opponent). He called for an ambulance and it was off to the emergency room.
So I'm staying in my spot as one of now two bench coaches, watching a pointless game deteriorate, listening to the ref justify a mere two minute penalty for a gratuitous, violent hit that hospitalized my son, and was by and large disgusted with youth sports.
After the game ended, the two teams shared a hallway returning to their locker rooms, an altercation ensued with the perpetrator, coaches were yelling at each other, all in the name of sport after a 9-1 drubbing. Sports, the driving force in my life for nearly 50 years, sucked. I couldn't believe I was going through the motions of coaching when my kid was in a hospital with a bruised brain. Intellectually, it was the right call--he was with his Mom, and EMT and a staff of hospital doctors. Emotionally, it was lunacy.
I arrived in time for the doctor's assessment: No loss of consciousness, no concussion. It seemed counter-intuitive, the kid was puking from a blow to the back of his head. But he remembered everything, his only lingering symptom was a mildly sore back.
Tom dutifully put on his official warmup outfit for the Saturday and Sunday games, and was quite distraught that he could not play Sunday because he felt perfect. The doctor advised no games or even gym class for a week, just to play it safe.
His Mom the lawyer is preparing to write up a complaint, I am digging up the details and some eyewitness accounts. 11 year olds shouldn't be cruising for big hits on unsuspecting opponents. The Ontario Hockey League, the final step before the NHL for most of Canadian junior players, suspended Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters for the year for a recent hit because the recipient did not have a chance to defend himself properly from a blow to the head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPj-kCp1rGI
He had a better chance than Tom. Youth, divine Providence, and the fact that he was biting down on his mouthguard allowed Tom to survive his. We'll keep on eye out for recurrences. In the meantime, he is eager to play.
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