COLLASPED

Heard of the JV player from Parkland High that collasped last night at a game. Is in critical condition at this time. There seems to be a pattern starting to develop. Is it that players are not in condition to play? Physicals not being done correctly? We hear more and more about these things happening. Is it we are just more informed?

 

combination of things

obviously we are much more "informed" these days of the trials and tribulations of the world on our evening news... that's what "sells" and is why I rarely watch the local talking heads.
Another factor could be the way our kids condition for athletics. First let me say that in no way am I saying this is the case in this incident with the young man from Parkland. But think about it, 30 to 40 years ago many of the kids that played sports were from off the farm. Athletics were a break from the real work. Today, most kids don't know what hard labor is. In the "old days" kids grew up working and playing outside, riding bikes or just running around. There ain't much conditioning value in playing video games or sending text messages... except for their thumbs.

It's a sad day when a young person is injured or passes on, but it may be a part of the evolution of our lifestyle.

 

Sad news

I'm so sad to hear about this! It is VITALLY important that all athletes get their sports physicals done at their MEDICAL HOME whether it's a pediatrician, family doctor, etc. I work in a peds office and we have, at times, not signed off on the form if we have concerns. It makes the athlete and parent extremely unhappy at the moment, and fortunately, further testing has almost always ruled out whatever concerns we've had. Your regular doctor knows your history and will be looking out for your best interests. Don't wait until the week of or before tryouts to get this done! The best thing is to have your physical in the summer - you don't have to miss school, if you need any other testing you have time to get it done, and there aren't as many sick kids in the waiting room. The physicals are good for one year, so you'll be ready for any season in which you want to play. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association REQUIRES a yearly physicial beginning with middle school athletics.

My thoughts and prayers are with this family.

 

Obviously, this is painful to read, but to be honest, unless there is some study done on this subject that I don't know about; there were many more players that had serious health problems involving athletics in my day. I lost my best friend in HS due to "overheating" during football practice. The coaches did not allow players to hydrate....and that was the case in every sport. It was an old cliche "you run them till they drop", since then as been modified to "run them til they drop...after the gatorade"

 

My Opinion: 35 years ago I was a D1 point guard who started every game my last 3 years. I set school records in assists & averaged 14 ppg. If I was exactly the same person today, I would struggle to start on a D2 team. Kids today are so much bigger and faster and better trained and conditioned. It's not even close. (Fundamentals is another subject)...

Chalk the perceived increase in tragedies to news reporting. The medical care and attention to nutrition and training facilities and safety rules today are light years ahead of the 'good ole days'. (And I was one of those Farm Boys)...

 

- When you pray, you can give a name to the young man who collapsed. Today's newspaper identifies the young man as Khalid Prince, a 15 year old sophmore at Parkland H.S. I visited Baptist Hospital last night, and Khalid's condition is still critical. The feeling is "only a miracle"....which is not beyond the realm of possibility because God is able.

- Stat in today's newspaper: "The number of youngsters who collapse during competition is tiny. One study sets the number at 1 in 300,000 out of 5 million high-school age athletes."

- The article did not suggest that this number is less or more than the past, so it's not necessarily relevant to the discussion of this thread.

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/dec/04/lesson-mom-who-lost-athlete-son-urges-parents-to-p/

 

I would say that the medical history is very important. The history of this player is he played football this year. With a physicial at the first of the year. Playing a heavy contact sport (football) then into basketball. Do we need to look at physicial between sports?
I would agree with the observation of kids not get physicials though someone that knows their history. Thinking back mine would have not less than once per year and then an othopedic one about every two. To check knees, joints and other muscle groups. His doctor knew of his activity level in sports and we as parents were always insuring that there was no playing though an injury without first understanding what was going on.
Not saying that this is killing of kids left and right. There is always that rare one. Just seem that some of these should have been flagged before hand.

 

Heres comes some change ?????

http://news14.com/content/top_stories/602093/group-wants-trainers-at-high-schools/Default.aspx

 

This idea seems pretty $$$ unreasonable because of the scope. I've been to North Davidson H.S. on a day when there was simultaneously happening: Girls soccer, Tennis, Girls softball, Baseball varsity, Baseball JV (on the road), and track. That would require 6 different licensed on-site Trainers, right?

 

I think you need more than a physical. Some of these physicals are a joke.