All sports come with injury risk, and those risks grow as training and competition gets more intense.
As high school teams all over Chesterfield County and the tri-cities region get their seasons rolling in the August heat, it is important for parents, coaches, and administrators to institute the best standards possible to protect athletes from unnecessary harm.
As a recent article from the Washington Post points out, 41 high school football players have died of heat exhaustion in the past 20 years, and all of these deaths were preventable. Gradually ramping up to heavy exercise in high heat is important, and we hope that Virginia will join other states in adopting the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s model heat acclimatization policy.
Having the ability to respond properly when health issues arise is also essential. Communities in the Richmond area should be out in front on this issue, protecting our student athletes, and protecting our school districts from the aftermath of a wrongful death accident.