By Tom Dodge

sportsenews@bellsouth.net

There is one statistic that coaches never want to keep track of - fatalities related to football.

In 2006, five athletes ages 11 to 17 died of heat stroke. Seven others died of heart problems that may or may not have been related to the heat.

Of the 20 deaths in 1.8 million football particpants in 2006, just one of the deaths involved a 17-year-old high school player who suffered a spinal cord injury when tackled in practice.

There were nine heat-related deaths in 2007, and earlier this year an University of Central Florida player died after collapsing during spring drills.

The last time the country saw more than five heat-related deaths among children and teens was 1972, when there were seven.

In five of the past 16 years there were none. There have been 31 total since 1995 according to Fred Mueller, a professor of sports administration at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been in charge of compiling the list since 1980 for the Annual Survey of Football Injuries.

Local physical therapist and certified athletic trainer Glenn Brown pointed out the seriousness of keeping a player properly hydrated and watch for the symptoms.

“Prolonged exposure to extreme heat and humidity can result in heat illnesses such as heat collaspe, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”

According to Brown, the longer the body temperature elevates to 106 degrees or higher the chances for death increase.

It is critical that the body temperature to the normal range within 45 minutes, Brown pointed out.

While most athletes who suffer from heat-related issues fall in the less serious range of dehydration, dizziness and cramps - the statistics are there to show the tragic results that happen.

Hopefully, that record won’t be part of this year’s football season.