Thread by @chrislcarruth

In 21 days, there have been FIVE deaths in sports.
7/26 - 15 y.o collapsed at practice (97°),
8/8 18 y.o - collapsed at conditioning (SCA),
8/9 15 y.o - collapsed at conditioning
8/10 16 y.o collapsed at practice (heat index 105°),
8/10 17 y.o - passed out at practice.

Let that sink in. 5 deaths in 21 days. 4 in the span of 4 days. As ATs, we can advocate all we want, but until EVERYONE is on board (coaches, parents, athletes, admin, officials), this will be a trend we see yearly.

Coaches: if it feels hot, it is hot. If you wouldn't go out there and do the drill, maybe it's a sign the players shouldn't. Adjust drills based on position and even player size and health. Allow more than enough times for water breaks or rest out of direct sunlight, helmets off

Parents: if you go sit in a car while kid is practicing because of heat, maybe your child shouldn't be out there (especially at youth level). You also can control what your child eats. Provide a good meal and encourage rest and hydration.

Athletes: you are in control of your own body. You know it better than anyone else. Take care of it. If you don't, you set yourself up for potential disaster. Hydrate properly, eat properly, rest properly. Three simple things that will go a long way.

Admin: continue to support the healthcare professionals onsite, backing them up. We don't ever want to delay practice or a game, but if we are, it's because we are trying to prevent tragedy from striking.

Officials: give the players extended breaks between innings, during timeouts or coming off change of possession. While most can rest, in football, there are players who rarely leave the field.

#ATtwitter keep doing what we do best! Advocate for our athletes and stand your ground. I'd rather a coach be mad at me for delaying practice than them calling 911 as I hold an athlete in the cold tub.

It takes a village to care for a athletes appropriately. Let's all do our part and in that, we can take a stand collectively and prevent many of these deaths from occurring! Let's prevent preventable deaths in athletics! #AT4ALL #EveryAthleteDeservesToLive #StopPreventableDeaths

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.