by joanna

I’m sitting in my Topeka hotel reading the USA Today sports section when I see that a Kentucky football coach has been indicted in the death of a 15-year-old football player who collapsed from heat stroke in practice.

It’s been a little more than 10 years since the Wichita area lost two high school football players to heat stroke. Robert Alexander Barrett died following a morning practice at Southeast, while Matthew Whittredge, died following a late afternoon practice at Circle. Heat stroke was a cause for both.

From what this story says on this coach, he withheld water from his players. Back in the day, coaches did this often. But I’d have to say that out of all the practices I’ve been to, there are set times where players get drinks, usually every 10-15-20 minutes.

It’s just so sad to see kids dying in sports. I know that people die all the time, but to die because you were doing something you love, it’s just sad.