Holle Depina has dealt with her fair share of injuries during her soccer career, including a torn ACL. But concussions were something new for the sophomore attacking midfielder for the Santa Rosa Junior College women’s team.
During a game for the Bear Cubs late in the regular season, she went up for a header and bumped shoulder to shoulder with an opponent before falling awkwardly on her head.
She was evaluated by the athletic training staff and brought her to the sidelines. She was diagnosed with a concussion, which was confirmed by the school’s baseline testing system the following day.
With one of the state’s most comprehensive concussion management protocols in place, Depina was able to recover both mentally and physically from the head injury and return in time to score the tying goal on a header in double overtime during the second round of the NorCal playoffs in November. SRJC went on to beat Evergreen on penalty kicks 3-2 to advance.
Novato High grad Dr. Nancy Resendes Chinn is a major reason why the junior college has this protocol in helping treat and educating student-athletes on brain injuries.
“They definitely know how to take care of players,” Depina said. “(Head athletic trainer) Monica Ohkubo and Nancy make sure you are good mentally and physically. They make sure you are safe to get back on the field and in the classroom.”
With SRJC needing a goal to tie in the final 30 seconds of the second overtime, Depina came in on a substitution with the Bear Cubs on a corner kick.
She was able to get a header on the corner kick, which found the back of the net.
“It was a good moment coming off the concussion. … I didn’t need to be scared (of heading the ball) anymore,” said Depina, who will play for Sonoma State University next fall.
Helping out
Chinn, who grew up in Novato and now lives in Santa Rosa, has been at the JC since 1998. Her training is as a speech pathologist and she specializes in acquired brain injuries.
Chinn’s doctoral dissertation for UC Davis six years ago on concussion management in California Community College Athletics helped spearhead the program at the JC.
It was about that time that Chinn approached Ohkubo to offer her services to the athletic department.
While Ohkubo didn’t know what to think about Chinn’s offer at first, she’s glad Chinn was persistent.
“I knew what we were supposed to be doing,” Ohkubo said of the concussion management protocol. “We didn’t have the resources. We didn’t have the time or the money, but she kept reminding me she was there to help.”
The two have collaborated since then quite effectively in treating the athletic and academic side of concussions. They have also presented their findings at forums around the country and as far away as Cambridge, England.
Chinn was recognized for her work with the concussion management program in 2014 when SRJC received the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) excellence award grand silver medal and the gold award in the area of athletics. She and Ohkubo also received the SRJC/Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce excellence in teaching award in 2011.
“Her role (with athletics) could be zero, but she wants to serve student-athletes as best she can,” Ohkubo said of Chinn. “She’s willing to put in the extra effort and time. Over the years, we’ve worked as a pretty good team.
“We’re always trying to move forward. A lot has to do with Nancy’s drive in concussions and constantly reading research articles. To have that person on your team is pretty helpful.”
Progress
Chinn has had several of her articles on concussion and acquired brain injuries published, including one that the BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine journal has recently recommended for publication.
Chinn says that concussion testing has come a long way in the past decade. She says that according to a 2009 study of California community colleges, there were seven schools using computerized baseline testing out of 72 schools involved in the study. At the time, there were 110 community colleges in the state.
Before Ohkubo and Chinn began working together, there were one or two concussions reported a year. Last year, there were more than 50.
“We are helping more people,” Ohkubo said. “They wouldn’t have reported (their concussion) before. The in-depth struggle they are going through, it feels good that they are getting help.”
At the beginning of the season, all SRJC athletes involved in contact sports must go through concussion baseline testing — the impact test and the SCAT3 test (cognitive and balance assessments). Chinn says there were around 250 athletes tested in the fall.
“Research shows the more education, the more knowledgeable they are,” Chinn said. “It’s gotten to the point where athletes are very knowledgeable, but we also want to impact the culture of reporting (concussion) behaviors.
“At SRJC, we address the whole individual. … That’s the multi-disciplinary team approach.”
Healing process
Every athlete who is diagnosed with a concussion is referred to the Disability Resources Department where Chinn works. She sees almost all of these athletes.
Chinn feels that athletes are often more inclined to talk about concussion symptoms in her office than in the athletic training room.
Besides helping with the concussion testing, Chinn makes sure that the student-athletes’ needs are met on the academic side after suffering a concussion and facilitates a concussion discussion group in the fall open to all students and athletes.
Chinn has also become a regular on the sideline at Bear Cubs’ football games.
“She’s in the locker room, training room, weight room. … She’s a part of our staff,” SRJC football coach Lenny Wagner said. “The players are very familiar with her. During games she’s walking around as an assistant coach. She’s a small person at 4-(foot)-11. The players appreciate and respect her.”
Bear Cubs linebacker Kyle Scarupa is hopeful he will be playing next fall for a four-year school after playing two years at the JC. He’s not sure where he would be without the help from the school after suffering a concussion during a game in his freshman year.
“Having a concussion, you can’t do things on your own,” Scarupa said. “They guide us through the process. It’s really a great support system. (Chinn) made sure I was OK and treated me like a person.
“It was truly a blessing to have her watch over me and support me.”
Chinn is grateful to be a part of the process.
“Working with athletes in a pivotal time in their lives, it’s rewarding to see them come out stronger on the other side,” she said, “and to be able to do what they love and they want to support ones that come behind. I feel very fortunate.”
