After taking a hard hit he only remembers lying on his back in the middle of the field. He had no recollection of the day, the time, or even the fact that he was out on the football field. “I remember looking up and saying it was a Wednesday in November even though it was a Friday in October,” sophomore Jordan Farmer said. “I woke up the next day and couldn’t remember anything after that.”

It was his second concussion and his last game of football ever. His level three concussion is the worst someone can get as it resulted in loss of consciousness. A wakeup call that came at the end of his freshman year would keep him from playing this school year. “I broke down in front of the team,” he said. “I’ve only been to one game this year because it’s too hard.”

Concussions have been a major issue for athletes, especially in football, as they lead to memory loss and difficulty focusing on minor tasks. For Farmer, even the most basic exercise caused pounding headaches.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, concussions represent 8.9 percent of all high school sports injuries. Farmer and junior Cody Wilkinson have both become a part of this frightening statistic. To lower the numbers the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment has revised rules for the players’ helmets, making it a requirement that they have warning labels. They state that “no helmet can prevent all head or any neck injuries.”

Wilkinson has sustained three concussions since the sixth grade with two of them happening during football. His first occurred at a basketball game and his second and third were football related.

“After my second (the doctors) said no more contact sports,” he said. He ignored them. “After my third he said no more football.” Despite these warnings he continued to play and finally stopped when he got yet another. 

“My doctor explained the side effects, loss of memory, and that death is a possibility,” he said. “I knew it was serious so I didn’t really question it, but I was mad.”

His father, Wayne Wilkinson, agreed with the doctor when he said that his son shouldn’t play football after getting his third concussion sophomore year. He isn’t fearful of him playing basketball, though.  “The only thing that’s gonna stop Cody from playing basketball is Cody.”

These injuries aren’t keeping either player from participating in other sports they love. Wilkinson has been at basketball conditioning and tryouts over the past month and Farmer plans on playing baseball in the spring. Even though they understand the risk, both want to continue being active with their school and teams.

“I don’t think you can go through life being fearful of things,” Wilkinson said. “You gotta do what you dream of.”