Another death on gridiron - Arkansas sophomore collapses after football practice

Following a recent heat wave last week that contributed to at least three of five deaths throughout the South, Arkansas Activities Association Executive Director Lance Taylor warned his member schools in a public address:

"Any heat illness is preventable. Period," he said. "You're going to have to step up and be the leader of your school and make sure your kids are safe."

And now a sixth life is gone — this one in Taylor's home state.

The Daily Siftings reported this morning that Montel Williams, a sophomore at Gurdon (Ark.), died after collapsing on the football field during practice Tuesday night.



According to the Clark County Sheriff's department, a 911 call was received at 8:42 p.m., but Williams, 15, was pronounced dead at 9:59 p.m. at Baptist Medical Center-Arkadelphia, which is located 15 miles north of Gurdon.

Gurdon Superintendent Allen Blackwell told the newspaper that football coach John Pace had taken precautions to help players with the heat. Temperatures during the day had hovered around 100 degrees and at the time Williams collapsed, temperatures had dropped into the mid-80s according to weather reports.

Practice was started late (7:30 p.m.) to combat the rising temperatures.

The cause of death is unknown and an autopsy is scheduled for today.

If Williams' death is heat-related it would match the most in a single football season since 2006, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury at the University of North Carolina. The first game of the season starts Thursday.

The NCCSI, which tracks sports deaths of every cause, reports there were 30 heat-related deaths of football players from 1995 through 2009, an average of two per year.



"Montel was a great student, he was on the honor roll and an overall good representative of the community," Blackwell told The Daily Siftings. "It's a tragedy not only for the school but the community. ... Today is going to be a tough day for all the coaches, staff and the community."

It's been a very tough first two weeks of the preseason around the country.

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Dr. Douglas Casa, the chief operating officer of the Korey Stringer Institute of Health Medicine at the University of Connecticut told CNN: "We think it was the worst week in the last 35 years in terms of athlete deaths."

Bob Colgate, Assistant Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), said Wednesday he fears the numbers could rise.

"The alarming thing was not even a quarter of the country was (practicing) by then," he said. "Now, we're up to half. Next week, probably 95 percent are open. For that (the deaths) to happen with about a quarter of the schools open catches your attention.

"I know what the numbers have been (historically). As many kids as we've had in the past, I don't think it's done. There are too many people out there participating. There are 7.6 million kids in high school sports, and think of the number of practices. Things are going to happen unfortunately. One is too many."



On July 29, Miramar (Fla.) senior Isaiah Laurencin died after collapsing during a workout the previous afternoon. Heat has been ruled as a cause of death, as temperatures were near 90 degrees.

On July 30, freshman Tyquan Brantley of Lamar (S.C.) died after collapsing at a morning practice. The National Weather Service reported a high of 101 in Lamar that day. Coroner Todd Hardee said Brantley died of complications from a "Sickle Cell Crisis."

On Aug. 1, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) defensive coordinator Wade McClain, 55, died after collapsing during his team's first mandatory practice. Monday was the 31st consecutive day of 100-degree heat in the Dallas area. Heat was ruled the cause.

On Aug. 2, two Georgia players died, one after spending a week in an Atlanta hospital. Locust Grove offensive lineman Forrest Jones collapsed during a voluntary workout. He died of heat stroke, a coroner ruled, as the player's kidneys and liver stopped functioning and he fell into a coma.

That same day, Fitzgerald defensive lineman D.J. Searcy died at his team's football camp near O'Leno State Park, about 25 miles north of Gainesville, Fla. He was found unresponsive in his room late in the morning after a practice and was pronounced dead about an hour later, according to several media reports.

On Aug. 3 in Ohio, Wauseon lineman Dustin Snow lost consciousness during a lunch break at a Wednesday morning practice and was in critical condition for one day. He has slowly been upgraded and is expected to be released from the hospital this week according to his father Bob Snow.



Mr. Snow told the Toledo Blade that doctors said his son's collapse was due to heat-related dehydration.

“It was a nightmare the first 24 hours,” the father said. "But everybody did everything right for him. He got the best care he could possibly get. ... It’s just really important to drink water because we wouldn’t want any other parents to go through this. Drink when you’re supposed to drink.”

Wauseon coach Travis Cooper told the Blade that he's struggled with intensity level at practice since Snow's collapse.

“I’ve been reassured by coaches, administrators and players that we did nothing to cause it, but you never want to see a kid in that position,” Cooper said. “It’s kind of a learning experience for me. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle it and how we’re going to handle the dynamics of practice and things like that.”

Following the deaths in Georgia, five metro Atlanta school systems figured out a way to handle things by canceling all outdoor practices.

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Casa, who has authored a book called "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports and Physical Activity," says that calling 911 isn't always enough when heat strokes occur.



"Heat strokes are completely survivable," he told CNN.

Immersion in a cold-water tub or pool can help survival, Casa said, noting that the body can withstand extreme conditions for roughly 30 minutes.

Casa thinks a national mandate - like the NCAA requires - would help with this issue. He said only one heat-related death has occurred since the NCAA implemented guidelines eight years ago. The NFHS can make recommendations but each state can comply or reject.

Colgate says his national organization has little power to regulate — that it's up to the schools, school boards and state organizations.

"We write rules for competition only," he said. "We don't regulate practices. Our state organizations do that. ... To come up with a one-size-fits-all policy for practices is very difficult. The climate and conditions in south Florida and northern Wyoming over to Maine is quite different."

One of the major guidelines Casa suggests is manning each high school football practice with an athletic trainer, not an easy solution during these tough economic times. The NCAA and its schools can afford that. More than 20,000 high schools throughout the country likely can't.



The obvious retort to that is: What price is greater than human life?

"Not to make excuses, but the NCAA can mandate that," Colgate said. "We don't have the resources that the NCAA institutions have, such as appropriate health care professionals and certified athletic trainers (at all member schools). We have to rely on good judgment and common sense."

Colgate said that 42 percent of member schools are covered by certified athletic trainers, and indicated even that number was deceiving because some of the systems count the same trainer for multiple schools.

"States that have very stringent policies in place still had deaths," Colgate said. "Some think those policies are a cure-all, but that's not necessarily the case."

Here are some common sense and good judgment suggestions on the heat offered by Fred Mueller, a professor of exercise and sports science at the University of North Carolina:

* 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 a 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 and 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.



The NFL and Gatorade also offer a "Beat the Heat" program online at this address.

Correspondent Todd Holcomb contributed to this report.