I didn't feel the thread about the Henderson Co. player was a proper place to put this but I felt I'd at least comment on the incident in general in terms of precautions taken and everything.

 

From reading the article, the Henderson Co. coaching staff sounded like they covered the basis for trying to prevent such an incident. Checking the Heat Index is big for knowing Temperature and Humidity. Also taking extra water breaks is very key as the bodies' #1 way to cool itself in extreme heat is by evaporation through sweating. Getting fluids in our bodies keeps us hydrated obviously. One key note to be kept in mind is that the fluids we drink should be relatively cold at 50-60 degrees. Henderson Co. was performing practices relatively early in the day which is also wise because temps are usually cooler than. Even the shorts, t-shirts, and only helmets was good to keep the body cool.

 

Still, with all these precautions, keep in mind, athletes, ecspecially high school ones, push themselves hard. The occassional cramp, headache, fatigue, etc... can be ignored or excused as just working hard. Also hydration during water breaks might not be to the extent needed. I know in high school I might only take a spray or two from a water bottle. Kids need to be encouraged to drink enough fluids. Sometimes sports drinks such as gatorade or powerade w/ low levels of sugar are recommended because we are more inclined to drink more of something w/ flavor. Plus electrolytes and sodium are put into the body to aide hydration.

 

Finally, problems with football and noticing signs of heat exhaustion or stroke are numerous. First off the number of players is usually relatively large, ecspecially at a school like Henderson. Second, wearing helmets blocks a view of players faces to see if visually from expressions whether the player is doing alright or not. Third, its a high level sport where everyone sweats profusely so determining if one person has large amounts of sweat over another is difficult.

 

None of these points are to place blame anywhere or to dismiss the severity of this young man's death. Just inform on factors of heat related incidents.

 

The best advice to give to athletes is that they need to drink plenty of fluids before practice even begins to keep them well hydrated early, and as practice goes on they should be taking in plenty of fluids through out to maintain proper hydration. Also, an athlete shouldn't ignore certain symptoms such as dizziness, extreme fatigue or exhaustion, light-headedness, nausea, or cramps. When dealing with extreme temperatures these symptoms are early signs of the heat affecting us. Also coaches and teammates should pay attention if someone seems a little out of it or not performing normally. Any of these signs should be responded to with immediate replenishing of fluids, rest preferably in a cooler environment indoors, a cool towel on the head and neck. Finally, after practice, continue to drink water or sports drinks to continue hydrating ourselves. You lose tons of water during sports in extreme heat.

 

While a lot of these things seem common sense, I remember two-a-days in the summer and know I many times went against a lot of these recommendations as did many of my teammates. You just don't think about them until a horrible tragedy like the one at Henderson Co. occurs. Anyways, hopefully all this will be taken as good advice and to echo my earlier comments in the other thread. My prayers go out tonight to the family, friends, and teammates of this young man. May you be with god.

 

(To note, any other advice to be given would be great. I am in no way an expert on this topic. I used a lot of knowledge I gained from a sports medicine class I had last year in college, taught by an Athletic Trainer, and also grabbed a lot of info from the text book. Also if im inaccurate on anything, please correct me, I felt this would be a good thread for parents and players wondering what they can do to prevent succumbing to the extreme heat)

Another problem is when the athletes drink nothing but water. Water is great for hydration, but does nothing to replace electrolytes. Low potassium levels can be fatal. That's where the old Gatorade comes in to play.

Please, Please, Please..............players speak up if you feel like something is wrong with you and you know something isn't right. I've worked in health care for several, EMS a long time ago................... Your body will tell you when something isn't right, PLEASE listen to it. It knows whats best for it. This sport is a very fun and life building block for you as a young players and we as adults what to see you grow up into fine and outstanding people we don't want anything to happen to any of you. So again please SPEAK up when your body is telling you something isn't right because it will give you warning signs, TAKE THEM SERIOUS........... May God watch over you always...........LTW.

Everyday this week at pratice my sons coaches have been really great about water breaks. As soon as we pick him up there is a 32oz iced down Gatorade waiting for him. The coaches need water too. Back when I played we didn't get water, but I don't remember anyone having a serious problem either. (69-70)

Our local news did a piece on this that aired yesterday evening. They were at Raceland h.s. and went over all that you mentioned UTB. This is an excellent thread.:thumb: They had personel from Our Lady of Bellefonte and Kings Daughter hospital going over these topics along with the signs to look for. The report also had the Raceland A.D. on interview showing the monitor / gauge that showed the humidity / heat index level. This is used during Raceland practices. Frequent water / gatorade type fluid breaks were reported along with the report of Bellefonte Hospital had donated taken several "ice bath tubs" to 7 local schools along with Raceland for use in case of a kid becoming extremely overheated. These serve the purpose of immediately getting a kid in one of those and start to cool the body temperature. All the post on this thread so far had some very good info on them.

Please, Please, Please..............players speak up if you feel like something is wrong with you and you know something isn't right. I've worked in health care for several, EMS a long time ago................... Your body will tell you when something isn't right, PLEASE listen to it. It knows whats best for it. This sport is a very fun and life building block for you as a young players and we as adults what to see you grow up into fine and outstanding people we don't want anything to happen to any of you. So again please SPEAK up when your body is telling you something isn't right because it will give you warning signs, TAKE THEM SERIOUS........... May God watch over you always...........LTW.

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: excellent post and advice LTW!

If its 90 degrees out and one of the kids is red-faced and isn't sweating, he's probably in trouble.

I know coaches that weigh their football players before and after practice every day. Especially the big linemen. If the player has not gained the weight that he lost the day before, he does not practice. For instance, if a lineman weighs 250 at the beginning of practice and weighs 240 at the end, if he comes in weighing 245, he has not replaced the fluids that he lost the day before and cannot practice for his own health and safety.

If its 90 degrees out and one of the kids is red-faced and isn't sweating, he's probably in trouble.

 

I do remember from the first aid training that coaches are required to complete that we went over heat exhaustion, etc. And you are correct that if a person is not sweating, then 911 better be called. No messing around with that.