11/05/24
September 03, 2009
Coach's trial raises questions about heat deaths: After two-plus hours of practice in 94 degrees, 26 percent humidity weather, Pleasure Ridge Park football coach David Jason Stinson had seen enough of players "goofing off". The fix? Running 200 yard "gassers" until a player collapses and dies.
posted by irunfromclones to football at 01:40 PM - 5 comments
We tackled this earlier when the indictment came down.
Running a drill in the heat until one of your players quits the team is a tragic and reckless idea, given the number of athletes who die each year. If a coach is supposed to know when to call off a practice because of the heat, he loses control of that decision by doing something stupid like that. The coach deserves to be put on trial for this -- though I'm not entirely sure his actions rose to being criminal.
posted by rcade at 02:13 PM on September 03, 2009
I can't believe they would let him apply for another coaching position if he is acquitted. He obviously lacks tools in his arsenal to coach these kids short of making them very ill. I don't understand people like this. He knows they are kids, doesn't he?
posted by bperk at 03:06 PM on September 03, 2009
Article is short on medical details, doesn't even say if the player collapsed on the field or later on..
"Freshman running back Raphael Shrewsberry said Gilpin fell, unable to walk and teammates grabbed him. Shrewsberry said it took two people to hold him up. An ambulance took Gilpin to Kosair Children's hospital in Louisville. Within three days, he died of multiple organ failure, sepsis and heat stroke."
They took the temperature and humidity readings before practice started and it was 1... 1 degree shy of the cut off point for the special rules. Any coach, any person with a single grain of common sense in them would have engaged those special rules at the beginning of practice, knowing that in all liklihood the temperature and humidity would incease.
Why not err on the side of caution, especially given the age and conditioning of the children.
posted by irunfromclones at 06:52 PM on September 03, 2009
Sounds like another case of the class bully becoming a coach. Maybe this will make some of the other idiot coaches use their shriveled minds and think before they put kids into predicaments like this.
If you have a bunch of kids goofing off cause it's too friggin hot outside, you kill practice and take them in for playbook study.
posted by stalnakerz at 07:52 AM on September 04, 2009
First year coach in pre-season practice. Heat index is one below the cut off point for special rules kicking in. Article is short on medical details, doesn't even say if the player collapsed on the field or later on, so glib snap judgment eludes me.
Anyway you look at it though this is very sad for Max Gilpin's family and friends.