Tappin forced to leave football

GLENDALE — It took less than a year before Matt Tappin suffered his first concussion.

Then 11 months old, Tappin was on his concrete driveway at his Altadena home when his Rottweiler, Fred, knocked him over while chasing a squirrel. Tappin said he hit the back of his head on the driveway, leading to his initial concussion.

What Tappin, who starred in football and track and field at Flintridge Prep before moving on to Washington University in St. Louis, couldn't fathom was that he would suffer at least 10 more concussions over an 18-year stretch.

Most of them came from playing football.

Tappin, who helped Flintridge Prep win the CIF Southern Section Division XIII championship in 2003 against Prep League-rival Pasadena Poly as a linebacker, reached his final decision last summer to walk away from football after consulting with doctors following a linebacking drill at a Washington University preseason practice led to a dizzy spell.

"I felt dizzy and took my helmet off," said Tappin, who is majoring in history and economics at the Division III university. "The team training staff and a neurologist at the university's hospital diagnosed me with a concussion.

"I went through a battery of tests and decided it was best to not play football. It was a tough decision, but when it came down to it, it was about me going to class."

Tappin, a former All-Area first-team selection in football, wasn't going to give up athletics.

The sophomore had a back-up plan. He chose to compete on the university's track and field team, which is piloted by Coach Paul Thornton.

Tappin, who won the Prep League titles in the 200-meter and high jump events in 2005 at Claremont-McKenna College, was a sprinter and jumper and competed in the decathlon for the Bears last year.

"I felt fortunate that I could do another sport," Tappin said.