Athlete at U of A dies

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1818981
This is another case of the misappropriation of training programs leading to the death of an athlete. I’m disgusted. How many more have to die before the NCAA and the NCSA rexamine the education of coaches, athletes, trainers… etc. etc. Lets get the community talking.

Shouldn’t we wait to hear what happened first?

I read about this somewhere in the paper and it mentioned that he had a pre-existing medical condition (something to do with his heart) that was aggravated by the workout. Apparently a trainer was supervising but there wasnt anything he could do to help the guy. Also, the workout that he was partaking in was a VOLUNTARY workout, so he didnt have to do anything and he obviously wasnt being pushed to the limits of his ability. I think you are too quick to jump to conclusions considering the fact that Mike Stoops is the new coach over there and he seems to be a pretty educated guy :rolleyes:

hey, dont forget here in arizona it’s very hot all the time.

Not enough information to blame the coaches already.

He may have contributed to his own problems, however, he is not the first to die in a summer camp, remember that Minnesota Viking who died after a strenous practice in really hot temperatures. Also his body may not have adjusted to the climate and the workout conditions, for some people this could take years, especially when moving from a cold climate like Alaska to Arizona.

The article doesn’t give much information, but it was probably the heat. The enlarged heart is a red herring. Most athletes have “enlarged” hearts compared to sedentary people. But let me advance the radical notion that athletes’ hearts should be the normal baseline, while sedentary people have underdeveloped hearts.

The enlarged heart comment doesn’t really tell you much, though this is often mentionned as a problem rather than a casual finding. Again, still not enough info to make any judgement.

Did they find out exactly what happened to this guy?

A similar thing happened to me almost 2 months ago on the playing field, I walked to the sidelines and collapsed with loss of cardiac output and was taken to hospital in an ambulance (this is what I was told, I have no recollection of the events). I was very lucky to survive!

At first we thought it was the result of concussion or possibly a congenital heart problem, but the doctors have since ruled out the possibility of it being caused by a head injury, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (they said left ventricle size was normal although function was not as vigorous as expected) or long QT syndrome. They say they do not know what caused it.

Other possible factors were that I was at the peak of a cold/flu on that day, it was raining really hard, I had a concussion 2 weeks prior to that game and also I was told by my coach that I was really pushing my limits running around in that game… maybe a combination of those factors and I just pushed myself too far?

I’ve been back training again now with no problems, although I worry a bit when it comes to doing 300m sprints.

You need to get a complete work-up by a Cardiologist before resuming hard training to rule out the possible problems you describe.

The article about the young man says he was from Houston. So, provided he trained properly prior to attending UA, I would think he would be accustomed to heat.

Anyone from Texas or Arizona out there with comments?

I was a football player at Arizona this past year. Will be transfering. The young man who died was Mccollins Umeh a defenisive end from Houston. While i was not in attendance. Ive heard from some of my former teamates who were there. The practice was short in duration, about 30 minutes the said it was fairly intense but nothing overboard. It was not that hot it was about 95 with the heat index at about 92. They said that he just passed out after the workout and pretty much was dead on the field. They are still waiting on the final toxicology results and such to come in. Having had the chance to meet and hang out with MC on his recruiting visit he was a good guy with tons of potential definatley a tradgedy. As of now it is really unknown the cause of death.

Thanks for the information Wildcats9. As coaches, most of us are light years ahead of where we were 25 years ago. Nevertheless, we can always learn more. Please keep us posted.

Thanks again,
Football Coach

Team Sports and coaching here in Ireland are undergoing a serious review after 2 top athletes, (19 & 24 y.o.) dropped dead.
One died in his sleep a hour or 2 after a training session, another in the middle of a rugby match.
In both cases the causes were never definietely established.

Houston is one of the hottest and humidest cities here in Texas. Arizona is probably comparable in the heat but not in humidity.

I know, on Monday it was 350 degrees. It felt like I was giving the sun a piggyback ride. The only good thing is, you can take long recoveries and still stay warm.