When you have children with intellectual, developmental, physical, or multiple disabilities, how do you get them the help and resources that they need to prosper? Whether you’re looking for day care, choosing a school, or finding other activities available to them, the Baltimore area has a ton of resources for children with disabilities and their families. Here’s a look at some of them.

ometimes when a child is born, a disability presents itself immediately. In fact, some disabilities, like spina bifida, may be discovered during the mother’s sonograms. Others, though, may not become obvious until the baby begins to miss important milestones in their development.

When that happens, where do you go for help?

If you’re not sure if your child has actually missed a milestone or not, the first place you can check is with the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program, which includes infant milestones on its website. This program operates throughout every county in Maryland and provides free services for children from birth through three years old who have developmental disabilities, delays, or other special health needs.

“From the time kids are born, they can be referred for a variety of different reasons to obtain services . . .”

For example, if parents of a child with disabilities live in Baltimore County, they can contact the Baltimore County Infants and Toddlers Program (BCITP), which will help them develop an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), a precursor to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

“From the time kids are born, they can be referred for a variety of different reasons to obtain services,” says Allison Myers, executive director of the Department of Special Education for Baltimore County Public Schools. If the child is premature, they can also be referred for screening and for the parents to access support.

Families can go directly through the school system or have a health care provider refer them. “You know your child best. If there’s a concern, then you want to reach out for a consultation and screening,” says Myers. “We have a variety of providers who work to support children in their home setting to provide services to support the child and the family during that time.”

Before a child is eligible for school, providers such as physical and speech therapists come to the child’s home to give services. When a child is three years old, staff determine whether or not they are able to transition to an IEP, which means that they’re eligible for special education. “Or the family can decide to do an extended IFSP, which is where they could stay on, and then transition at their fourth birthday,” explains Myers.

Early intervention is key, says Myers. “It’s really important for us to be collaborative with our families, making sure that supports are provided and students are able to make progress,” she says.

As the students get older, the family and the IEP group make decisions as to whether the child will be mainstreamed at their local elementary, middle, and high schools, take special education classes, or need to attend nonpublic or private separate day schools.

Children with disabilities are allowed to stay in the public school system until they are 21. Once they turn 17 or 18 (whatever age they would be seniors in school), their experiences vary. Myers says that they may continue in high school for a longer period of time if they need more in order to complete their courses. They also, though, may move into community-based programs that will help them with work or job skills. Or they may have a mix of both—spend part of a day in school and then the other part in a community program or job site.

A CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION
For parents who need more information or services for children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, there’s Resource Find, a project of the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities, which is located at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

“It’s really important for us to be collaborative with our families, making sure that supports are provided and students are able to make progress.”

“I get calls all the time when parents say, ‘I think my child may have autism. What should I do? What kind of resources are available?’” says Kristine Nellenbach, program manager for Resource Finder. If they haven’t contacted their local school system, Nellenbach refers them there.

Often, she will ask the callers what issues they are seeing with the child and what else they would like to address. Nellenbach then gives them referrals to whatever providers can best help the child or other organizations that can serve them as well.

When parents call and say that they no longer want their children in public schools, she refers them to the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF). “They represent over 90 nonpublic, special education schools throughout the state of Maryland, and all of these schools serve students with a wide range of disabilities that are intellectual, developmental, or physical,” says Nellenbach.

“A parent is an equal member of the team. So they can always request and indicate what they feel is best for their child. Ultimately, it is an IEP team decision as far as where the services and supports are provided,” says Myers.

No matter where your child with disabilities is educated, what’s crucial, Myers says, is working together. “I think it’s important for families to know that this is a partnership where we encourage them to reach out for support.”

When it comes to rites of passage, is there any time more iconic than the spring semester of senior year of high school? There’s a reason it’s the stuff of cinema—the class photos, the final theater performances, the championship sports games, the pranks and parties and prom—as if all 17 or 18 years have been building toward these seminal few months. It’s the bittersweet end of adolescence, with the donning of that cap and gown marking the transformation into adulthood, and the beginning of the rest of our lives.

Of course, life has been interrupted for the Class of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic arrived just before spring break and upset the rest of the school year, which was first postponed, then cancelled entirely. Lockers were packed. Classes moved online. Those last days of 12th grade—meant to be filled with pomp and circumstance, in the company of friends and loved ones—were instead spent at home alone in quarantine.

But for all that’s been lost, today’s high school seniors are still finding ways to look forward. They’ve hosted Zoom proms, created Instagram yearbooks, participated in car-parade graduation ceremonies, and even expressed gratitude for the extra time spent with their siblings and parents.

Just before school let out, we spoke with 10 Baltimore students about the letdowns and silver linings of their final semester. Here’s some of what they had to say.

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Hannah Wang, 17

Roland Park Country School

“We found out that schools were closing on our senior celebration day, just before spring break. It was already such a bittersweet moment and the start of our last 100 days of school. Then they were like, ‘Okay, pack your stuff, just in case you don’t come back.’ We were like, ‘Are you serious?’ It was a weird feeling. We were all crying while packing our lockers in our celebration clothes. We had gotten our time capsules back from freshman year and read our letters to our future selves. In a way we thought, ‘An extra week of spring break? Perfect.’ The reality of it all hadn’t fully settled in. Quickly that did change, unfortunately.”

 

 

Tyler Martire, 18

Gilman School

“We’d been preparing for our spring musical. It was called Me and My Girl. We’d almost completed memorizing Act One. It was hard to work so hard on something and then all of a sudden, you’re not going to be able to perform it anymore, and you can’t come back next year and do it either. At times it feels like some of those hours were wasted, like what was it for? But I think it’s paid off in different ways. I met a lot of wonderful new people and laughed a bunch. A little while into quarantine, on what was supposed to be opening night, we all got together as a cast on Zoom and sang our songs together.”

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Bryce Taylor, 17

Bard High School Early College

“I told my mom, I could’ve sworn, all my life, I’ve been looking forward to the moment that school let out early or I didn’t have to go back—and it actually happened! And it was not what I expected. Quarantine got old really quickly. After handing in my final assignments, it’s honestly been kind of boring. My friends and I had all these plans to go out with a bang. Senior pranks, maybe, like putting Post-it notes all over our favorite teachers’ classrooms and cars. We were going to do a class trip to Dave & Busters. And we all know the number one thing—prom! I missed out on senior prom. It was going to be a night to remember. Luckily, my friends and I didn’t buy our tuxes yet.”

 

 

Tia Thomas, 18

Baltimore School for the Arts

“I work with this organization called Wide Angle Youth Media. We were looking for ways to help and realized everyone was stuck inside and needed to have some fun. We created a virtual prom for anyone in high school across the country. We had almost 200 people attend. We had a DJ, a TikTok dance challenge, a photo booth. I wore a dress I already had, and my younger sister got to be there, too. I was a co-host so I decorated my room with LED lights and a shimmery gold background. I put my computer on my dresser and FaceTimed my friends and we danced. For that moment, I definitely forgot about not having a real prom.”

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Charlotte Messaris, 18

McDonogh School

“The most impactful loss for me was missing my spring band concerts. I’ve always watched the seniors and dreamed of being in their shoes and now that it’s been my chance, it’s all the more painful to have it stripped from me. I was really able to find a family in band. Everyone was invited to just be ourselves. The seniors set the tone, they were the leaders, and I was excited to have that opportunity. It’s bittersweet not having the chance to celebrate or say goodbye in the way I wanted to. My message to younger students would just be to practice. When you are thoughtful about your work and your art, it sets such a good example for the people who look up to you.”

 

 

Noam Borgnia, 18

The Park School of Baltimore

“Senior week has definitely changed for a lot of people, the classic going to Ocean City. That’s not happening anymore. The plan was for me and some friends to spend the first half of the week hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail, then the second half of the week at the beach to meet up with our other friends and rent an Airbnb. Both parts of those plans got disrupted because it’s hard to plan a trip when everyone is coming from different households. We’ll probably still do a trip later in the summer, when we’re all able and available. I’ve been spending time hiking and backpacking with my brothers recently, going to Oregon Ridge or Catoctin or Patapsco Valley State Park. It’s strange because all of a sudden you go outside and you realize it’s become summer. It’s been kind of shocking to me. It feels like I missed a lot of spring.”

 

 

Seantia Bryant, 18

Green Street Academy

“A lot of seniors felt like guinea pigs, being the first class to do online learning. We really had to infinitely adapt. I think the experience definitely prepared me for college and real-life experience. I was the one making my schedule, I was the one making sure I did my work. It was like a baby bird falling out of the tree and now having to make it on its own. In the beginning, there was a lot of confusion and no answers. At this point, we still don’t know what’s going to happen with graduation. I’m just focusing on the future. This is the last day of school for me. I’m technically a college student now.”

 

Alison Harbaugh, 18

The Bryn Mawr School

“Our athletic trainer came out to the field to talk to our coach, which she never does. She told us that all NAACP sports had been cancelled for the year. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, what, how is that even possible?’ That day, I was tired, I just wanted lacrosse practice to be over, but for some reason, I remember thinking that I needed to keep going, because it might be the last one. By the end, our coach told us that we were not coming back to school, we weren’t playing lacrosse, our spring break trip was cancelled. We were like, ‘Okay, it’s fine, we’ll come back eventually.’ But it never went back to normal. We never came back. I don’t think anyone expected that.”

Omer Reshid, 18

Pikesville High School

“The entire Baltimore County Public Schools system went straight to online learning. We met with our teachers on Google Meets and got our assignments through [the website] Schoology. It was hard at first. It was a lot to get adjusted to, just being at home instead of the classroom. Our exams were waived, which was the only real plus. For the most part, it’s been pretty sad. But as we keep going through it, we feel better because we know we’re not alone. Honestly, I’ve realized the importance of my family and my friends and how much interacting with them actually affects me. I miss just being in the lunchroom with everyone, the conversations we had. My friends and I group Facetime, we play games on iMessage. The highlight has been playing PS4 with the boys, Call of Duty or Warzone, which we do pretty much every night.”

 

 

Wendy Rivera, 19

Patterson High School

“A regular day before the coronavirus was like any other day of a teenager going to high school. You get up early, you go to school, you just enjoy it. My friends and I went to the movies and out to eat. We had many adventures and did crazy things, similar to how it is in the movies. And now it’s not the same anymore. We don’t interact with people. Instead we just go on the computer. My advice to the lower classes would be to make a lot of mistakes, have fun, be safe, and go to school every day, because you never know what might happen.”

 

Nadia Nazar, 18

Eastern Technical High School

“Our generation has already gone through so much and we’re only 18, or younger. I think that we’re going to continue to go through things, including possibly more cycles of the pandemic, and this recession, and the climate crisis. There’s so much we’re going to have to face, but I’m really proud with how we’re going to do it. I really do have hope that we’re going to tackle those things as a group and be responsible, because the responsibility has been put on our shoulders. We have to, for the sake of everyone. I do think that we’ll be able to change things and make the world better.”

 

 

 

Kenny Hernandez, 18

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

“Up until last week, we had no word on graduation, but they finally emailed us that the school district is mandating we do it virtually in June. I was hoping for something in-person, later in the year or like a drive-through ceremony where cars pass by, but I understand that’s not possible for everyone. My family is very excited. I am the youngest, so they’ve all been waiting for me to finally go to college. I think we’ll do a little celebration here at home. I’m going to Stanford University in the fall, where I’m going to study chemical engineering. They haven’t told us any specific details yet about what that will look like besides that it’s not going to be a normal year. We’re expecting some online classes and social distancing. I’m trying to not get too excited, but that’s what I’m looking forward to these days. It’s okay to not be sad about missing the end of school and our events and graduation. It could be for the greater good of the world. We are saving lives.”

Sure, we love our Ravens and never tire of cheering on the O’s, but let’s not forget that signature sport that is as Maryland as crabs, Bergers cookies, and the Chesapeake Bay—that would be lacrosse, naturally. And on high school playing fields across the region, the season roars in like a lion every March, with the top teams getting yet another chance to best their historic rival.

With the ball flying at more than 100 miles per hour, lacrosse is one of the fastest-moving sports, and the fastest-growing one in America. Thousands of Baltimore-area families live and breathe lacrosse all season. For them, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is to see their star player make varsity in high school and watch his or her team win the state championship. Better still? A scholarship to some Division I college.

Of course, you can look at the league standings from last year and pretty much guess who most of the top high school teams will be. But we looked closer, trying to pinpoint the individual players who make those teams a worthy opponent. And in the process, we discovered a few fun sides to the sport, which influences its fans in lots of ways, from food to fashion, and even philanthropy.

Joey Wenzl

Face-off Middie, Dulaney High School

Complete this sentence: “The biggest misconception about lacrosse players is . . . ” That they are all knuckleheads who don’t try academically and just party. I try to be the opposite of this stereotype, with a 3.6 GPA, and try to be a role model for my younger brother and my teammates. What are you most proud of on the field? Being named First Team all-county my junior year as a face-off middie. I also scored the game-tying goal in a very competitive game against John Carroll School last year that we eventually won. Who’s your toughest opponent? Hereford High and Towson High.

Wade Oursler

Midfield, Gilman School

What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? Being named All-MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association) in the 2016 season. What college will you be attending, and will you play there? The University of Maryland, and, yes, I will. What other sports are you into? I also play football—it’s one of the best sports you can play to become a better lacrosse player. Do you think you’d make a good lacrosse coach someday? Yes, I have the same passion for the game as my mentor and coach Brooks Matthews. I think I could pass this knowledge on to the next generation.

Alex Rode

Goalie, St. Paul’s School

You’re highly ranked among high school goalies in the region and nation. Can you tell us how you got that ranking? (Did we hear something about 258 saves?) I was lucky that the right people saw me at the right times and thought that I played well. When did you start playing lacrosse? At the age of 5, I played rec lacrosse. Did we hear you’re a three-sport athlete? Yes, I play football, ice hockey, and lacrosse. What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? When St. Paul’s beat Calvert Hall on alumni day at St. Paul’s. Who’s your toughest opponent? Boys’ Latin.

Ashlyn McGovern

Midfield, St. Paul’s School for Girls

What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? My best game was seven goals and three assists against Maryvale.When did you start playing lacrosse? When I was 6 years old. What do you love about the sport? The competitiveness—and I’m always happy when I’m playing. What’s your main goal this season? Winning a championship, although that will be hard against reigning champion McDonogh. Do you think you’d make a good lacrosse coach someday? I would, because I have a strong understanding and love for the game. What are the most important physical attributes of a good lacrosse player? Speed, skill, and strength.

Kylie Davis

Midfield, Century High School

Okay, so how did you hurt yourself? I injured my knee playing in a tournament. What’s your best accomplishment on the field? Tying a game to save us from losing. There were 15 seconds left and I had the ball. My first instinct, when the whistle blew, was to sprint. I ran through basically their whole team and scored with 3 seconds left to bring our team into overtime. What’s your main goal this season? To overcome my injury and come back to the sport stronger than ever. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? Everyone has a scholarship waiting for them after high school.

Olivia Rubin

Midfield, Bryn Mawr School

What’s your best moment on the field? When you come in as an underdog and no one’s expecting you to win, but you do. How do you handle losing? It can be tough sometimes, but everyone has to be able to come together and pick each other up. Teams shine in the face of adversity. If you could take one celebrity on a date to a lacrosse game, who would it be? Zac Efron. How do you see lacrosse translating to the workplace? Skills I’ve learned like leadership and being able to rely on other people will serve me really well when I go into the real world.

Jake Glatz

Face-off, Boys’ Latin School

Do you think you’d make a good lacrosse coach someday? Maybe I would because my father was my lacrosse coach most of my career, so I live with a coach! What other sports are you into? I love football and wrestling. Complete this sentence: More people would love lacrosse if . . . If the rules stopped changing every so often. What are the most important physical attributes of a good lacrosse player? Being conditioned and tough, while keeping a cool composure. And, obviously, having the techniques down. Who’s your toughest opponent? For the past couple of years, it’s been McDonogh.

Samantha Fiedler

Midfield, Garrison Forest School

If you couldn’t play lacrosse, which sport do you think you’d be best in? Basketball. I’ve played since I was in kindergarten. I play point guard. What famous athlete do you think would make a great lacrosse player? Grayson Allen, a Duke basketball player, is a really great athlete. I think he’d make a good lacrosse player too. What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? Last year, we won our first playoff game in overtime. I scored the winning goal. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? For girls lacrosse, especially, that there’s not too much contact. There’s a fair amount.

Scott Middleton

Defense, Hereford High School

What’s your main goal this season? To help bring the state championship title back to Hereford. What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? Making the Maryland Free-state Top 22 team as a freshman and making it to State Semis the past two years. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? That they’re bad and struggle academically. Many of my teammates are enrolled in honors and AP-level classes and love to give back to the community. How do you see your lacrosse experience translating to the workplace or helping your career? Time requirements of school, practice, and games have helped me learn to improve time management.

Annie Milwicz

Midfield, Maryvale Preparatory School

What do you like about the sport? It’s so popular in the Baltimore area that it kind of turns into a showcase for individual players. If you couldn’t play lacrosse, which sport do you think you’d be best in? I started playing field hockey sophomore year and I love it. What’s your main goal this season? Our past couple seasons haven’t been strong. If we have a positive attitude and team mentality, then we’ll have a good season. What lessons has lacrosse taught you for the workplace? Playing in such a competitive league has shown me I really have to work to earn my spot.

Ben Ellrich

Defense, Marriotts Ridge High School

What are the attributes of a good player? Being agile, fast, and strong always helps. A mustache or some intimidating eye black never hurts, either. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? Not every lacrosse player has a mullet and models for Vineyard Vines in their free time. When did you start playing? At age 6, after I realized I disliked baseball because of its slow pace. What do you love about the sport? Being active all 60 minutes of the game. Also, there aren’t many times you can hit someone with a metal pipe and it’s okay. Would you date a lacrosse player? Of course! You already have something to talk about on that awkward first date.

Brandon Shure

Defense, McDonogh High School

If you could change one thing about the game, what would it be? I wish defensemen got more opportunities to score. What famous athlete do you think would make a great lacrosse player? Ed Reed in his prime, because of the way he sees the field and how athletic he is. What’s your main goal this season? To go undefeated, win another championship. How do you handle losing? Not very well. But it motivates me to work harder. What celebrity would you take on a date to a game? A young Jennifer Lopez. Who’s your toughest opponent? It’s always Boys Latin. They’re very well-coached. Their offense always clicks.

Moriah Snyder

Midfield/Defense, C. Milton Wright High School

What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? A lot of people think we actually enjoy running. I don’t think so—it’s just something we have to do! What’s your biggest accomplishment on the field so far? Helping my team advance to state semifinals by calling a stick-check on a girl in double overtime! We came back to win the game in triple overtime. College you’ll be attending? The United States Naval Academy, where I’ll be playing lacrosse. Who’s your toughest opponent? Glenelg High School. Complete this sentence: More people would love lacrosse if . . . Some people say they don’t understand the rules, and therefore, don’t like watching it.

Garrett Volley

Junior Defense, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

How badly does it hurt to be hit by the ball? As a close defenseman, it’s not uncommon to get hit by the ball and it hurts pretty badly. I’ve had a ton of bruises and have actually broken my hand from being hit by a shot. What do you love about the sport? I love that no matter what size you are, if you put in the time and work every day you can be a great player. What other sports are you into? I love football, basketball, skiing, and golf. Would you ever date a lacrosse player? Yes, my girlfriend plays lacrosse at Good Counsel, too.

Omari DeBerry

MidField, Calvert Hall

What other sports do you like playing? I played basketball through the eighth grade, and played football in high school my freshman and junior year. Both have helped me on the lacrosse field. Kids shouldn’t try to start specializing in one sport too early. Complete this sentence: More people would love lacrosse if . . . It was introduced into populations that did not have it. Also, the game is expensive, between gear and tournaments. Would you ever date a lacrosse player? Yes. Girls that play the same sport as you understand your schedule, how you have practice all the time and workouts.

Michael Lamon

Attack, Severn School

How do you see lacrosse translating to the workplace? Although lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport, it is still a very close-knit community, which allows a great network of opportunities. What’s your biggest accomplishment on the field so far? I was 2016 Anne Arundel County Player of the Year, Inside Lacrosse’s #60 Junior, and I was in the MIAA semifinals in 2016. What college will you be attending? University of Pennsylvania, where I’ll be playing lacrosse. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? People think lacrosse is only popular on the East Coast, but there is recently a ton of talent coming out of the West.

Jacob Kelly

Attack, Calvert Hall

Would you make a good lacrosse coach? My dad being a coach, I’ve been able to watch him do his thing over the years and I feel like I have a pretty decent lacrosse IQ. What are your biggest accomplishments on the field? Tournaments I’ve won with my club team and the MIAA games we’ve won as a team at Calvert Hall. What are the most important attributes for the sport? It depends on the position: Attack men typically have to be pretty quick and explosive, while defensemen have to be strong.

Koby Smith

Defense, Loyola Blakefield

What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? It was getting cut from JV and playing freshman lacrosse that year to starting on varsity the following year. What college will you be attending? I am committed to the United States Naval Academy, where I’ll be playing lacrosse. What’s the biggest misconception about lacrosse players? It’s that players pick up a stick at age 4, as I did, and only play that sport. But a lot of us play many other sports. I really like basketball, football, and water polo. Who is your toughest opponent? McDonogh. This team works very well with moving the ball.

Kaitlyn Kozlowski

Midfield, Mercy High School

What famous athlete do you think would make a great lacrosse player? Ray Lewis, because of his mentality. He’s a really great leader. He can probably do anything he puts his mind to. What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? Last year I was all-conference. Where do you not want to get hit, aside from the obvious? I assume the head. Other than that you deal with bruises and you go on. What’s your main goal this season? We’re winning the conference this year one way or another. Who’s your toughest opponent? This year it will probably be Park or Friends.

Riley Schmidt

Midfield, Glenelg Country School

What’s your best accomplishment on the field so far? I was named scholar-athlete of the spring season last year at my school. Do you think you’d make a good lacrosse coach someday? I hope so. My dad has been my coach since I was 5. It really helps to have your dad know the game so well. If you couldn’t play lacrosse, which sport do you think you’d be best in? Probably soccer. I played defense this year. What famous athlete do you think would make a great lacrosse player? Randy Moss would be good. He’s really tall and really athletic.

Steven Villacorta

Face-off specialist, Park School

What famous athlete do you think would make a great lacrosse player? I’d want to see LeBron James as a lacrosse player. The endurance he has in basketball, the kind of mentality he has, I think he could dominate in lacrosse. If you could change one thing about the sport, what would it be? Because I’m a face-off specialist, I feel like there’s always something being changed with the face-off rules. I’d like to see a little less regulation. What are the most important physical attributes of a good lacrosse player? You definitely need to have endurance and stamina—mentally, and physically.

Owen McManus

Defense, Friends School of Baltimore

If you could take one celebrity on a date to a lacrosse game, who would it be? Jennifer Aniston. Who’s your toughest opponent? John Carroll School. They have a lot of depth and speed. When did you start playing lacrosse? When I was about 5 or 6. If you couldn’t play lacrosse, which sport do you think you’d excel in? Soccer. What’s your main goal this season? To win the championship. How do you see your lacrosse experience helping in the workplace? We put in a lot of hard work. That will really translate into the workplace because working hard will help you be successful.

Whenever 16-year-old JoJo Bright has a few free minutes, you can probably find him outside with his lacrosse stick in hand, cradling a ball, then firing it at a goal. Again and again.

Bright is not a small kid. A ninth-grader at Severna Park High School, he’s just shy of 6 feet, weighing in at 250 pounds. If his body type sounds more suited to football, well, he did play linebacker and a little running back for the Falcons varsity team this season. But it’s lacrosse—a sport he knew next to nothing about just three years ago—that’s captured his imagination.

“People think, ‘He’s big, he can’t do certain things,’” Bright says. “It does take time and effort to be great at lacrosse. I [appreciate] all the finesse skills it takes.”

Like hundreds of kids who grew up in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Baltimore, Bright was introduced to the game through Charm City Youth Lacrosse, a nonprofit dedicated to growing the game in the city. Five-hundred children ages 4 to 14 take part in the organization’s free programming, and 85 percent of them, including Bright, are African-American.

Susie Chase once sat on Charm City’s board. Now vice president of philanthropy and partnerships at US Lacrosse, she believes the sport can transform young people’s lives.

“It can lead to academic improvement and reduction of behavioral incidents in the classroom,” she says.

In 2016, US Lacrosse provided grants and continued support for 128 teams through its First Stick program.

Bright is exactly the kind of kid those programs are trying to reach. Through Charm City Youth Lacrosse he met Paul Intlekofer, a member of that organization’s board of directors, with whom he now lives.

“I was used to growing up in poverty and seeing a lot of tough things,” Bright says. “I have been blessed with an opportunity to get away from that environment.”

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J. Douglas Radebaugh

This Calvert Hall grad was a three-time All-American at the University of Maryland who won the Lt. Donald McLaughlin Jr. Award in 1975 as the nation’s outstanding midfielder.

Austin Schmidt

A graduate of St. Paul’s School and then The Johns Hopkins University, he coached Hobart College to three NCAA Division II and III national championships in 1972, 1976, and 1977.

James Webster

Known as “Mickey,” he attended The Boys’ Latin School before becoming a three-time All-American at Johns Hopkins and co-captain of the university’s 1959 national championship team.

Benjamin Kaestner

A three-time All-American as a defenseman at Johns Hopkins who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, his father, Hank, who played for Hopkins in the late 1960s, is also in the Hall of Fame, as is Hank’s father, Bud.

Theodore Bauer

Longtime proprietor of the beloved Mount Washington Tavern, he attended the Gilman School before the 1974 grad of Washington and Lee College became a three-time All-American there.

Michael Federico

This Boys’ Latin and Johns Hopkins grad was a three-time All-American goalie in 1978, ’79, and ’80.

Harry “Mac” Ford

A Gilman grad who went south to play collegiately at The University of North Carolina (class of ’85), he was three-time USCLA Player of the Year.

Ryan Wade

The 1993 and 1994 ACC Player of the Year graduated from The Severn School.

Jen Adams

Now the head coach at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, this Australian native won four-straight NCAA national championships at the University of Maryland and was the first winner of the women’s Tewaaraton Award in 2001.

Howard Krongard

Nicknamed “Cookie,” Krongard attended Princeton and was the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association’s Man of the Year in 1983.

Kelly Amonte Hiller

“She took women’s lacrosse to a new level,” says Finn of the longtime U.S. national team goalie and offense player, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference Female Athlete of the Year award in 1996 while playing for the University of Maryland.

Mike Morrill

The youngest of three generations of Morrills in the Hall of Fame—he was inducted in 2016—this St. Paul’s School and Johns Hopkins grad was a collegiate All-American.

William Morrill

A graduate of Friends School Baltimore, this three-time All-American attackman lost only one game at Johns Hopkins. He was inducted in 1978.

William Morrill

A professor of mathematics at Johns Hopkins who was inducted in 1962, he also coached the lacrosse team to five national championships.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 2 Loveton Circle in Sparks, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free.

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The last time lacrosse was a medal sport in the Olympics, The Johns Hopkins University was asked to send its team to represent the United States. It was unable to do so, and Canada ultimately won gold at the 1908 competition in London. (Great Britain was the only other country that fielded a team.)

Aside from three instances in which it was an Olympic demonstration event—1928 and ’32, when Hopkins did show, and 1948, when Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute represented the U.S.—lacrosse has been absent from the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Its advocates are hoping to change that. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is currently reviewing an application that would grant the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) provisional recognition, the first step on a long and winding road to returning the sport to the Olympic Games.

“Inclusion in the Olympics is the apex achievement for any sport,” says Steve Stenersen, president and CEO of U.S. Lacrosse and vice president of the FIL. “When the IOC includes a sport, it instantly creates the credibility that we need, not only in nations where the sport is already being played, but in other nations where we’re trying to seed the sport.”

In the Byzantine world of the IOC, granting provisional recognition to a sport’s governing body is just the opening faceoff in a game that could take years, or even decades, to finish. If the FIL’s application is approved, then the organization’s goal becomes full recognition.

“Once that happens, then the question is about achieving inclusion in the Olympic program,” Stenersen says. “That’s a very different conversation. It’s very political and very business-focused. The IOC wants to maximize the monetization of its Olympic asset, so the question is going to be, how can we make money on lacrosse?”

One answer may be pushing new versions of the sport, altering the number of participants or reducing the time it takes to play a game into a tidy, one-hour TV window. (It usually takes about two hours now.) In October, four top international teams will visit the U.S. Lacrosse facility for training and games, and Stenersen says the group plans to experiment with the number of players on each side, the size of the field, and the length of the game to “see what we can learn.”

The earliest possible year we could see Olympic lacrosse—in some form—is 2024. If the games are held in Los Angeles, one of three cities competing for them, that may be the break the sport needs. The host country has flexibility in staging demonstration events.

“If L.A. gets that Olympic games,” Stenersen says, “we’ll work diligently to try to get the organizing committee to consider the sport native to the North American continent, rooted in native American religion for centuries.”

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After years of watching on the sidelines as her two boys played lacrosse, Glen Arm mom Jennifer Vick had plenty of time to make a fashion observation that would lead to a business venture: branded lax wear not just for teen boys, but for the whole family.

“I noticed more and more girls playing the sport, but they often played games and practices wearing boys’ lacrosse clothing,” says the 40-something Vick. “And it wasn’t just the girls with ill-fitting gear, but parents and young siblings wearing boy’s jerseys.”

Armed with a business administration degree from the University of Baltimore and 20 years of sales experience, but with no background in the sportswear industry, she took a crash course in fabric and design. Then, in 2012, she founded Lax So Hard, which offers all manner of lacrosse clothing and accessories to everyone from small children to adults of both sexes.

“We were looking at how we could incorporate the brand into a sport that’s growing so fast.” And since quality was important, she moved initial manufacturing from Florida back to Maryland to keep a close eye on things. Now the company, named after her family’s game-day rally cry, sells its branded offerings online, on amazon.com, and at smaller clothing stores in the Baltimore area. They also sell the products at lacrosse tournaments and events, where Vick sets up tented “stores” on the same sidelines where she first got the idea.

Vick has talked about expanding the line to attract fans of other sports. But she says she won’t abandon the company’s lacrosse roots.

“Lacrosse will always be first,” she says. “The players are loyal. The families are loyal. They always want to represent their sport.”

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So, you might ask, if the region has so many great lacrosse players, which coaches deserve the most credit for that?

Of course, making a judgment on who’s the “best” coach is a minefield of egos and subjective judgments, but we imagine that such a choice would look something like Chris Robinson, a guy with a record of wins that’s almost beyond belief.

Robinson, head coach at McDonogh School for the past 12 years, has compiled a 235-9 record, with his teams winning nine IAAM championships. So, with a record like that, maybe it’s not surprising that, for the past eight years, his McDonogh teams were number one in the country, racking up a 155-game winning streak.

He didn’t cut his coaching teeth at McDonogh, though. Before that, he was head coach at Howard County’s Mt. Hebron High School, winning five state championships, two number-one national rankings, and a 106-9-1 overall record.

Pretty hard to beat—as are his teams.

The opportunities open to high-achieving public high-school students seem boundless today. But in truth, these students have also earned it, not just doing the required homework and scoring good grades, but actively seeking out challenging course work, meaningful after-school activities, and enriching summer “vacation” programs. They build competitive robots, master musical instruments, intern at Johns Hopkins’s astronomy and bio-medical labs, perform on professional stages, and captain school athletic teams. Our intention with these brief profiles is not to stir up old high-school feelings of inadequacy (which we’re sure even these kids experience from time to time), but to offer a little hope. Our schools and today’s students often get knocked around in the media. These students, however—and there are many smart, hard-working others like them—provide a counter narrative: The future may not be in bad hands after all.

Dania Allgood, Junior
Western High School, Baltimore City

A member of the school’s renowned “RoboDoves” robotics team, Dania arrived at Western already speaking Arabic—her grandfather is Jordanian—and versed in Swahili, which she picked up in after-school programs. She’s studied French, Spanish, and Russian, as well, but what Dania also brought to Western, aside from an affinity for foreign languages, was “a huge interest” in math and science—her academic focus.

This summer, she spent five weeks at Frostburg State University’s Regional Math/Science Center camp, working on an environmental project involving water policy, livestock, and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, ultimately producing a research paper. She carries a 3.5 GPA, and envisions studying computer science at an elite university, maybe even the University of Toyko.

But since joining the RoboDoves as a freshman, Dania has found something new that she loves: working with her hands. “I love using the different machines,” she says, “the hand saws, band saw, the table and power drills.” She’s competed twice with the squad at the robot-building VEX World Championships in Anaheim, CA. “I like that there’s no instruction manual with building the robot, that we have to come up with the idea of how to build it,” she says. “Are we going to do it this way, or that way? I like the imagination part.”

Dania admits, too, with a laugh, that she doesn’t mind beating the boys’ teams that throw sideways glances at the RoboDoves, knocking down stereotypes about what African-American, public-school girls can achieve in science. “They’d scout us at competitions and wouldn’t say or do anything, but when we win, they’d be shocked,” she says. “A lot of people know who we are now.”

Caroline desJardins-Park, Senior
Reservoir High School, Howard County

Winning school spelling bees in fourth, fifth, and seventh grades, Caroline attended the competitive Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth after eighth grade. It might be in her genes: Mom and dad are University of Maryland, Baltimore County computer science professors and lecturers, respectively; sister Heather majors in chemistry at Harvard; and uncle David earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley.

But even in this group, where standing out academically is a challenge, to say the least, Caroline accomplished something unique—a perfect 2,400 on the SAT’s last year. Nearly 1.66 million students took the test last year in more than 170 countries, with 360 students, or just .022 percent, achieving a perfect score.

That said, Caroline hardly has her head in a book all day. She plays cello in Reservoir’s orchestra, sings with the school’s audition-only Madrigal Singers and the Peabody Children’s Chorus, and traveled to perform in France this summer. (She’s taken the highest-level French A.P. courses offered in Howard County and previously spent four weeks in a French immersion camp at Bard College.) She notes that she’s still not fluent—”I struggle at times to remember the conjugation, it’s tricky,” she says, chuckling. But she is always looking to pursue new experiences and challenges, enrolling in three A.P. classes this year. “In general, when I’m in the easier classes, it’s harder for me,” she says. “If I’m learning new stuff, I concentrate better.”

Credited with spurring her academic career is Howard County’s Accelerated Mathetmatics Program, led for 35 years by Eleanor “Lynn” Collins, who taught not only Caroline’s mother and her mom’s siblings in the 1970s, but her sister, too. Ultimately, she would like to attend Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She’s ridden horses since the third grade, working at a stable part-time, and wants to continue to work with animals. “It’s what I love the most,” she says.

Gabriel Grell, Senior
Polytechnic High School, Baltimore City

For most high-school boys, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over archrival City College high school or being selected to captain Poly’s traditionally powerful track team would serve as a competitive highlight. Not so for Gabriel. Last year, he was the only Maryland student invited to try out—and ultimately one of four named—to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Pan African Mathematics Olympiads in Tunisia.

Growing up in northeast’s Hamilton neighborhood and attending public schools “the whole way,” as he happily puts it, Gabriel’s been involved with the nonprofit Ingenuity Project since middle school. A joint effort of the school system, the Abell Foundation, and Baltimore’s science and mathematics community, the program provides students with a highly accelerated math and science curriculum. Out of this intensive workload, Gabriel qualified to take math classes at The Johns Hopkins University this year through JHU’s Future Scholars Program. That’s on top of his A.P. physics, computer science, and literature classes.

Gabriel has considered becoming a math major—his father is a math professor—but he’s now pondering a career in astronomy after studying deep space with Hopkins professor Henry Ferguson as part of the Ingenuity Project’s research practicum. “The galaxies are very interesting to look at, studying their parameters, micro-analyzing the details of the images from telescopes, including the Hubble,” Gabriel says. “I like math, but astronomy is more of my passion. I like looking out into space, there’s so much we haven’t seen yet, so much we have yet to learn. I’d love to make a contribution.”

Which isn’t to say, he doesn’t have more typical pressing high-school concerns. “I would like to win the City track title,” he says.

Sydney Johns, Senior
Western High School, Baltimore City

Like Dania, her RoboDove teammate, Sydney possesses an aptitude for foreign language, studying Spanish in middle school and then engaging in something a little more unusual—Russian—at Western. In fact, she’s won a national Russian writing award. A lively, high-energy young woman, Sydney’s interests range from student government to urban gardens built on vacant city land. While she’s taken courses like A.P. government and will pursue A.P. courses in human geography and literature this year, her academic concentration is math and science. For now.

She chose Western because it’s an all-girls institution—”It makes it easier to just be yourself”—but wasn’t aware of the RoboDoves program until after her freshman year began. “I didn’t even know they had a robotics program until I heard all this noise down the hallway,” Sydney says. “I heard the power tools and went running down to find out what they were doing.” She credits the RoboDoves’ mentors with improving her math skills and understanding of physics. More importantly, she adds, it has taught her to value teamwork. “I wasn’t someone who worked well with others before. I wanted to do everything myself. I learned you have to allow people to do the things they do well.”

A National Honor Society member, Sydney participated in The Johns Hopkins University’s intensive, four-week Engineering Innovation program for high-school students this summer, designed to encourage students to pursue careers in science and engineering. She will probably pursue engineering, but acknowledges being torn. “I like writing. I like reading memoirs and journals, like The Diary of Anne Frank. I like the humanities,” she says. “It’s hard to choose one over the other.”

Trés McMichael, Junior
George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Baltimore County

A vocalist who has performed with the Lyric Opera company, on stage at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and at Camden Yards—singing the national anthem with 20 students—Trés says what he likes best about his high school is that the students know why they’re at Carver, a nationally recognized arts magnet school. “They’re here because they want to be, and they’re as equally into what they are doing as I am,” he says. “I find that inspiring.” He would know: He’s Carver’s Class of 2015 president and also Baltimore County Student Government Council vice president.

Trés has performed since attending Sudbrook Middle School, also a nationally recognized arts magnet school. (In fact, there’s a four-year-old YouTube clip of him covering John Legend’s “Ordinary People” at the school’s Spring Concert to huge applause.)

To improve his craft, Trés attended Opera Camp at the Lyric after his freshman and sophomore years. He’s sung with the Baltimore County High School Honor Chorus for two years, twice earning first chair. A baritone, Trés won a first-place Mid-Atlantic award in musical theater from the National Association of Teachers of Singers. He’s also won three NAACP ACT-SO gold medals for Baltimore County, two in contemporary vocals, one in classical. And, he was recently awarded an NEA award to study ballet.

He’d love to be the next John Legend or Ray Charles—”My style is more old-school than new-school”—but intends to attend Howard University to pursue a fine arts degree and master’s in education. He says he’s learned a lot through community service work, including a better understanding of the human condition, which informs his art. He likes teaching younger students to sing. He’ll take a shot at a performance career, however, he has a back-up plan. “I’d love to be on Broadway,” he says. “But I really love teaching other students to learn to sing. What I’d really like is to own a community arts center.”

Noah Scholl, Senior
River Hill High School, Howard County

By his own admission, Noah is not the world’s hardest-working student. “I’m definitely a bit lazy,” he says. Not obsessed with grades or awards, the 17-year-old does pursue, however, a balanced, thoughtful life. He spends free time playing music, including the piano—which he’s studied for 12 years and played with the McDaniel College Jazz Ensemble—and the alto sax. He reads a lot—”There are stacks and stacks of books under my bed,” he says—walks to school and plays Ultimate Frisbee at River Hill. “I’m not involved in a lot of school activities,” he says, though he does compete in fencing outside of school, participating in the USA National Championships.

His unweighted G.P.A. is a “3.5 or 3.6,” and he knows he could do better. He didn’t particularly like Spanish—”easily my worst subject,” he says—because of the labor-intensive nature of foreign language. And yet, in spite of his relatively laid-back approach—or perhaps, because of it—like desJardins-Park, Noah nailed a perfect SAT. He also scored a perfect 36 on his ACT to prove it wasn’t a fluke. “I’ve always been someone who tests well,” he says understatedly. Other than being a voracious reader, he didn’t do anything special to prepare for either exam, he says.

Not that he doesn’t pursue a rigorous academic schedule, or lacks ambition. Noah took a full load of A.P. classes as a junior—everything from English and psychology to chemistry and calculus—and will again this year. His favorite class has been A.P. anatomy and he’s interned at Johns Hopkins’s Oncology Department, learning about cancer research. He plans to pursue a career in bio-medical research, either at a place like the National Institutes of Health or a large university. “I feel like that’s where I can make a positive change in the world,” he says. “Not to mention, it’s just my favorite thing. I find it incredibly interesting.”

In an office adorned with brightly-colored athletic jerseys on every wall, Kevin Crutchfield—director of LifeBridge Health’s Comprehensive Sports Concussion Program—practices neurology as if it’s a stand-up act. During this morning’s concussion clinic, Crutchfield reaches into his doctor’s bag (“my toy bag,” he calls it) to produce a small oregano-filled canister to test a patient’s sense of smell, then guides another patient to walk heel-to-toe toward what he calls his “time-out” corner, and holds yet another young man hostage to ensure that—despite headaches caused by a series of football- and ice-hockey-related collisions—the patient hasn’t lost his ability to laugh at Crutchfield’s never-ending arsenal of corny jokes.

“This is what I call my numbskull treatment,” says the neurologist as he numbs the teenager’s skull before injecting him with an occipital nerve block to alleviate severe headaches. (The patient alternately winces in pain and smiles.)

Laughing matters aside, Crutchfield, who learned the tricks of his trade during a residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, approaches his role with missionary zeal as he spreads the gospel of concussions to patients (including Ravens and Orioles players), parents, athletic directors, and anyone else within earshot. His message is loud and clear: Concussions are a medical issue to be reckoned with, and, if not treated correctly (ideally, within 48 hours in Crutchfield’s book), can cause devastating problems, both long- and short-term, to the brain.

Within the past four years or so, concussions, commonly found in high-contact sports, have become a topic of increasing concern and controversy as stories of the injury’s aftermath—early dementia, depression, visual processing, and even death—come to light. Although researchers have studied the issue for decades, about four years ago, “the NFL admitted they had a problem,” says Crutchfield, a former soccer player himself at St. Mary’s College. “They stopped sweeping it under the rug.” Landmark congressional hearings in 2009 led to more stringent rules in the NFL, preventing players from returning to practice or a game if significant signs of a concussion were shown.

These days, the spotlight shines on the playing fields of youth sports—from the lacrosse rec leagues at Brooklandville’s Meadowood Regional Park to the football field at Dulaney High School—amplifying the need to tend to these injuries seriously and urgently at every level. What happened in the NFL, says Andrew Tucker, Ravens’ head team physician and medical director of sports medicine at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, has “focused our attention even more so on concussions and on the importance of taking very conservative care not only in the football league, but in youth sports where people start their careers.”

Fourteen-year-old Coral Dittmar, who attends George Fox Middle School in Pasadena, was playing club field hockey when an out-of-control ball socked her straight in the temple.

“It completely knocked her off her feet,” recalls Coral’s mom, Ginny. “She had a huge bump that looked like a horn sticking out of the top of her head.”

After being evaluated at a local emergency room, Coral was sent on her way. “We were told it was just a bad contusion,” says Ginny. “They said because she hadn’t lost consciousness or vomited, it wasn’t a concussion.” But a year and a half after the initial accident in October 2010, Coral still suffered from balance and memory issues. After a referral to Crutchfield’s clinic, Ginny learned that her daughter had, in fact, suffered a concussion. “I thought that if it was a concussion, it would have been something they’d pick up that day,” says Ginny. “I never expected she’d still be suffering.”

In part, because there is no standardization of concussion care, Coral is one of many kids who didn’t even know that they had a concussion until much later.

“We are still fighting the mentality of, ‘Oh you dinged yourself,’” says Bill Ashton, sports medicine manager at LifeBridge Health. “We like to say, ‘It’s not just a sprain, it’s your brain.’ Kids need to understand you need your brain for everything. It’s not like treating a pulled muscle or a broken arm.”

Part of the issue, experts say, is that concussions can be tricky to diagnose. “Brain injury is what we call the silent epidemic,” says Bryan Pugh, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Maryland. “You look typical, but the eggs are scrambled.”

Though there’s still a long way to go, the hope is that Maryland’s new youth concussion law (House Bill 858) signed on May 19, 2011, to protect student athletes from the dangers of concussions, will finally raise long-overdue awareness. (Maryland is the 18th state in the country to introduce such a law.) Now, when a concussion is suspected, the law mandates that a student be removed “from practice or play and returned only after clearance by an appropriately licensed health-care professional.”

And although the law is new, it has already had a dramatic impact on the way in which concussions are handled.

“In the olden days, it was no exercise for a week and then it was okay to go back into the game,” says Paul Bernstorf director of athletics at St. Paul’s School for Boys. “The severity of the injury didn’t matter. Now, it’s a gradual re-entry to play.” (Interestingly, private schools are exempt from the law as it is written, but most schools have their own protocol to protect students.)

While some studies suggest that concussions among student athletes are on the rise, it is hard to say whether sports have become more competitive or whether, with growing awareness, the reporting rates are simply higher. Crutchfield has his own theory. “Athletes are bigger, and they are faster these days, so the force of impact is greater. . . . It’s like running into a train.”

When Crutchfield joined Sinai in 2008, he recognized a need to grow a comprehensive clinic that specifically addressed the multifaceted issues surrounding sports concussions. By fall 2009, he helped expand the mild brain-injury program of Sinai’s Berman Brain & Spine Institute and initiated the development of the Comprehensive Sports Concussion Program, the first integrated interdisciplinary mild brain-injury program on the East Coast.

Eighteen-year-old Kyler Barrett, a recent graduate of Marriotts Ridge High School in Howard County, is among the clinic’s many patient athletes. Barrett was first injured in the fall of 2009, during a high-school football game. “He never came out of the game,” recalls his mother, Robin. “We don’t know when it happened. He said he felt a little ‘off,’ but he thought he was hungry.” Two days later, Kyler was diagnosed with a “mild concussion” at a local hospital. And though the symptoms have ebbed and flowed, nearly three years (and 10 doctors) later, Barrett is still suffering. Under Crutchfield’s care, he will possibly undergo surgery to alleviate his crippling headaches.

“I know people who have had concussions and they talk about headaches,” says Barrett. “But I wish that all I had was the headaches. I’ve had violent mood swings, depressions, sleep issues. Over time you learn to cope with it.”

With cases this severe, some parents are re-evaluating their decision to let their children play contact sports at all.

Betsy Berner’s daughter Naomi, a multisport athlete at Park School, has sustained two concussions (although one was the result of a fluky accident off the field.). Now, Betsy struggles with whether or not to let Naomi play.

“I guess you have to weigh the risk of injury against the very real benefits like leadership, teamwork, increased strength, and agility that are derived from playing team sports,” Betsy says. “I don’t know what the answer is.”

But Michael Dvorkin, an orthopedic surgeon whose son, Garrett, plays football at Gilman, puts his faith in the coaches and educators at that school.

“Gilman School considers its athletes’ health and well-being their first priority,” he says. “As a parent, this eases my mind and I have complete trust in the program.”

Crutchfield says that when a child gets concussed, parents often have one of two extreme reactions: Either they remove the child from the field of play entirely or they rush him back too soon.

“I would hope that every parent is more concerned with their child’s brain as opposed to a sport,” he says, noting that as awareness has increased, parents have become more cautious.

But he feels that if the concussion is treated properly—that is, as an emergency and within the first 48 hours—the risks of permanent brain damage are greatly decreased.

Too much delay in treatment (or the wrong kind of treatment) as was the case with Kyler Barrett, can result in no resolution of symptoms or lead to surgery, says Crutchfield. “If I can [immediately] guide the brain down the proper path of recovery, it’s so much easier than six months or a year later,” he notes.

Thirteen-year-old Grace, the daughter of WBAL-TV anchor Lisa Robinson, was one of the lucky ones. She was referred to Crutchfield’s clinic within 48 hours of a collision during basketball practice at The Bryn Mawr School where she was captain of her middle-school team.

“The other player’s head hit me right on the side of my face,” recalls Grace, who had also suffered a concussion the previous year. “I was hurt so badly, I couldn’t see straight, and my coach had to help me walk to the trainer’s office.”

Although Grace was back at school the next day, Robinson recalls getting a phone call at the station. “They said, ‘You have to come get Grace. She just doesn’t seem herself.’”

In Crutchfield’s office the next day, it became clear that Grace had, in fact, suffered a concussion. “He did the balance test with me, and my balance was awful,” says Grace. “He referred me to do the Wii Fit every day as therapy.”

Within several months, Grace was able to return to sports and feel more like her old self. Though happy to be symptom-free, she was less happy about saying a final farewell to the clinic. “On our last appointment she turned to me and said, ‘You mean I don’t get to go anymore?’” says Robinson, laughing at the memory.

Kid-friendly is exactly what Crutchfield is aiming for as he establishes his clinic as the go-to place for young athletes. “The message to kids when they walk through the doors is that this is their clinic,” he says.

And if it’s up to Grace, who has become something of an expert on the matter, the concussed will keep coming to Crutchfield.

“Every time she sees someone who appears to have a concussion,” says Robinson, “she gives out Dr. Crutchfield’s number.” Adds Grace, “I’ve given the balance test right there on the court.”