Bob Groves
(Hackensack, N.J.) Record
Jun. 5, 2007 12:00 AM
HACKENSACK, N.J. - Hit by line drives, high sticks and 200-pound tacklers, more young athletes are ending up in hospital emergency rooms.

Some casualties arrive by ambulance; others are escorted by coaches or parents: A 15-year-old shortstop whose nose was bashed by a bad throw. A teen whose spleen was ruptured by a hockey stick. A volleyball player who was elbowed going after a spike. An elementary-school boxer with a broken thumb.