Concussions cause Augusta football player to trade in his pads for a whistle

AUGUSTA, Kan. (KSNW) — Imagine being young and healthy and having something you love taken away from you. Not by any fault of your own or anyone else’s fault, for that matter.

Jake Hall turned it into something positive.

The junior at Augusta High School loves football so much that when playing the game was taken from him, it hurt. It still hurts. Fortunately, his father, Andy Hall, was grooming him to do something else, and Jake was able to stay in the game.

Jake is officiating a high school football game between Wichita Collegiate and El Dorado, being played by kids his own age.

“I really love the game. I think it’s one of the best games ever invented”, he said.

Jake likes what he’s doing, but he’d rather be wearing a helmet and pads and not a whistle.

“I enjoyed playing football a lot. At one point, I really wanted to play in college and possibly play at the next level,” he said.

Those dreams were dashed a year ago when Jake, playing as a sophomore long-snapper and offensive lineman for Augusta, absorbed two big hits to his head within a few weeks of each other. He was left with two concussions and a brain bruise.

“We were doing a hitting drill in practice, and I remember one specific time when I ducked my head, and I got up and saw three of one of my coaches, and was like, that’s not right,” he said. “I didn’t feel good after that. Then, they diagnosed me with a concussion. And a couple of weeks later, I got to come back versus Buhler, and all I remember is long snapping the ball and trying to force a kid out of bounds. I was staring at a kid and looked to my left for a split second. I got blind-sided, and the lights went out.”

“The last one was a pretty significant head injury. So, it ended his football career and accelerated him getting on the field trading pads for stripes,” said Andy.

“I was pretty sad for a while. I still kind of am. It’s pretty hard being told you can’t play the sport you loved growing up. It’s tough to this day,” admits Jake.

Andy, a referee of Kansas high school football for 23 years, had been grooming his son to be a football official since he was 7 or 8 years old. Jake joined his father’s crew this fall, which includes several members of the Hall family.

“You know, he’s jumped right on it from the very beginning. Scott Goodheart is our director of officials for the Kansas State High Schools Activities Association. Scott was gracious enough to give Jake a scholarship to cover his fees. He got assigned to me as a mentor, and he’s completed all the testing and has done a great job,” said Andy.

“I was hesitant for a little bit because of how young I am. A lot of the players are similar age as me,” explained Jake. “Being on the field, I still love being out there. It doesn’t matter my age.”

Jake has served as a line judge in two varsity games and a pair of JV games.

“Jake is good. He understands it. He studies the game and understands what it takes to be a good official,” said his father proudly.

“Yeah, I really enjoy it. It’s fun seeing some people I know out on the field. Seeing them make plays, and it’s fun to be out here and still be involved with the sport,” said Jake.

Jake is a 17-year-old junior at Augusta. He’s one of the top sporting clays and trap shooters in the state, and he’s also a volunteer firefighter.