Concussions can’t be Ignored; Neither can be One Local Coach’s Good Intentions

Make no mistake about it, Mike Burr, Maple Grove’s beloved high school Girls Varsity soccer coach, is a man that requires little to no introduction. Entering his 11^th season as head coach, fresh off a sectional title, there’s not much the three-time Post-Journal Coach of the Year hasn’t accomplished over the course of his tenure at Maple Grove High School.

Whether it’s guiding his teams to multiple sectional and league titles, or instilling character in his players, while putting up flawless records in the process, Burr has established himself as one of the premier high school soccer coaches this area has to offer. Needless to say, the astute leader is deserving of all accolades that come his way.

Although the recognition he’s received over the years has surely been appreciated, Burr’s most impressive feat may have taken place during the offseason – when no one was looking.

“I took initiative; it was completely my idea,” explained Burr, as he described the series of events that led to him deciding his players would be required to wear protective, concussion-reducing headbands prior to the start of the 2015-2016 season. “Last year, we had three concussions on my girls team alone. With everything I kept reading, I wanted to be the first team to say ‘Hey, you know what? We should be wearing these.’ Hopefully others take notice and start having their teams wear them as well.”

With player safety in mind, Burr reached out to Dr. C. J. Abraham, inventor of the ForceField FF Protective Headband, and founder of ForceField FF (NA), Ltd., to see what a specialist with over 40 years of experience had to say.

“I contacted Dr. Abraham and told him we were going to fundraise for the headgear; he was really helpful,” said Burr, commenting on the ease of the entire process. “We ordered headbands for our modified team, as well as for our girls varsity team; our boys just ordered a bunch of them too. I have every single one of the girls in my program wearing a headband right now.”

Considering that head trauma has become the number one most serious issue threatening all of sports today, protective headgear seems to be a pretty good investment. According to Dr. Abraham, “soccer is now only second to football,” in the incidence of concussions in children playing sports. That alone is good enough reason to be cautious; concussions can’t be ignored any longer.

“I’ve got to be honest,” said Burr. “There have been three or four times so far in practice where girls have headed the ball and got hit in the head. I talk to them and they say they’re fine… the headband absorbs quite a bit. Nothing can prevent a concussion completely, but it’s cool knowing that I already avoided some potential injuries.”

The ForceField FF is a lightweight, ventilated and adjustable headband with an impact absorbing polymeric layer that wraps around the head. Although girls in the Maple Grove Soccer Program have “grown used to them,” Burr’s team was a little reluctant when they found out about the requirement for the first time.

“The girls were kind of reluctant early on, but they didn’t even notice they had them on most of the time,” said Burr. “I have enough control of the program where if I say ‘you’re wearing these,’ then they’re wearing them. They trust me too… It’s just one of those things where they knew it was important to me, and they knew why.”

Headbands and all, Burr and his team of talented young players look forward to putting themselves in position to compete for back-to-back sectional titles. Still, safety remains his top priority.

“If a successful coach can get his players to wear these things because I think they are important, then anybody can,” argued Burr. “At this point, every coach would admit that safety should come first. If we can protect our players, even a little bit, with something so simple and cost effective, then why not? What are we waiting for? Lets go-ahead and do it.”

In a sense, Burr is to be considered a pioneer. After all, if every team ends up utilizing these concussion-reducing headbands, he will be credited as the one who started the movement. “It’s kind of exciting from that stand point,” said Burr. “I don’t regret my decision (to get the headbands) at all.”

Soccer is a very physical game and Maple Grove’s esteemed coach knows that. He is doing all in his power to protect his players.