Teen Football Player Forced to Find New Sport After Eight Concussions

Topic: Sports injuries

Wednesday, 8 July 2026, at 5:31 am

Angus Pitman had eight concussions by the time he was 16.

In short:

Angus Pitman stopped playing football and started rowing after eight concussions.

A country football league president says concussion rules are helpful but can be ignored.

What's next?

The SANFL says football is safer, but more education is needed.

Angus Pitman had to stop playing football after eight concussions by age 16.

He had played with the SANFL's West Adelaide development squad and loved football.

Angus still helped his local team after his concussions.

He became an assistant coach and started rowing as a new sport.

Angus Pitman wants people to take head injuries seriously.

He didn't play sports for a year, then started going to the gym.

His dad suggested trying rowing, and Angus liked it.

Angus joined a rowing program and trains four or five times a week.

After five months, Angus wants to compete in rowing.

Angus Pitman hopes to reach the national junior rowing benchmark.

Angus is close to the Rowing Australia benchmark for junior men.

Head injuries are a real risk.

Many Australian Rules football players have been diagnosed with a brain disease.

This disease is caused by repeated hits to the head.

A researcher says repeated head bumps can increase the risk of other diseases.

Frances Corrigan says everyone's recovery from concussions is different.

More research is needed on the impact of repeated head hits.

The researcher is not sure who will be most at risk.

Everyone's recovery from concussions can be different.

It's hard to determine who will recover well from concussions.

There are questions about concussion rules.

A player who suffers a concussion can only return to play after 21 days.

A football league president says the concussion rule can be ignored.

It's hard to know if all clubs follow concussion guidelines.

Some clubs might downplay head injuries to keep players in the game.

The protocols for concussions depend on what happens at the club level.

There have been changes in the last few years to focus on concussions.

The SANFL says the game has never been safer from an incident perspective.

The game relies on volunteers, which is what makes community football good.

Angus Pitman is still friends with his old team.

Volunteers and coaches need to feel comfortable taking players off the field.

There's always more education to be done.

The AFL was contacted for comment.

Angus Pitman says players should take any head injury seriously.

Players might not report head injuries to avoid missing games.

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