8/6/2019 Wootton High School - After School Conditioning

1/2

Dear Wootton Families:

I am certain that you all know the safety of our student-athletes has been, and willalways be our number one priority. The incident that happened on Wednesday at theconditioning session shocked and concerned us all.

Below is the memo that went out to the coaches after we suspended the after schoolconditioning last week. During that time the administration and athletic departmentinvestigated why several of our young athletes ended up hospitalized. We spoke to andgot statements from all the individuals involved and it was apparent that with such alarge group of students we need to differentiate the workouts to meet the needs of theindividual more closely. The specific drilltriangulated push-ups- will not be used againeven if it has been utilized without problems in the past. School protocols were followedduring the workout session with rests in place between all of the repetitions, stretchingbefore and after the exercise and at no point did any student share a specific problemwith the coaches after the workout. Coaches talk consistently about the need for

constant hydration and students understand its importance. We will also shareinformation to educate the whole community on the dangers of Rhabdomyolysis whichwas the condition that caused the students hospitalization. I have given you a link thatgives information on Rhabdomyolysis and one that talks about a similar problem thatoccurred recently with a football team in Iowa and their follow-up report. At some pointsoon we will also plan a training session for all coaches and PE teachers, so they knowwhat to look for and can also let students and understand the condition.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001505/ and

http://hawkcentral.com/2011/03/23/read-the-final-report-on-the-rhabdo-incident/

There will be a meeting of the football program with our coaches, players and parents inthe schools auditorium at 7:00pm on June 7 th

.

In this email (below) to coaches we also took the opportunity of reminding them of allprotocols that they have been following and continue to do so.

Our thoughts are obviously with all the students involved and now particularly withtheremaining hospitalized student as he recovers, and his family as they continue to gothrough this very tough time. He is an amazing young man who I know has beenstrengthened by the support of the entire Wootton community.

Michael Doran Ed.DPrincipalWootton High School

Coaches,

Off season conditioning programs may begin again starting Monday May 16 with thefollowing being emphasized:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001505/http://hawkcentral.com/2011/03/23/read-the-final-report-on-the-rhabdo-incident/http://hawkcentral.com/2011/03/23/read-the-final-report-on-the-rhabdo-incident/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001505/

8/6/2019 Wootton High School - After School Conditioning

2/2

Eligible Participation

1. All students participating must have a signed Parent Permission form for yourprogram. You may create your own or use ours as long as it is stated that theprogram is for conditioning.

2. All participants must have a current Health Inventory on file with our AthleticDepartment.3. Coaches must have easy access to emergency medical information for all

participants.4. All participants must be currently enrolled and attending classes at Wootton HS.

Participation Guidelines1. No conditioning program may be sport specific.2. Conditioning programs must be open to all eligible Wootton students.3. All participants must be supervised by an MCPS approved volunteer or a coach

at all times.

4. The program must be differentiated for varying ability levels. In other wordsFreshmen, or those new to the program, must not be subjected to the same levelof difficulty as the upperclassmen and/or those weeks into a program.

5. Participants must continue to be monitored closely for signs of any physicalduress.

These guidelines have been in place for many years, we are just being more specificparticularly with Participation Guideline #4.

When serious instances like this occur we are forced to reevaluate what we all do ascoaches. We must push our athletes to work hard and do their best, but it is also ourresponsibility to keep them safe with proper training. Athletes are competitive bynature, we need to make sure they feel comfortable in stopping an activity if they sochoose, and conversely stop them from going beyond their capacity as they may notunderstand their own physical limitations. All of these guidelines are in place to protectour players. Please do not deviate from these guidelines at any time.

If you have any questions you may refer to page 34 of the MCPS Athletics Handbook orcontact the Athletic Department.