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Concussed, but using his head

On Second Thought
May 22, 2011 By Kevin Paul Dupont Boston Globe

Adam Micheletti’s final day playing hockey wasn’t nearly as he envisioned it. He was 18 years old, with a father who once played in the National Hockey League, and he was intent on following his hockey dream until … well, until it was over, until he was convinced there wasn’t a team somewhere in the world willing to give him a sweater and put his name on its roster.

“Absolutely, the whole dream,’’ Micheletti recalled. “You know, college hockey, the NHL, the Stanley Cup … hey, the typical dream when you’re growing up, right?’’

But as is so often the case with contact sports, the dream came with pain and injury, and eventually worry, concern that one day dreaming too big could mean living too little. Not an easy thing for a high schooler to grasp, and sometimes equally difficult, even anguishing, for a parent to put in perspective.

“From the day they’re born, we tell them, ‘Hey, dream big, you can get there!’ ’’ said Adam’s dad, ex-NHLer Joe Micheletti, today one of TV’s finest hockey commentators, his work seen regularly on the MSG Network, NBC, and Versus. “But it was going to a bad place for Adam. It was obvious he had to stop.

“I know he struggled with it. I struggled with it. My wife struggled with it, although, when I’d begin to waffle a little, Kathy would say, ‘Joe, will you stop? Will you please just stop? We’re saving his life, Joe, we’re saving his life!’ ’’

In the span of some 18 months, the 5-foot-6-inch Micheletti, while playing for a Long Island junior team, suffered three concussions, the final one delivered while playing in Boston in November 2002. As with the previous concussions, he didn’t think much of the hit, until he returned to the dressing room after the game and lost peripheral vision in his right eye.

“That was scary,’’ said Micheletti, whose vision did not return in full until a trip that night to a hospital emergency room. “Before, it had just been headaches, and they’d go away. But when you start to have problems with your vision, it kind of jumps up at you.’’

Concussions have been a hot topic in sports, especially hockey and football, in recent years. Neurologists frequently say the understanding of concussions continues to evolve. To a degree, they remain a mystery, making it difficult for athletes to cope with, to assess their ability to play.

With the Bruins alone, we’ve seen the struggles endured by Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard, each a victim of multiple concussions.

For 30 or so days after Micheletti’s last concussion in 2002, his parents went about finding out all they could about concussions and the risks related to their only son’s desire to keep playing hockey.

Joe was at his son’s side when a neurologist informed Adam that continuing to play was not prudent. But before he could offer his own advice, Joe talked to more doctors, and to a few high-profile ex-NHLers, including star forwards Pat LaFontaine and Eric Lindros, who eventually had to retire because of concussions. He talked to trainers and coaches. He wanted to be certain.

“Part of it was Adam’s size, being only 5 feet 6 and 160 pounds,’’ said the senior Micheletti. “And when I say that, I mean his size and the gutsy way he played center, always going to the tough areas. He would get right in there, get after it.

“He played like he thought he was 6 feet 4, 220 pounds. And when you play like that, it means getting hit. And the way kids play it, they try to kill each other out there. He’d go right at them and they’d go at his head.’’

Over the course of a month or so, dad’s due diligence made the conclusion obvious.

“We had to tell him, ‘Adam, it’s over,’ ’’ said Joe, those words still difficult for him to repeat. “I still think about it. Not as much as I did at first, but it still tugs at me.

“No way do you want to take that away from your kid. Not when they love it, they dedicate themselves to it, when they’ve got all their hopes and dreams wrapped up in it.’’

“Parents have to tell their kids no all the time, but boy, that was hard.’’

Less than a year later, Micheletti was a freshman at Boston College, where he played pickup hockey and golfed more than he did before. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business in 2007. On July 16, he will marry Rachel Orlowski, another BC ’07 alum, from Dartmouth. They will live in Dubuque, Iowa, where Adam is director of hockey and business operations for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the US Hockey League.

The dream that Micheletti was forced to give up at 18 has been reshaped. He hopes one day to be general manager of an NHL team.

“It was strange; initially, I was OK when my parents told me I had to give up hockey,’’ said Adam. “Losing my vision like that scared me, and I knew, deep down, it was the right decision to stop.

“Then some time went by, and it was those Tuesday and Thursday nights — nights we would normally travel for games — and I’d be doing nothing. I kind of got the itch back a little bit. That was after maybe 3-6 months, and I talked to my dad about maybe trying again, but we both decided it just didn’t make sense.’’

Thankfully, said Adam, he has experienced none of the devilish post-concussion symptoms that often come with brain injuries. He figures he’s a lucky guy in many ways. Had he kept playing hockey, he might never have gone to BC and never met Rachel.

Kids of all ages, and too many adults, face the kind of decision Micheletti and his parents faced eight years ago. What’s the advice of a son who had to accept the parental advice he really didn’t want to hear?

“I’d tell kids to take a step back,’’ said Adam. “Take a step back and look at everything — look at everything and think about their future. Playing hockey is great. I know. I loved it. But you know, it’s not the be-all and end-all.’’

So what is the be-all and end-all when you’ve been 18, singularly focused on a sport and a dream, only to be told that’s just not the way your life is meant to be?

“I’d say the be-all and end-all is just living,’’ said Adam Micheletti. “Just living a happy, healthy life.’’

Kevin Paul Dupont’s “On Second Thought’’ appears on Page 2 of the Sunday Globe Sports section. He can be reached at dupont@globe.com.

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