Dr. Douglas Casa, the chief operating officer of the Korey Stringer Institute of Health Medicine at the University of Connecticut
told CNN: "We think it was the worst week in the last 35 years in terms of athlete
deaths."
Bob Colgate,
Assistant Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), said Wednesday he fears the numbers could rise.
"The alarming thing was not even a quarter of the country was (practicing) by then," he said. "Now, we're up to half. Next week, probably 95 percent are open. For that (the deaths) to happen with about a quarter of the schools open catches your attention.
"I know what the numbers have been (historically). As many kids as we've had in the past, I don't think it's done. There are too many people out there participating. There are 7.6 million kids in high school sports, and think of the number of practices. Things are going to happen unfortunately. One is too many."
On July 29,
Miramar (Fla.)
senior Isaiah Laurencin died after collapsing during a workout the
previous afternoon. Heat has been ruled as a cause of death, as
temperatures were near 90 degrees.
On July 30, freshman Tyquan Brantley of
Lamar (S.C.)
died after collapsing at a morning practice. The National Weather
Service reported a high of 101 in Lamar that day. Coroner Todd Hardee said Brantley died of complications from a "Sickle Cell Crisis."
On Aug. 1,
Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
defensive coordinator Wade McClain, 55, died after collapsing during
his team's first mandatory practice. Monday was the 31st consecutive day
of 100-degree heat in the Dallas area. Heat was ruled the cause.
On Aug. 2, two Georgia players died, one after spending a week in an Atlanta hospital.
Locust Grove
offensive lineman Forrest Jones collapsed during a voluntary workout. He died of heat stroke, a coroner ruled, as the player's
kidneys and liver stopped functioning and he fell into a coma.
That same day,
Fitzgerald
defensive lineman D.J. Searcy died at his team's football camp near
O'Leno State Park, about 25 miles north of Gainesville, Fla. He was
found unresponsive in his room late in the morning after a practice and
was pronounced dead about an hour later, according to several media
reports.
On Aug. 3 in Ohio,
Wauseon
lineman Dustin Snow lost consciousness during a lunch break at a
Wednesday morning practice and was in critical condition for one day. He has slowly been upgraded and is expected to be released from the hospital this week according to his father Bob Snow.
Mr. Snow told the Toledo Blade that doctors said his son's collapse was due to heat-related dehydration.
“It was a nightmare the first 24 hours,” the father said. "But everybody did everything right for him. He got the best care he could possibly get. ... It’s just really important to drink
water because we wouldn’t want any other parents to go through this.
Drink when you’re supposed to drink.”
Wauseon coach Travis Cooper told the Blade that he's struggled with intensity level at practice since Snow's collapse.
“I’ve been reassured by coaches, administrators and players that we
did nothing to cause it, but you never want to see a kid in that
position,” Cooper said. “It’s kind of a learning experience for me. I’m
not sure how I’m going to handle it and how we’re going to handle the
dynamics of practice and things like that.”
Following the deaths in Georgia, five metro Atlanta school systems figured out a way to handle things by canceling all outdoor practices.
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