School Rugby Injury

Terrible news involving another high school student athlete.

This time, Wesley Jorisch. He's a 16-year old rugby player on the junior boys' team at Marshall McLuhan High in Toronto. No one knew much about him until Thursday night. Now, his name is splashed across media websites, Facebook and more.

Jorisch is in critical condition at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre after reports say he suffered head injuries after being tackled in a Toronto District Colleges Athletic Association league game against Pope John Paul II high.

When I first heard about his injury on Thursday night, Nick van Rijn - one of my colleagues in the newsroom - came over and asked if I could help with information for a story.The people, who I contacted, were very cooperative and knew it was a sensitive item. Star reporter Brendan Kennedy is working on an update to what he's posted On-line and informed me on Friday afternoon that Wesley remains unconscious.

Let's all pray Wesley recovers from this. Let's also not panic and stop sports in schools for investigations. Toronto Police reported that this was an accident.

What I found interesting were the quick comments from Star readers after the initital story was posted on our website and, since then, by e-mail and voice mail. Some people left their names with comments. Others did not and really had some nasty stuff to say.

For those who say I am against rugby, not so. It's a rough game, some people call it barbaric, but like any contact sport there is potential for injury. Yes, I have raised the subject of injuries and a need for improved and certified coaching, top notch officiating and a better understanding of the game by athletes - boys' and girls' - their parents, teachers and administrators. That doesn't mean I dislike the sport.

Yet, some comments that I received are disappointing.

"There you go again, writing about a rugby player getting injured. This has no business being in the paper. Leave the kid alone" writes Barry Walsh, Toronto, in an e-mail.

Here's one from the voice mail.

"Far worse injuries occur in football, wrestling and hockey. Are you blind and naive. Write about them as much as you do about rugby". Male voice. No name left and call display was blocked.

At the Tim Horton's at Eglinton and Don Mills, I stopped for a coffee this afternoon and saw two guys reading the Star and talking about - yes, the rugby story. They were saying it's a case of reporters exaggerating the entire episode "because that's what papers do". I wonder if these two men went over to Sunnybrook to be with worried family and friends and felt the same way.

Yes, we have a job to do. It's not always about who defeated who in a school game. Far more times than some of us like, it's about a teenager getting seriously injured in a school game. Remember three years ago in Mississauaga. Manny Castillo, a Lorne Park student, died from injuries received in a game. Yes, it too was rugby.

I know there have been thousands of games played since then. I also know, from what I have been told and witnessed, that liability remains a big issue with boards of education. I just hope someone doesn't decide to remove certain sports from school programs - because  of accidents.

Comments

[JR Jake]

Whenever yu have violent, hard hitting sports someone is going to get hurt. Risk management and Safety principles require us to look at episodes, not as a matter of blame, but to provide answers of future avoidance. My hopes of a speedy recovery for Marshall.

[K. Ferreira]

I have read the Toronto Star coverage of this and find it very well done and not the speculation and sensationalism of some radio stations. I would like to know more about the player who hit him and how he feels about what happened.

[Durham Rugby Fan]

You're deliberately going after rugby because of the injury. Where are the blogs about other sports with injuries? Rugby is the safest sport in the world.

[Chris Stephenson]

While I do enjoy watching rugby being played it has always frankly scared me that the players heads continue to be unprotected. In this litigious age I would think that is a no-brainer for at minimum school boards to insist that all players be required to wear rugby helmets. There are many types and brands available for very modest prices.

Beer leagues and semi-pro leagues I believe should also consider it.

I wish the youngster a quick recovery and sincerely hope that organizers begin to take their responsibilities seriously.

[radha]

The pile up in the scrums have always been a problem because its a pile up one on top another and the boots are in action - loose or set scrums although the rest of rugby there is no protection for the head and no padding to body parts as in football. I come from South Africa and our provinbce produced one of S. Africa's greatest full backs Roy Dryburghwho used to match the All Blacks in prowess. Its atough sport and but it was the sport of South Africans it was their passion. We hope Wesley comes through this tragic injury.

[Erin]

i do not think that the player who hit Wesley should be mentioned. He obviously feels horrible and does not need to be known around the city or province for something he did that was part of the game.

[Peter]

Ban this ridiculous game in schools.
How many serious injuries and deaths do we need? If I was a parent, I'd sue the school system.

[G.S.]

So, where are all those rugby fanatics and why aren't they blaming you for writing about this. Gosh, how can their precious sport get a beating in the media. My, it must be humiliating to see a sport where boys and girls get grabbed around the head - with no protection - and get slammed to the ground. High schools are worried about insurance? They should be worried about lawyers. If I was a coach, I'd be sure of my qualifications and having medical staff watching for all games. I would also not be coaching this sport unless I lived in mmedieval times.

[T. Kaye]

These school officials need to show up at a rugby game rather than sit in their offices counting their huge salaries. If they actually go out and see teenagers throwing bodies around without protection, then maybe a light will go off to do the right thing. BAN THIS RIDICULOUS SPORT IN SCHOOLS BEFORE ANOTHER KID DIES!!!!

[P. Miller]

No one says a damn thing until a high school rugby player lies in a hospital fighting for his life. Then all the sympathy. What happens if that's your child. It's like we're all oblivious to the possibility of this happening. I say bull crap. For now, eliminate the sport in high schools. Mr. Grossman, you are right on. Start educating coaches more and don't hide because a kid got a form signed by his parents that he could play. Schools need to take more responsibility.

[Ross]

My prayers go out to the young man and his famliy and I pray for a speedy recovery,

Unfortunately North Americans don't really get "Rugby". It encompassses all that is good about sport: speed, strength, coordination, teamwork and commitment. It also is a sport where every body type has a place. The slighter or skinnier players who have never been able to make the hockey team and the heavier players who have never been quick enough or fit enough to make a school team can make the team, play,contribute and get fitter.

Rugby has one referee and 30 players and the referee's rule is "law". No talking back is allowed like in hockey or basketball or your team is penalized. A major infraction and your team plays short handed for 10 minutes or if they are sent off ... the rest of the game.

There are many adjustments to the "Laws of the game" (rules) for the high school game. the IRB (International Rugby Board) adjusted the laws to protect the "school" player. Limited push in the scrum. Mandatory training for all front row players. Level 1 coaching certification for the head coaches. (At least it was mandatory a few years ago.)

I have coached and refereed rugby. I never had a chance to play it. I played football at the university level, but maintain that if I had been introduced to rugby at an early age I would have played rugby. Barbaric game ... hmmm. An old adage is "Soccer is a gentlemens' game played by barbarians, while rugby is a barbarians game played by gentlemen."

[A. Craig]

I hope I am wrong but some kid will die at a school rugby game and then we'll be spending millions of dollars on a Royal Commission that will ultimately do nothing. Get equipment to protect the head or get the sport out of schools.

[sammie rage]

Let me just point out that this was a "freak" thing and there have been many tackles and injuries occur over the years (in rugby and other sports) but nothing comes close to what happened on thursday. The incident that happened to Manny Castillo about 3 years ago, another rugby tragdey, was caused outside of a regular play, and apparently the kid on the other team picked Manny up and dropped him on his head, premediative motives is why this happened. In Wesley's cause he was side tackled and just didn't get up. Wesley's tests have proven that there was no broken bones or anything wrong with his brain, so why he is still unconscious is unknown. He also didnt have any past medical conditions that may have been triggered to have led to his present condition. Also let me point out that the coaches are not at fault, and neither is the kid who tackled Wesley. The McLuhan coach is a great coach who also been coaching rugby at Club level, both men and women for many years, so theres no doubt that he trains his high school rugby teams with the same respect, manner and by the rules of the game, that he would coach his other teams. The man was a rugby player and now coach, of a sport he loves. I can't say much about the JPP2's coach, because to be honest I dont know him really well to speak on his behalf, but from what i've heard he also has been coaching rugby for a while as well, and i'm hoping that he has the same or even similar coaching to that of McLuhan's coach. I disagree with the person who requested to know about the kid who had tackled Wesley. Seriously he does not need to be brought out into the media. Have some compassion people, the kid is like 14 or 15 (to have been on the junior team). Give the kid a break, it was a common tackle, which led accidently to something which is still a mystery. And for those who keep complaining about the game of rugby, should probably get off of their lazy behinds and actually try the sport out. It is actually a really safe sport if you know what you're doing, and know how to prevent yourself from injuries. With all that said, my prayers go out to Wesley and his family. You're a tough kid and you can pull through this. Hopefully i'll get to see you back at school soon! <3

[Susan B]

Firstly my heart goes out to the family of Wesley. I pray for his safe and full recovery.
My son is a Grade 9 Rugby player through the TDSB. He has played high school football and basketball for his school. Both my son and I understand that it is a rough game. What I felt was a bit disconcerting was that there was an EMS at his first game (apparently some schools have a policy to have one at each game.) which showed me that injury is somewhat anticiapated.(I have never seen an EMS in attendance at either a football or basketball game that my son played at but perhaps there was one.) Either way, if something needs to come out of this is for ALL schools to have an EMS in attendance at each game. In the case of Wesley, it took the ambulance 6 minutes to get to him. Luckily an EMS and lifeguard were at the field and performed CPR. Since my son started playing a month ago I have heard of a broken leg, broken arm, a hit resulting in a player convulsing on the field (all in Junior highschool rugby.)

[Bob]

It might be interesting to take a count on the number of injuries in rugby vs other sports per school season to determine just which sports typically produce the most injuries. It might also be interesting to determine the kind of injuries and the recovery times from those injuries. This e-mail takes no sides; just suggests a rational way of analysing all of this.

[Michael the Coach]

I am not sure what Bob is trying to say or prove with his comment.
To me, it doesn't matter if there are three knee injuries in football, a broken leg in wrestling or 12 variations of injuries in basketball. One kid battling for his life because of a head injury in a contact sport and with no equipment is enough for me.
I take a side - ban rugby in schools.

[Terry Thomas]

Why has there been no updates on the condition of this boy?
The school is saying nothing, The league is saying nothing. Can someone provide a report for those who care about this young man?

[Dandmb50]

Has there been any update on the condition of this young man? I haven't read anything in the papers. I hope that he has regained consciousness and is on a road to recovery. Please let us know how he is doing?

Daniel ... Toronto
http://bit.ly/Daniel2010

[Andy]

I know this comment is late but this incident just happened. This past friday I was watching my son play. I was sitting on the bench watching the play when ther was a huge pileup of people. I said to myself I feel sorry for the person on the bottom. Then I realized I did not see my son. When the guys got up he was lying on the ground. The physiotherapist was waved onto the field(Thank god she was there).I saw my son trying to get up and flopping backwards. Little did I know it was a seizure.(he does not suffer from seizures) A coach came over and said to call 911. I ran out to the field only to see my son saying he can't see and yet at the same time not having a clue where he was. According to the physio he was out for a full minute as well as seizured for a minute. His memory did not come back for about 5 hours. His face and head were scratcehed up. Some how someone stepped on his head. Thank god for his scrum cap. The ambulance came, he was imobilized and he went to the hospital. They were great there. He went immediately into emergency where he had x-rays and a catscan. By the time this was all done and 5 hours later he seemed a bit more like himself. We were actually anticipating going home when the doctor came in and said in addition to having a severe concussion he also had petechial hemorrhaging in the frontal lobe of the brain as well as in back of the brain but no surgery is required due to the small amount of blood. However he did need to stay overnight to ensure no other seizures occured.I'm sure my face went white. Again I thank my stars for the scrum cap. Things were bad but they could have been worse. Luckily he was able to go home although its been a weekend of headaches, nausea and having to be woken up every 2 hours at night. Also any blow to his head in the next little while could cause severe brain damage.Next up a doctor and neurologist appt. Then comes the question of what to do about playing rugby. Thats a tough one as this is his passion. He has hopes of one day playing for the Canadian team. I guess we have to cross one bridge at a time and that means getting better first. To all those parents who have kids playing I'm not saying stop them but get a scrum cap. You might be thankful that you did.

[David Grossman]

Message to Daniel and the many others, who have asked about the status of the injured Toronto high school rugby player.
I have asked the school, the Convenor and the Toronto Catholic Board for an update. The response I received, as late as May 13th, was `no change`. I was asked to respect the wishes of the family.
Any updates would be provided to me by the school. I wanted to attend a rugby game at Marshall McLuhan to ask other players about him, but was advised by Linda Roy, Principal, not to do so.
So, like everyone else, we wonder how Wesley is doing and pray for his recovery.

[Freddie]

Andy, how is your son now and have you heard from the school Board of education. What school does your son attend.

[Andy]

He attends Mayfield. Have not heard from the school board. He is having major headaches and we are following up with doctors today. Thanks for asking.