By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
Kenny you were one of the nicest people I ever met. You could always put a smile on my face. I'm going to miss you and your great big bear hugs greatly. - RACHELLE STOCKDALE.
IRVINE, Calif. --- It started Monday morning.
Incoming senior cheerleaders Brooke Shoup and Jessica DiCostanzo hung a single two-by-four foot poster board on a wired fence that surrounds the football practice field at Beckman High School.
It was a place for friends, family and students to express final wishes and to mourn Kenny Wilson, a popular and gregarious junior offensive lineman for the Patriots who died Friday (Aug. 17) at practice from cardiac arrest apparently related to excessive heat.
By Tuesday morning, the cheerleaders had to hang four more poster boards, which eventually were all filled with various messages and remembrances for the gentle, 6-foot, 250-pound larger-than-life lad who loved to sing and rap and whose personality befit two teddy bears also left at the memorial.
Other mementoes surrounding the posters included numerous bouquets of flowers, a small stuffed gorilla, a paper butterfly, two smiling portrait photos of Wilson and a dozen candles.
An electronic marquee at the 4-year-old school's entrance welcoming the 2,100 students to the 2007-08 year also scrolled the message: "We will miss you Kenny."
Shoup and DiCostanzo stopped by this Tuesday morning to re-light some of the candles that had flickered out. With the varsity team practicing in the foreground, the cheerleaders said Wilson's memory will both burn and shine forever.
"It's just made me and all of us think about how easy (life) can be taken," DiCostanzo said. "At our age it's easy to take it for granted. But if you can just drop one day at football practice ."
DiCostanzo's voice trailed off, but her point was well taken. This simply couldn't happen.
Not to a strong, vivacious 16-year-old - the oldest brother of four siblings - with the vast world and all its possibilities in front of him.
Not on the very first day of practice.
Not in the safe, pristine suburban community of Irvine, just 15 miles south of Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth.
Clearly, this was a very somber place where the young people around Beckman were coping and searching for answers.
Clearly, they had rallied around Wilson's life and not his tragic death.
Clearly, the words on the poster boards offered solace.
I remember the many times I gave you rides home and we would sing together to every song that came on. Heaven is so lucky to have you Kenny. They'll always be laughing (up there). I love you very much Kenny and every song I hear on the radio I'll sing it for you. I love you always. - KATY AURY.
Kenny, I'm going to never forget you. There was never a time that you were mad. I love you so much. It's not fair that God took you away. I believe he had a plan for you and I know you are resting in peace. - RICK FENTON.
Fenton was one of the teammates who came to Wilson's aid Friday near the end of the late-morning practice.
The Orange County Register reported that temperatures hovered around 90 degrees when Wilson collapsed and Fenton removed his friend's helmet.
According to the story, paramedics arrived within minutes but Wilson died on the way to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller said the death appeared to be heat related but results from an autopsy are still pending.
According to an annual study by Fred Mueller, a professor of exercise and sports science at the University of North Carolina, 31 athletes from ages 11-17 have died of heat stroke since 1995, including five in 2006.
Seven other players died last year of "heart-related" deaths that might or night not have been related to heat or exertion. "And we don't know the number of kids who had heat exhaustion," Mueller said in his study.
Fenton just knows his friend is gone.
"He's a player who always had heart," he told the Register. "Even if he couldn't do the thing, he'd do it to the best of his ability. He'd always try. He was such an inspiration."
Since Wilson's death, bloggers and message boards have clogged the Internet with critical takes.
Football coaches push players too hard. Linemen are out of shape and overweight. Football is barbaric.
These words, issues and statistics are certainly up for debate. We live in America, after all.
But can't we cut the noise and speculation out for at least this week? Can't we just allow the players, the coaches, the students and family members to grieve, cope and eventually flourish without having to deal with shame and blame?
Can't we just focus on the life of a young man taken away too soon?
Can't we just listen, read and withhold the only words that matter?
Kenny, I make a promise to you now that I will never ever forget you. You were the nicest most sincere person I ever met. You changed my life. You taught me to be a better person. A person who loves and accepts everyone the way you did. I will never forget you. Rest in Peace. Love forever. - LAURA.
Well Kenny, I miss you man. Hope you're resting in peace right now. I miss you. And had fun wrestling with you every wrestling practice. Especially when you dared me during break. We will all miss you and win CIF for you. And no matter where you are at you'll always be a part of our team. - DAVID SORRA.
Kenny we always love you and always will. Love and hugs. . - GRANDPA AND GRANDMA WILSON.
Kenny, you are amazing. Words can't describe how happy I am that I met you. You brought so much sunshine everywhere you went. Thanks for talking to me about Pokeman when everyone else thought it was lame. I love you so much, but I'll see you soon. Save a game of halo for me. I'm going to miss you and your yellow shirt. - ROXANNE RODRIGUEZ.
Kenny, rest peacefully in Heaven. I love you. - RYAN BERNAL.
Finally, on a personal note, I don't know the Wilson family or a single person from the Beckman coaching staff or student body. But like those who have followed this story, I offer deep condolences.
I do share a common emotion - survivor's guilt - for not publishing Mueller's press release earlier this month on the dangers of heat exertion.
Perhaps these following tips will be helpful to all athletes and coaches in the future. To be clear, all of these guidelines might very well have been in place at Beckman.
- Require each athlete to have a physical and know if an athlete has a history of heat-related illness; these kids are more susceptible to heat stroke. Overweight players are also at higher risk.
- Acclimate players to the heat slowly. North Carolina mandates that the first three days of practice be done without uniforms.
- Alter practice schedules to avoid long workouts in high humidity.
- Provide cold water before, during and after practice in unlimited quantities.
- Provide shaded rest areas with circulating air; remove helmets and loosen or remove jerseys; some schools have plastic outdoor pools filled with ice for cool downs after practice.
- Know the symptoms of heat illness: nausea, incoherence, fatigue, weakness, vomiting, muscle cramps, weak rapid pulse, visual disturbance. Contrary to popular belief, heat stroke victims may sweat profusely.
- Have an emergency plan in place; parents should inquire about emergency plans for their kids' teams.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com
