Doctors issue warning to parents of athletes

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Doctors are issuing a warning to parents of young athletes in every sport to pay attention to every hit in the head.

Medical experts say concussions in kids are often missed and can be extremely dangerous. Getting more than one concussion can ultimately lead to lower grades and life-long brain issues.

Recently, concussions forced two college football players to retire from the gridiron and sidelined a third, putting his coach under fire.

Rice University soccer player Britton Cartwright is another college athlete who had to give up the game she loved. She started playing at age 3, and her dream was to land a scholarship at Rice. Now she is saying goodbye to her soccer career after her eighth diagnosed concussion. That many blows to the head gave her chronic migraines and memory loss.

"I'm an A/B student, even here at Rice, but my grades started to slip so much that even my parents noticed," Cartwright said.

Dr. Kenneth Podell, of the Houston Methodist Concussion Center says suffering grades is a side effect that most people don't realize.

"They go to class and they can just sit there, zone out, they'll be distracted, they won't learn anything," Podell said. "For 99 percent of the population, it's not about getting back to the game. It's about getting back to school.

Podell says because women tend to have weaker necks than men, they are almost twice as likely to get concussions playing the same sport. He says parents and athletes have to know when enough is enough.

"You're not going to go to the pros. And what's more important is your brain," Podell said.

A series of concussions led to University of Texas quarterback David Ash's difficult decision last month.

"I've played QB on one of the premiere stages in college football. But my football career is ending," said Ash.

Just a week before that, University of Connecticut quarterback Casey Cochran retired for the same reason.

Then, the University of Michigan's quarterback Shane Morris took a hit that left him staggering and left fans asking why coaches left him on the field.

"The one thing that we really want to try to prevent is allowing them to continue to play with a concussion. That's the one situation where we know things will get worse," Podell said.

Podell's message to parents is to protect your child's brain because there is no real prevention.

"When in doubt, sit them out," Podell said. "As long as the head is able to move, you're going to have concussions."

Passionate kids, like Cartwright, will play through the pain.

"I didn't want to let my teammates down," Cartwright said. "I didn't want to let myself down."