Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, August 21, 1998
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Football deaths spark extra caution in heat
The Associated Press
WICHITA — The deaths of two Wichita area high school football players who collapsed after practice in 100-degree heat have prompted extra caution about dealing with the hot weather.
Coaches throughout the region were talking about the need for being careful — providing additional water breaks, fruit snacks and altered practice routines.
"I'm very concerned," said Tom Audley, Andover football coach. "I'm concerned for their safety. That's a common feeling for guys in coaching. You don't want anything to happen to anybody involved."
Robert Alexander Barrett, 17, of Wichita Southeast, and Matthew Whittredge, 15, of Circle High in Towanda, both died Tuesday in Wichita hospitals, after collapsing Monday, the first day of practice. Although investigations of their deaths have not been completed, heat is suspected to be a factor in both cases.
Mueller, who has headed a 67-year-old research program at North Carolina since 1980, said there were two heat-related deaths in the country in 1996 and four in 1995. Overall in 1997, there were 13 deaths among high school and junior high football players.
The deaths were the first football-related fatalities in Kansas since an Oakley player died from injuries suffered in a game in October 1996.
Several Wichita area coaches huddled with their players after learning of the two deaths and explained the importance of safety.
Frederick Mueller, a University of North Carolina professor who tracks high school football deaths, said there was only one death related to heat last year. He said a North Carolina high school player died of heat exhaustion earlier this month.
"It just expresses the need for them to stay hydrated," said
"We didn't really think about it because when people get exhausted, they lay down to catch a breather. But the longer he lay down, the more worried we got."
Alan Schuckman, Bishop Carroll football coach. "We try to take extra precautions, not just at practice, but that they drink throughout the day."
Temperatures in the area hovered near 100 degrees Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Football players in Kansas practiced in helmets, T-shirts and shorts the first three days this week. Yesterday was the first day the Kansas State High School Activities Association allowed players to wear full pads, and coaches were preparing for the extra load.
"What we try to do is all our conditioning in the mornings," said Mulvane coach Dave Fennewald. "In the evening, it's mainly going over plays, formations and stuff like that."
Coaches also look for signs of trouble.
Derby athletic director Steve Shook said that the coaches are not doctors by any stretch of the imagination, but they look for warning signs of an athlete suffering from heat stroke such as light-headedness or cold, clammy skin.
The KHSSAA requires all athletes to undergo a physical evaluation before competing in sports. Schools use a standardized physical form assembled by a medical committee of health professionals. It includes a full-page questionnaire of the athlete's medical history, which must be signed by a parent or guardian.
Circle canceled practice Wednesday. At other schools where drills continued, athletes were mindful of the deaths.
Brandon Hendrix
"I know things can happen."
Junior quarterback
said Rasheed Berry, a senior fullback at Wichita North. "I know bad things are playing sports. Sports are dangerous. You've got to have the love to play and be serious about it."
Whittredge collapsed Monday following a 31/2-hour afternoon workout, and he died Tuesday night at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Barrett, who collapsed Monday morning as he was walking to the locker room, died earlier Tuesday.
Doctors told Dorothy Whittredge that her son's death was heat-related. His temperature was 109 degrees when he was brought to the emergency room in El Dorado, she said.
It was especially hot in Towanda when Circle players began practice at 3:30 p.m. Monday — a day when temperatures pushed past 100 degrees.
The players had just finished a 10-minute cool-down jog at the end of practice when Matthew collapsed.
"We didn't really think about it because when people get exhausted, they lay down to catch a breather," said junior quarterback Brandon Hendrix. "But the longer he lay down, the more worried we got."
Students and school officials are now trying to deal with the deaths of the athletes.
"This is a tragedy, and right now we have a family in extreme grief," said Circle Superintendent Dale Rawson. "We have a number of students who are grieving. We have staff who are in grief. The concern is dealing with those individuals and dealing with this grief."
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