ANCHOR LEAD IN:
HUSTLE, HIT, NEVER QUIT. THAT'S THE MENTALITY FOR MANY FOOTBALL PLAYERS. BUT, THE GETTING HIT PART CAN TAKE ITS TOLL-LEAVING PLAYERS WITH CONCUSSIONS AND MORE. HOWEVER, A SPORTS MEDICINE RESEARCHER BELIEVES THERE COULD BE A LOT LESS INJURIES ON THE FIELD WITH SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS ON THE SIDELINES. ___________ HAS A HEADS UP ON THESE HEAD INJURIES.

TRACK ONE Length: 06
WITH PAINT LITERALLY KNOCKED OFF HIS HELMET, HARRY GUARINO (gwar EE no) HAS PROOF OF THE POPS HE TAKES ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD.

SOT
KEY @ : 13 Harry Guarino, Football Player
"I got hit in the head in between two guys on a kickoff and I just, immediately I got a headache, but then maybe five minutes later, I started getting memory loss and didn't know where I was."

TRACK TWO Length:04
THAT WAS HIS FIRST CONCUSSION ON THE FIELD. BUT NOT THE ONLY ONE.

SOT
KEY @ : 24 Harry Guarino, Football Player
"The one last year I got a headache and I just started getting nauseated and started throwing up."

TRACK THREE Length: 03
HIS MOM ACKNOWLEDGES IT'S NERVE-WRACKING TO WATCH.

SOT
NO KEY
"It's hard for me to wait and to hear what's wrong."

TRACK FOUR Length : 07
HARRY'S NOT THE ONLY PLAYER GETTING CLOBBERED, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE---OR A-C-S-M.

SOT
KEY @ : 43 Eugene Hong, MD, American College of Sports Medicine
"The estimates of concussions in US high school football alone range from 30-thousand concussions a year up to 250-thousand concussions a year.

TRACK FIVE Length: 12
DR. EUGENE HONG IS ONE OF NINE PHYSICANS ON A NATIONAL TASK FORCE FOR THE A-C-S-M. HE RECENTLY STUDIED WHETHER THESE HEAD INJURIES COULD BE AVOIDED... TAKING A LOOK AT HOW THE PLAYERS' HELMETS ARE FITTED.

SOT
KEY @ : 1:04 Eugene Hong, MD, American College of Sports Medicine
"It's intuitive for football helmets to work properly, they have to fit properly."

TRACK SIX Length: 10
DR. HONG LOOKED AT MORE THAN A THOUSAND SCHOOLS AND FOUND SOME COMMON MISTAKES IN THE WAYS HELMETS WERE BEING WORN...MISTAKES THAT HE THINKS MAY HELP AVOID INJURIES.
FIRST:

SOT
NO KEY
"Ear holes should be symmetrical, covering the ears and on the same plane as the ears themselves."

TRACK SEVEN Length : 08
THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT OF THE HELMET SHOULD BE ONE INCH ABOVE THE EYEBROWS. THE CHIN STRAP SHOULD BE EVEN ON BOTH SIDES AND...

SOT
NO KEY
"The face mask should be approximately two inches in front of the nose."

TRACK EIGHT Length : 10
MAKING SURE THESE STEPS ARE FOLLOWED COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON THE FIELD.
...A BENEFIT THAT PARENTS OF PLAYERS SUCH AS HARRY ARE HAPPY TO TRY...TO AVOID FUTURE CONCUSSIONS.

SOT
NO KEY
"I certainly don't want him to have any more."

ANCHOR TAG
DR. HONG SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT PLAYERS WHO SUFFER ONE CONCUSSION ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER ANOTHER. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE A PLAYER WHO HAS SUFFERED A CONCUSSION IS FULLY HEALED BEFORE PLAYING AGAIN-WAITING AT LEAST A WEEK.

SOURCE INFORMATION
FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The information provided below is for client-station use only. It is provided to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you may have and to help you localize a story. This private contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your Website. It is for internal station use only. Any exceptions to this will be clearly noted. Thank you.

Dr. Eugene Hong, MD
Drexel University
215-441-7560
Contact: Rachel Sparrow
Media Relations
215-255-7328
Eugene Hong, M.D., CAQSM, has been named Chairman of the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Hong is an Associate Professor in the Department as well as Chief of the Division of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Hong received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Columbia University and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. After medical school, Dr. Hong completed his postgraduate training with a general surgical internship at the University of Connecticut, a family medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University, and fellowships at the University of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson University, in community medicine and sports medicine respectively.
Dr. Hong was recently selected as one of nine physicians on a national task force for the American College of Sports Medicine, and is a member of several professional committees and associations including the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians.