William Shogran Jr.
I would like to start by offering my condolences to the family of William Shogran Jr. This 14 year old young man died unexpectedly on Wednesday, August 14th, 2014 while attending the Sebastian River High School (SRHS) Football camp in Northern Florida. Please keep his family in your thoughts.
William died yesterday while attending the SRHS football camp at Ft. Blanding in Northern Florida. I do not know this young man at all. I do not know his family. I really do not have any idea about the cause of death, nor do I have any idea about the circumstances surrounding his death. Early reports state that the unbearable Florida heat and humidity contributed to his death....I don't know if this is true or not. Here is a link to the story surrounding his death. You can make your own judgment: http://www.wptv.com/news/region-indian-river-county/sebastian/wiliam-shogran-jr-sebastian-river-high-school-football-player-dies-during-practice
Assuming the reports are correct, the player could have died from heat exhaustion or perhaps heat stroke. In my previous blog www.coach-george.blogspot.com I talk extensively about the issues with heat and humidity, and I also talk about the prevention measures we take (as coaches) to help the players deal with the potentially deadly combination. Hydration is the key, and hydration must start days (if not weeks) before practice ever starts. Things sure have changed since I played ball.
My Iced Down Water Coolers.....On the field....Everyday.
Back in the day, we were lucky to have any type of water on the field at all....ever. In fact, most times we did not. Maybe...ocassionally, an old garden hose would be used if there was a water spigot around. Bottled water did not exist back then, so it was drinking from a garden hose or nothing. The old-school thinking was that denying a player water during practice would make us tougher during a game. Coaches or trainers gave us salt tablets instead....and they were awful. Salt seemed to be the answer for everything. Gatorade did not exist back then, but I do remember some sort of sports drink being available during games....but it was loaded with added salt. It was terrible, and to this very day I still can't stand any type of sports drink. However, I still love garden-hose flavored water.
I remember throwing up quite a bit back then...when it was hot. We would throw up our liquid, suck on the salt tablets and keep playing. Again, old-school thinking was that if you were throwing up, it meant you were fat and out-of-shape....so we kept running. I remember that if one of us got hurt, the coaches or trainers would wrap our injuries in iced down towels to keep the swelling down. The other players used to steal the injured-players iced-down towels and suck the water out of the fabric...which tasted great....sometimes like iodine, but great nonetheless. Back then, our helmets did not have vent holes in the top, so we used to fill our helmets with water out of a hose (when available) and either drink the water, or throw it over our heads before practice. We cramped like crazy...but mine was generally stomach cramps, not the leg cramps which plagued many players. We never admitted cramping....it was a sign of weakness. Never once did we associate cramping or vomiting to dehydration. I think back on those days now, and its no wonder why so many of guys ( from my generation) have kidney problems, or perhaps cognitive issues. Its no ones fault....It's just the way it was back then. It is quite different today.
Fred and Wilma
I BUILT these Battery-Powered Water Cows
Now days, a player is never denied water....ever. We really have to monitor this for our players...especially with the advent of caffeine and ginseng in the energy drinks so popular today. These drinks will actually dehydrate ones body, so regular water becomes so important. Not soda.... not sports drinks....regular water. We used to tell the kids to start hydrating on Monday for a game on Friday. If you wait until game day to hydrate your body....its just too late. During the summer, we used to tell the kids to drink at least a gallon of water a day...everyday. Sweating is important, for this is how a body cools itself. If a kid is not sweating, then you need to start worrying. I love to see a kid drenched in sweat....then I know he is safe. Also, I tried to make sure a player was not wearing dark clothing under his pads. A plain white tee shirt or Under Armour is perfect in my opinion. You will stay cooler wearing WHITE....sorry, but its a fact. These are just a few tricks to surviving in this hot box of Florida. It was our job to educate the kids of this fact.
Coach Randy Bethel.
Coach Bethel surrounded himself at SRHS with people he could trust. Randy put me in charge of water. It was my job to make sure there was always water available for the players anytime we hit the field. I took this job very seriously. Anytime athletes were on the field, or on the track, I made sure there was always unlimited water available. Me, Coach Wilson, and Coach Brown were adamant about the water...it was that important to us. Bethel never had to worry...water was taken care of....always. We never denied a player water....ever. If he needed water, he got water. We took our mandatory breaks during practice. Our trainer Hilary made sure of it. No arguments, no questions...we just did it. True, sometimes players will try and hang out at the water cooler, but you can usually spot these guys. A quick blast of the whistle usually cleared them out. We also monitored a player's weight during two-a-day practices. Each player would weigh in before every practice, and after every practice. If they lost too much weight during the first practice, he would sit for the second practice. Hilary posted a urine-color chart on each urinal in the locker room. A dark colored urine is bad: a clear colored urine is good. So, when a player pisses, he looks at his urine color and compares it to the posted chart. Results are reported to Hilary. Dark urine means dehydration. Appropriate action is required. Bottom line is that if Hilary said to sit a player....guess what? He sits.
Again, I have no idea what happened at the SRHS football camp. If it was heat-related, I am just sharing some of the preventative measures Coach Bethel's staff took to help prevent accidents like this. Most parent do not realize how hard we worked to protect the kids. Afterall, they were our babies as well.
More to Come Soon!
"Coach" George Zaleuke
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