TIMMONSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – The South Carolina High School League says fall sports practices can finally get going. As the Timmonsville Whirlwinds hit the field Friday, safety was just as front-of-mind as hard work.
It’s been a long and hot summer, an even longer one for Timmonsville football players–without their favorite game.
“You say football, they’re coming out,” laughed Whirlwinds Head Coach Gerald Wright. Wright knows that even though his players are excited to take the gridiron, it’s also important they stay safe.
“I’m certified in first aid and CPR and all that,” Wright explained. “We try to keep an eye on the players.”
The centers for disease control published a study back in 2010 that says heat illness is the leading cause of death and disability among high school athletes. The CDC also estimated heat is responsible for an average of more than 9,000 illnesses among high school athletes each year.
Coach Wright says that while there aren’t always trainers at practice and games, he and his team do what they can to keep an eye out for signs that a player might not be feeling well.
“We’re gonna keep plenty of water and ice out here on the field and give these guys plenty of breaks,” Wright said.
He says that in his 35 years of coaching football in Timmonsville, he’s never had a player go down due to the intense Pee Dee summer heat.
“We’ve never had a player really get overheated or anything but like I said we know how to recognize it,” Coach Wright said. “We try to just work our way up and not hit things too hard.”
A 2014 study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed on average about 12 student-athletes died due to heat from 1990 to 2010.
While the Whirlwinds’ kicks off later next month, Coach Wright says the heat is unlikely to dampen his excitement–nor his players will to win.
“This is Timmonsville,” wright exclaimed. “They love their football.”