Just weeks before his freshman year, Logan Coleridge suffered a devastating concussion. But when his symptoms got worse instead of better, he and his family went from doctor to doctor looking for answers. What they finally found led them to emergency brain surgery, and now a year later, he's ready to play.

Logan was joined by his parents Barry and Becky Coleridge Tuesday morning at the Monmouth Regional High School field.

Football players are built tough.

Their strengths, coordination, and skills propel them to victory. Logan Coleridge, of Monmouth County, has never played at the high school level because two summers ago, he got hurt.

"I was in a scrimmage my freshman year and I took a really bad hit to the head. That did it for me," said the 16-year-old.

What followed was a concussion, but over time, the symptoms got worse. Excruciating headaches, light sensitivity and eventually missing days, then weeks of school.

"At a young age, just going from doctor to doctor not knowing what's wrong is like, it's not ideal. It's scary," he said.

"As a parent, trust your gut. If you know something is wrong, keep fighting. Get those answers," said Logan's father Barry. Nearly a year after his concussion, and dozens of doctor visits, Logan got an MRI, and the results were shocking. "It showed that I had an AVM a couple centimeters big. That would probably cause my headaches," Logan explained. Logan was put under the care of New York University's Dr. Howard Riina, a leading specialist and director of the Langone's Center for Stroke and Neurovascular Diseases. "An AVM is an abnormal connection of arteries and veins. You have an abnormal connection with abnormal arteries and veins in a tangle that can bleed. And it bleeds on the order of 2-4% per year," said Dr. Riina. Dr. Riina says if symptoms, such as extreme headaches, blurred vision and light sensitivity progress, don't wait, get checked out because in Logan's case, the MRI scan likely gave him the opportunity of a full and productive life. The undiagnosed AVM was only found after his concussion and has been present since birth. Within weeks of the diagnosis, brain surgery followed over the summer of 2024. "What happens to AVMs they tend to burst as you get older so might not have been huge risk this stage of my life but down the road I could have died," said Logan. Nearly a year to the day of his surgery, Logan returned to the field, prepping for the Monmouth Regional High School fall season, proving football players are indeed tough. "To see him feeling better than he's ever felt and getting to do the one thing he was so passionate about doing is awesome. So grateful," said Logan's mom, Becky. "I call myself an inspiration to be honest. I just want to be there for other people. I know how lonely it gets. I know how dark of a place it can be," said Logan.