Athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than they used to be.

That goes for the high school level as well.

A 2009 report put the number of concussions among high school athletes in nine sports at almost 400,000.

Jamesville-Dewitt athletic trainer Dave Shultz says concussions are a big problem, because they're so hard to diagnose.

"Concussions are probably the single most undermanaged injury in all of athletics," Schultz says. "You can't see it necessarily."

J-D, CBA, and the Syracuse City School District all say athletes suspected of having a concussion must be checked out by a physician before returning to the field.

J-D uses a computer program, called ImPact, to test for concussions. The program uses memory tests and matching exercises to test for a concussion.

Yesterday, the House Education and Labor Committee heard testimony about concussions in high school athletics.

The committee found concussed athletes have a greater risk of long-term physical and mental consequences and high school athletes are more susceptible to concussions than older athletes. 

A few states such as Texas and Washington have concussion laws that regulate when an athlete can return to the field.

CBA Athletic Director Buddy Wleklinski would like to see New York be one of them. He says,

"When you're seeing all the results and all the things that can happen, and how it affects more than athletics. It affects them in the classroom, it affects them in their daily lives, these athletes with concussions. Certainly you'd like to see something, somewhere, they can come up with that will keep our kids safe."

Assemblyman Will Barclay says concussion legislation went before the state assembly three different times from 2004-2006, but never got past the senate vote.