ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (KMSP) -
Minnesota may be the state of hockey, but the number of serious injuries among young players is raising some serious concerns. Now, one father whose daughter may never play again has a recommendation.
Many efforts are already underway to try to prevent concussions and spinal injuries, but after his 15-year-old daughter suffered a season ending injury, John Basill says more must be done -- and he thinks taping all games could help find better solutions.
There are no shortage of cameras at the rinks, but he says official recordings could help enforce rules better and teach safe game-play.
"I remember getting hit -- and then not much after that," Alena Basill told FOX 9 News.
She's been skating and playing hockey for as long as she can remember, but two weeks after being knocked unconscious, Alena Basill still can't remember what she did that morning.
"My head hurts. Sometimes I get dizzy, feel like I'm going to throw up," she said. "I haven't thrown up, but my head just hurts all the time."
The freshman varsity player at St. Louis Park High School was chasing the puck across the opposing blue line on open ice when she connected with a player from the other team.
Checking is not allowed in girls hockey, but that doesn't mean there's no contact. Witnesses say the hit lifted Alena Basill inches off the ice, but it's hard to say whether the impact caused her head trauma or falling to the ice did.
John Basill said though he hoped she wasn't hurt too badly when she went down, her initial reaction told him his daughter was seriously injured. She was rushed to HCMC and spent a day and a half in the trauma center.
The head injury she suffered was so serious that she's only able to attend school part time, and doctors say she may never be able to play the game she loves again. That thought alone was enough to bring the teen to tears.
"I just love the game," Alena Basill said.
The Basill family hopes no other athlete has to go through a similar experience, and that's why they're advocating that games be recorded going forward.
"It could help, not only make that things are done within the rules of the game, but it also could make sure you could make the best medical recovery and get the best advice possible," John Basill said.
