Like everyone else, Lauren Nietz knows what it feels like to have a headache.

And like everyone else, she does not know the causes of many of her headaches.Except for this one time.On the last play of a game, in a volleyball tournament against Merion Mercy Academy, the Marian junior dove on the floor to keep the ball in play and hit the side of her head on the hardwood."I kind of just laid on the floor for awhile," says Nietz. "Then when I got up there was a pounding in my head and I was shaky and dizzy. My teammates said I didn't look too good."The on-site athletic trainer administered an Impact Test, created by Coordinated Health, to Nietz to verify her symptoms. Subsequently, it was determined that she should see a doctor immediately. The doctor diagnosed her condition as a concussion, which MedicineNet.com defines as "a traumatic injury to the soft tissue of the brain as a result of a violent blow, shaking or spinning. A concussion can cause immediate but temporary impairment of brain functions such as thinking, vision, equilibrium, and consciousness."John Fallabel, Marian's volleyball coach adds," Impact with a hard object is not necessary to cause a concussion; It can even occur when someone runs fast and stops suddenly, jarring the brain."In 2011, the PIAA ruled that, "Any contestant who exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors associated with a concussion shall be immediately removed from the event and shall not return until cleared by an appropriate heath care professional with a medical doctor's degree."Following Nietz's medical diagnosis, her care was turned over to Marian athletic trainer, Mark Gallagher. He said that Marian, like many other area schools, requires that each athlete takes a 45 minute computer-based Impact Pre-Test that assesses his or her reaction time, speed in answering questions, and short term memory. In addition, parents must sign off on this test and be aware of the inherent risks of competitive sport upon the brain."In Lauren's case," says Gallagher, "we tracked her daily until she was symptom-free. Then we re-issued the Impact Test before she went back to her doctor for clearance. At that point, we put her on a five day protocol where we checked her heart rate, and any signs of headaches or dizziness. First she lightly exercised on a stationary bike. The following day she jogged and did some agility drills. On the third day she did some hard-core sprinting. The fourth day was non-contact volleyball drills followed by full contact practice on the last day.""With all of that testing, I only missed two games," says Nietz, who plays the position of libero, or defensive specialist. "My responsibility to the team is to keep the ball in play and help set up the front line, and to do this I have to dive on the floor a lot."Once back in the game, Nietz, wore a padded head band to prevent further injury, but she says it was too loose so her father obtained a soft shell helmet from a middle school football coach and this is what she wears today during the competition."This helmet is a perfect choice because it's soft and she obviously cannot wear a hard helmet due to the possibility of colliding with other players," says Fallabel. "Before each game she also has to check in with the referee to be approved to play."As one might expect with a young lady of high school age, Nietz is concerned about the "look" of the helmet on her head and what people might say. She has been laughed at by opposing fans who have also snapped pictures of her with their cell phones."My teammates are aware of this reaction and before each game they all come up to me and rub my helmet for good luck," says Nietz.In the meantime, however, her parents continue to look for a viable alternative, something more "fashionable," she says with a laugh.On a more serious note, Lauren Nietz advises that athletes of all sports should be careful about how they play their games."The topic of concussions is not something to mess around with," she says. "Every athlete who loves to compete should take it very seriously."**********A WILD SEASON - Pleasant Valley field hockey goal keeper Rachel Wild recorded her ninth shutout of the season last Tuesday in a 5-0 Mountain Valley Conference victory over Pocono Mountain East. Even more impressive, Wild has allowed one goal or less in 13 of Pleasant Valley's matches this season. In other Pleasant Valley field hockey news, Melissa Russo concluded the regular season with 24 goals and 20 assists (68 total points) which shattered the single-season assists record at the school. The previous single-season record was 12 assists.**********BOYLE KILLING IT - Last Tuesday, Marian senior outside hitter Grace Boyle became the tenth player in school history to record 500 kills in her career. Boyle accomplished the feat with 17 kills in a 25-6, 25-8, 25-9 sweep of Minersville. Currently, Boyle has 230 kills this season and 551 career kills, which places her in ninth place on the Fillies career kills list. With an extended playoff run, Boyle has a chance to break 600 kills and catch Sarah Swankoski (643) for eighth place all time.**********1,000 AND COUNTING - The Northern Lehigh boys cross country team reached a milestone last Tuesday in a multi-team Colonial League cross country match at Southern Lehigh. With a 22-38 victory over Moravian Academy and a 23-34 victory over Southern Lehigh, the Bulldogs (10-16) recorded their 1,000th combined dual meet victory in school history.**********WOOD SETS RECORD - With three goals last Thursday against Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg, Palmerton girls soccer standout Monica Wood recorded her 21st goal of the season, thus breaking the single-season scoring record at the school. The previous record was 20 goals in a season set by Casey Rinfret in 2011. Wood added two more goals in Monday's regular season finale against Lehighton, giving the Palmerton sophomore 23 goals on the season and seven goals in her final three games.**********LUCKY SEVEN - As the regular season wrapped up for many local teams this past week, seven more TIMES NEWS area athletes recorded "hat tricks" (scoring three or more individual goals in a game) over the past seven days. In girls soccer, Jim Thorpe's Cat Condly scored four goals in a 7-0 victory over Columbia Montour Vo-Tech, Pleasant Valley's Ema Sabovic tallied three goals in an 8-0 victory over Pocono Mountain West, Tamaqua's Lynn Kistler accounted for all three of her team's goals in a 3-0 victory over Catasauqua, and Palmerton's Monica Wood notched three goals in a 5-4 loss against Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg. In field hockey, Northern Lehigh's Kelsey Follweiler scored all three of her team's goals in a 3-2 victory over Catasauqua. In boys soccer, Jim Thorpe's Steven Principe contributed five goals in a 9-1 victory over Weatherly, while Northwestern's Brandon Ettl added three goals in a 7-1 win over Notre Dame-ES. Condly, Sabovic, Principe and Ettl have all led their respective teams by recording multiple hat tricks throughout the course of the season.**********DOUBLE YOUR FUN - A week after having two singles players (Madison Olexson and Emily Thek) advance to the second round of the District 11 Class AAA Singles Tennis Tournament, the Pleasant Valley tennis program made history once again last Thursday by advancing two doubles teams to the second round of the District 11 Class AAA Doubles Tennis Tournament. In the number one doubles slot, Olexson and Thek teamed up for a 6-2, 6-2 first round victory, while at number three doubles, Andrea Nale and Emily Borger posted a 6-2, 3-6, 10-3 victory. It was also the first time in school history that Pleasant Valley qualified three doubles teams to the 32-team field. In the District 11 Class AA Doubles Tennis Tournament on Friday, two other TIMES NEWS area tandems advances out of the first round. Jim Thorpe's Bryanna Kehrli and Gabbie Binder recorded a 6-0, 6-0 first round victory, while Tamaqua's team of Allison Pedersen and Beth Kistler scored a 6-2, 6-1 decision.**********SIMPLY PERFECT - To close out this year's Fall Sports Notebook, special recognition needs to be given to three TIMES NEWS area teams which finished the regular season undefeated. In girls cross country, Northwestern Lehigh finished 26-0 for the third straight season. In boys cross country, Jim Thorpe capped off a perfect 10-0 season with wins last Wednesday over Blue Mountain (20-38) and Schuylkill Haven (17-44) for the Olympians first ever Schuylkill League Division I championship and the first undefeated regular season in school history. The Pleasant Valley boys soccer team also wrapped up the season with an 18-0 record, becoming the first undefeated team in program history. However, it didn't come easy for the Bears, as they needed two overtime victories in their final two games (a 1-0 victory over Pocono Mountain East on Tuesday and a 4-3 victory over Stroudsburg on Thursday) to accomplish the feat.