A Podcast exploring diverse conversations about concussions in sport and the impact it can have on athletes, coaches, teammates and parents
Learn how to navigate concussions in sport from experts and people who have experienced the injury
Concussions are complicated, isolating, and above all, a shared experience. Whether you’re the athlete struggling to return to class, the parent navigating the healthcare maze, or the coach managing a player’s future, the “sideline” is a difficult place to be.
The Sideline Podcast is dedicated to the raw, unfiltered truth of life with a brain injury. Ryan Sutton hosts candid interviews that go beyond medical protocols to get to the heart of the matter: the lived experiences of those in the thick of it. We provide a platform for students, families, and coaches to share tips, find connection, and realize that the fog of recovery is a journey no one should have to take by themselves.
Episode 1 with Emma Pownall
Episode Details
- Episode Title: The People and Passion behind PACA
- Release Date: May 19th, 2026
- Episode description: Still to come
About the Host
Ryan Sutton
Ryan grew up in Ennismore, Ontario just outside of Peterborough and played minor hockey with the AAA Peterborough Minor Petes, the Ennismore Eagles and the St. Peter’s Secondary School Hockey Team. Ryan played several other sports growing up, including Rugby, Baseball, Volleyball, Wakeboarding along with many others. Throughout his childhood he sustained 4 concussions, all of which came from sport. At the age of 20, he sustained his 5th and worst concussion in 2016 and was told to stop playing contact sports all-together. Unfortunately, stopping contact sports was not enough to limit his concussion risk, having sustained 3 more due to slips and falls, leading to a total of 8 concussions sustained to date. Despite his concussion history, Ryan still loves to play sports and regularly participates in many non-contact sports with friends and family.
His experiences with the injury has led him to become a champion for concussion awareness, education and research having started his own social purpose business in 2017 that donated money to concussion research; to then turning the business into a federal non-profit organization called the Headsup Concussion Advocacy Network (HeadsupCAN) where he continues to find new ways to spread awareness and educates thousands of students every year on the topic. His involvement with HeadsupCAN led him to PACA in 2019 where he joined the panel as a community representative and has since taken over as the project manager in 2020. On top of all this, Ryan has an interest in concussion research, having completed his Masters in Applied Health Science at Brock University in 2022 where he wrote a thesis on “The Sport Related Concussion Experience (SRCE). This fall he will be attending the University of Toronto to pursue his PhD in Kinesiology and Physical Activity as a part of the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Lab (MPARC), where he plans to develop his skills designing, implementing and evaluating concussion and mental health education programs for youth.
