Team manager Mitchell Marcus has a developmental disability, but he far surpasses everyone here when it comes to love of the game.

“He’s just an amazing person that our basketball team loves being around,” Morales says.

Mitchell’s mom, Amy, says he’s always been that way.

“Mitchell always had a basketball, that was always what he wanted for his birthday,” she says.

And because basketball is that important to him, on the last game of the regular season, the coach told Mitchell to suit up.

Allen residents decided the previous 14,000-seat stadium wasn’t large enough, they approved plans for the new facility in 2009. The Allen Eagles’ new home contains 18,000 seats, a 75-by-45 foot HD video scoreboard, a weight room and sunken-bowl design. The press room and private boxes rival those of college stadiums.

While this facility is impressive, Eagle Stadium is only the third-largest high school arena in the state, though it is the largest one used exclusively by a single team. The Allen Eagles consistently rank among Texas’ top 10 football teams, having clinched the state championship in 2008 and notching up a cumulative record of 88-15 over the past eight seasons, according to MaxPreps

Athletes, young and old, increase their risk of heat illness as they become dehydrated. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, it is not uncommon to reach dehydration levels significant enough to place athletes at risk of developing heat illness in as little as an hour of exercise.

Athletes can reach this level even more rapidly if they begin the workout, practice or competition ALREADY DEHYDRATED. It is quite common for many young players to arrive at practice already dehydrated. A full day at school, running around at recess, gym class, not eating or drinking properly throughout the day will all contribute to a child being dehydrated before practice even starts!

A Good Strategy for Proper Hydration

• Players should drink 16 oz of fluid first thing in the morning of a practice or game.

• Players should consume 8-16 oz of fluid one hour prior to the start of the practice or game.
• Players should consume 8-16 oz of fluid 20 minutes prior to the start of the practice or game.

A Good Strategy for Proper Hydration

• PreHydrate – Before practice or game
• Hydrate – Throughout the practice or game
• ReHydrate – After the practice or game

PREHYDRATE

• Players should drink 16 oz of fluid first thing in the morning of a practice or game.
• Players should consume 8-16 oz of fluid one hour prior to the start of the practice or game.
  • Players should consume 8-16 oz of fluid 20 minutes prior to the start of the practice or game.

HYDRATE

• Players should have unlimited access to fluids (sports drinks and water) throughout the game or workout.
• Players should drink during the practice or game to minimize losses in body weight but should not over drink.
• ALL PLAYERS should consume fluids during “water breaks”. Many players will say that they are not thirsty; however, in many cases by the time they realize that they are thirsty they are already dehydrated or on their way to be dehydrated. Make sure all your players are getting the proper fluids.

REHYDRATE

• Parents or Coaches should weigh players before and after practice. For each pound lost during the workout, an athlete should consume at least 24 oz of fluid. If this recommended amount of fluid is not consumed, the player must replace 80% of lost weight by next practice to avoid dehydration.
• Players/Parents should check the color of a player’s urine. If it is a dark, gold color (like apple juice) the player is already slightly dehydrated. If it is very pale yellow (like lemonade) then he is on the way to being hydrated.

Other Hydration Tips

• Avoid carbonated drinks. They can cause bloating and may decrease the amount of fluid consumed.
• Avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol as they cause the body to lose body fluids.
• Fluid containing carbohydrate and small amounts of sodium chloride are likely to have more beneficial effects than plain water.
• Allow for acclimation – Acclimation is the body’s adaptation to a hot environment. Slowly increase practice intensity and duration over the first two weeks of training. Most cases of heat illness occur in the first 2 to 3 days of training.
• Drink it. Don’t pour it – A player pouring fluid over his/her head may feel great but won’t help restore body fluids or lower body temperature.
• Exercise in the morning or evening – This is when the weather is coolest. Also, avoid the direct sun to minimize radiant heat from the sun and hot playing surfaces.
• Dress for the weather – Keeping cool in hot weather means wearing fewer clothes and frequently removing gear like football helmets during breaks.

Ways to Recognize the Early Warning Signs of Dehydration
These can include but are not limited to:

• Loss of Energy ” Dizziness
• Loss of Coordination
• Cramps
• Headaches
• Above Normal Levels of Fatigue
• Dark Yellow Urine

1. Casa, DJ. et al. J. Athl Train 35:212-224, 2000. 2. Below PR et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 27: 200-210, 1995. 3. Murray R et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 27: 1057-1062, 1995. 4. Fritzsche, R.G. et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 88: 730-737, 2000. 5. Davis, J.M. et al Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc: Metab. 10: 476-485, 2000. 6. Passe, D.H. et al. Appetite 35: 219-229, 2000. 7. Wilk, B. and O. Bar-Or. J. Appl. Physiol. 80:1112-1117, 1996.
Disclaimer
The information contained herein is purely a source of information and can at no time replace the expert eye of a qualified professional. The content provided in this guide is NOT intended to be relied on for medical diagnosis or treatment. Never delay in seeking professional advice because of something read herein.

We at CoachYouthSports.com believe that person has Greatness in them. Anyone who goes above and beyond and pushes themselves, whether its in youth sports, school or work, is displaying Greatness.

We are sure that you will find this young athlete, inspiring and motivating.

The issue of brain injuries sustained on the football field have forced Pop Warner’s new rules, which will affect hundreds of thousands of youth football players, were seen as the latest acknowledgment that the nation’s most popular sport poses dangers to the long-term cognitive health of its athletes.

Under its new rules, effective for the coming season, which starts in August, contact will not be allowed for two-thirds of each practice — a move prompted by research showing that most of the hardest hits in youth football occur not in games, but in practice. The organization is also forbidding all drills that involve full-speed, head-on blocking and tackling that begins with players lined up more than three yards apart, as well as head-to-head contact.

More than 285,000 children ages 5 to 15 play in Pop Warner football leagues. The program says it has produced more than two-thirds of the players now in the National Football League.

Research has shown that the damage from concussions can be cumulative, and that the brains of younger athletes may be particularly susceptible. Pop Warner and other football leagues came under increasing pressure, which pushed the organization to institute a rule two years ago that only medical experts, not coaches or parents, could make return-to-play decisions for concussed athletes.

The group was persuaded to take its more drastic step when a study of second-grade football players published in February — which used data from sensors installed in helmets — showed that the average player sustained more than 100 head impacts during the course of about 10 practices and 5 games. Though most of those hits were moderate, some exceeded a force equivalent to a big hit in college football.

“Jon Butler, the executive director of Pop Warner, said that while the organization’s officials wanted to reduce head-to-head collisions, they stopped short of more drastic measures “because there has to be some full-speed contact in practice so players are prepared for it when they get into a game.”

Dr. Bailes, chairman of Pop Warner’s medical advisory board, said the organization was open to additional safety measures, like banning linemen from getting set in a three-point stance, in which a player’s hand touches the ground, because it results in head-to-head collisions. But first, Dr. Bailes said, the league will wait until the 2012 season is over, and then review how the new rules influenced players and coaches.

“I think when you make a change like this, you want to study it,” he said. “And we’ll ask: ‘Will this be enough? Do we need to work further to take the head out of the game?’ ”

With about 20 meters to go in the 3,200, Arden McMath, a sophomore from Arlington High School, collapsed in front of Vogel. Rather than run by her, Vogel helped McMath to her feet and carried her across the finish line, making sure to keep McMath ahead of her.

“Any girl on the track would have done the same for me,” Vogel said Monday.

But Vogel’s gesture resonated with the thousands of spectators who witnessed it, as well as with the thousands more who have read about the story or seen video of the race’s finish.

At the state championships, Vogel had a difficult 1,600/3,200 double. She won the 1,600 in a personal-best 4 minutes, 58.31 seconds, stepped onto the podium for photos and medals, talked to the local media, and went to visit with her family.

That left her with about an hour to get ready for the 3,200, in which she was seeded seventh.

Three laps into the eight-lap race, Vogel was falling off the pace. Her mother watched from the backstretch and could tell that her daughter didn’t have the energy to contend for another title.

“By that time it was a matter of just finishing (the race),” Ann Vogel said. “I kind of joked with her about being in last place because she’s never been last. And every lap she looked at me and smiled.”

Vogel rounded the final turn for home and could see that the only other runner who hadn’t finished yet was faltering. And then McMath, a runner Vogel had never met before, fell to the track.

Vogel never had a moment of doubt about what to do next.

“I remember moving to her position,” she said. “(McMath) was doing the best she could to keep her body upright. There was a lot of shake in her legs, which is totally understandable.”

The crowd cheered when Vogel stopped and the roar grew louder as she and McMath moved closer to the finish line. Vogel purposely steered McMath across the finish line ahead of her.

A race that had become pointless in the grand scheme of the day for Vogel quickly took on a new meaning.

“I think fate may have put me (in last place) for a reason,” Vogel said.

Ann Vogel was across the track and couldn’t see her daughter when she stopped. But a coaching friend told Ann Vogel, “Ann, look up at the screen.”

She turned to the video board and saw her daughter supporting another runner on her shoulder.

“I ran around (the perimeter of the track) as fast as I could,” Ann Vogel said. “It wasn’t easy to get around with all of the people standing there but I was hearing the crowd and I could see tears running down people’s faces.”

McMath was quickly scooped up by medical staff. By rule, a runner in track or cross country is automatically disqualified for aiding another runner, but meet officials chose to leave McMath and Vogel in the results rather than take action.

McMath was given 14th place in 12:29.90, and Vogel 15th in 12:30.24.

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According to the information contained on the CDC site; a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way the brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Even a “ding,” “getting your bell rung,” or what seems to be mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.

One misconception is that concussions are a football or contact sport related injury.  Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity.

In the weeks following the March free-throw competition, Guei learned that he’d scored a full-ride basketball scholarship to California State University-Northridge.  Now NCAA rules allowed for Guei to accept the athletic scholarship and also keep most of the $40,000 he had won. But Guei couldn’t stop thinking about the runners-up from the free-throw contest. They, too, had dreams and real needs. So, he asked Principal Jesse Jones to make a surprise announcement at Compton High’s graduation ceremony: Guei wanted to donate the $40,000 to the other seven students.

“I’ve already been blessed so much and I know we’re living with a bad economy, so I know this money can really help my classmates,” Guei said in a statement. “It was the right decision.”  Elaborating on his decision to give the money away in an interview with ESPN, Guei stated: “I was already well taken care of to go to school, to go to university for free. … I felt like they needed it more than I did.”

The beneficiaries of Guei’s generosity were ecstatic.

“It was a shock,” said Omar Guzman, 17, a runner-up who plans to use the money to attend San Diego State University. “I’m really grateful there are people like that out there. It was generous.” Another runner-up, Donald Dotson, also plans to start at Cal State Northridge in the fall. Dotson described Guei as “a very deep, intelligent and warm person.” “It’s going to go really far in life,” he said in a statement. “Because of what he’s done for us, God will bless him. That’s what life is all about — stepping forward to help other people.”

Due to Guei’s generosity, each of those seven runners-up has around $11,000 in scholarship money.