this burns me up
wendyI know it’s heresy, but the surest way to stop young athletes from dying on the football field is to stop practice (or don’t start at all) when the heat index rises.
Local media outlets are running articles about the concern doctors, parents, coaches and others feel about the recent deaths of two preteens after practicing football in the heat. The obvious questions for this protective mom are: Why are they out there practicing in heat strong enough to kill them? Where’s the sport in flirting with heat stroke?
This is Florida. It’s hot. Really hot. And humid. Shoot, it’s hot all over the country right now because, uhm, it’s JULY! I love sports but I love children more. Responsible adults should be teaching children to be responsible in the heat at this time of year.
My own mom had heat stroke as a twelve year old with lifelong consequences. She was one of the lucky survivors. Heat can kill. And children are more vulnerable to heat stroke than grown ups.
By the way, I’m concerned mainly with youngsters — not college kids who are adults making their own decisions in life. But if it is too hot to play football in summer in Florida, then kids, parents and coaches ought to be looking into other sports.
For those of you happy with the status quo, I’d really like to hear the rationale for risking young lives over a game.
Tags: health, sports, tampa, weather
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July 26th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Wendy, kudos, and you couldn’t be more right… It is the uglier proof that parents in America (generally speaking) have gotten way, way, way, way too competitive. Usually it’s just embarrassing to watch some dad drunkenly take off his shirt and soil himself after getting punched in the face by some other dad. In this instance, it’s deadly. I’m all for Little League and Pee Wee Football and all that great stuff. God forbid I sound like Grampa Simpson (because I’m not that old), but *I* remember the time when we’d go down to the ol’ fishin’ hole in the summer, or climb shady trees, or take the boat out on the lake…
Football practice in unbearably oppressive heat? What is this, Kiddie Gitmo?
July 26th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Why is it always football?
Because of the heavy, hot equipment.
Just one more reason kids shouldn’t play football in pads until they’re freshman in high school.
Children who want to play football need to learn skills like throwing and catching at a young age. They can do this playing flag football, they’ll still get plenty of exercise. They can learn to tackle and block when their bodies are more physically mature.
Why do we have kids as young as 6 years old running around bashing each other in pads? Just stupid.
July 26th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
This is also an argument against starting the school year so early. Organized sports related to middle and high school tend to start getting together during the weeks before school starts… In this case, that’s July. Dead-middle of summer.
Just an observation.
July 26th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
Eh, football coaches think it conditions kids and make fun of any of the ones who can’t handle the heat.
Until the culture of machismo changes, you’ll have more dead kids. And that’s sad, but that’s football in Florida.
July 26th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
“it’s just embarrassing to watch some dad drunkenly take off his shirt and soil himself after getting punched in the face by some other dad.”
Please tell me you have video of this. If so post a link because THAT sounds funny.
I realize you guys have strong opinions but this seems like one of those accidents that people are going to use to bolster whatever cause they are already passionate about. Look at the previous four replies that all cite different views. I cannot tell but it sounds as if these are opinions the posters already held. One of the greatest flaws of blogs is that we tend to relate tragic accidents to issues which they have a tangental connection to at best. Two kids, improperly supervised and hydrated, collapse and die of heat exhaustion. This is horrible and preventable but it is not an arguement for starting the school year later. Nor is it an arguement against kids playing tackle ball. (flag footbal being a very lame alternative. I only played footbal because I got to hit people.)
July 26th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
Jason —
I’ll take your opinion with a grain of salt — because you’re recommending that no one listen to others opinions and viewpoints as is, let alone voice them with others.
July 27th, 2006 at 8:34 am
The truth is, Jason, I sort of pseudo-ripped it off from an episode of South Park:
http://www.tv.com/south-park/the-losing-edge/episode/414873/summary.html
South Park. It can teach us… so much.
July 27th, 2006 at 10:34 am
“This is horrible and preventable but it is not an arguement for starting the school year later.” Um, Jason, the school year DID start later until this year. Another boneheaded idea…
July 27th, 2006 at 11:01 am
If you kids don’t start playing nice yer not getting a water break! (Note: This is a joke, don’t start flaming me now. It’s hot enough as it is.)