It's one of those things that can happen any time and in any sport. But now we know that concussions are a lot more serious than we used to think.Each year over one hundred thousand young athletes suffer concussions. And as a matter of fact, concussions are right behind car crashes as the leading causes of brain injury for fifteen to twenty four year olds.It used to be that if you suffered a hit to the head, you were put back in the game fairly quickly. But over the years we've found out that concussions can come with some very small signs and symptoms. And we now also know that the old thinking that you have to pass out to have suffered a concussion isn't true at all. Even a small bump to the head can cause one.And since concussions can cause long term problems with depression and even thinking ability, if your son or daughter has suffered a hit to the head, they need to be checked out before getting back into play. This is especially important because of something called a "second impact syndrome". That's when the brain is still soft after a concussion and the athlete gets hit in the head again. This can cause permanent damage. And that is why making sure the athlete is completely symptoms free-no headache, nausea, dizziness or vision changes---to name a few, before they or you even think about getting them back into play.