The Annandale High School football team will have a heightened awareness of heat stroke and take an extra precaution when practice opens next week as a result of Vikings player Korey Stringer’s death.
But the Cardinals have been observing safe habits all along, head coach Matt Walter emphasized, and they’ll continue doing that.
Stringer, a 27-year-old, 335-pound offensive lineman, died Wednesday, Aug. 1, a day after collapsing at the Vikings training camp in Mankato where practice had been held in plus 90-degree heat and high humidity.
“We feel that we’ve been doing the things to protect kids from this all along,” Walter said.
“And we’re going to continue doing that.”
Those measures include conducting practices in the morning and moving inside on hot and humid days; having plenty of water available, and doing drills in small groups so coaches can keep an eye on players.
Walter said there will be heightened awareness at Cardinal practices of the danger of heat stroke, “and we’re going to make good decisions.”
The Cardinals start practicing Monday, Aug. 13. Their opening game is Aug. 30 at Pierz.
“We’re going to discuss it (Stringer’s death) before our first practice with the kids.”
Coaches will stress to players: “You need to communicate with us if you’re not feeling well,” Walter said.
He believes the players will be more aware of what’s happening with their bodies as a result.
Players will also weigh in before practice and weigh out after to monitor the amount of water in their bodies, the coach said.
The coaches had been talking about doing that, Walter said, “and because of this we’re going to definitely put it in just as a precautionary thing.”
If parents have concerns, they should be aware that the coaches are taking precautions, he said.
“The kids’ safety is our No. 1 concern.
“We feel we practice safe things out there.”
The Cardinals, like most high school teams, practice from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon during their first two weeks of training, Walter said.
“We get our practice done by noon so we don’t have to be out in the afternoon heat.”
And not all of that time is spent outside. Meetings and weight lifting are done inside the school, and players can go inside for breaks.
On hot days when the dew points are in the 80s, outside practice would be shortened and more time spent inside,Walter said.
During outside drills, coaches would be constantly asking the players how they feel.
When the Cardinals practice, they have “an unlimited supply of water out there,” the coach said.
“Water is readily available at practice.”
The team uses a portable water trough and typically performs drills for a few minutes and then breaks for a drink.
Players drill in small groups so the coaches can see them, Walter said.
“Basically our total practice is set up for the safety of the kids.”
If parents have any questions, they should feel free to call him, he said.
Walter called Stringer’s death a tragedy because it was preventable.
“It shouldn’t have ever happened.”
Rehydration help
Parents can help players replenish the fluids in their systems, coach Matt Walter said.
“Parents should make sure that the kids rehydrate themselves after practice.” Make sure they’re drinking water all day and evening afterward, he said.
“Water is the best thing,” Walter said, and sports drinks are OK, but avoid pop and other caffeinated drinks, which actually dehydrate the body.