Friday night, young men, who are fast, strong and wearing a lot of protective gear, will head out on to area football fields and compete in the hopes of picking up a win for their high school.

In some cases, they will get injured. There will be sprained ankles, pulled muscles and heaven forbid, broken bones.

But the injury that has drawn the most attention in recent years, is one that is often unseen and unfortunately misunderstood.

It has been estimated that up to 3.8 million sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries occur in the United States yearly, with the highest rates of emergency department visits for sports concussion occurring for those between the ages of 10 to 19. Young athletes appear to be especially vulnerable to the effects of concussion, including cognitive difficulties such as memory and attention problems.

Last week, Gov. Robert Bentley signed legislation creating the Alabama Statewide Sports Concussion Taskforce.

The law requires all athletic organizations to provide information on sports concussions to all athletic participants and their families; ensure that all coaches have training in the recognition of concussions; and immediately remove a participant suspected of having a concussion from participation and not to allow them to return until cleared by a physician.

Local high school football coaches have helped in the education of athletes.

“Each of our coaches have been trained to recognize when someone has had a concussion,” Morgan Academy head coach Brian King said. “We even have our water girls looking out for symptoms. They have to tell us immediately if they notice someone acting differently.”

King said new rules and regulations remove the coach from deciding when a player can or cannot return to the field.

“I really like the fact that we are not part of the decision,” King said. “If a player has had a concussion, they cannot return until a doctor says so.”