Dear Wootton Families: I am certain that you all know the safety of our student-athletes has been, and

will always be our number one priority. The incident that happened on Wednesday at the conditioning session shocked and concerned us all. Below is the memo that went out to the coaches after we suspended the after school conditioning last week. During that time the administration and athletic department investigated why several of our young athletes ended up hospitalized. We spoke to and got statements from all the individuals involved and it was apparent that with such a large group of students we need to differentiate the workouts to meet the needs of the individual more closely. The specific drill triangulated push-ups- will not be used again even if it has been utilized without problems in the past. School protocols were followed during the workout session with rests in place between all of the repetitions, stretching before and after the exercise and at no point did any student share a specific problem with the coaches after the workout. Coaches talk consistently about the need for constant hydration and students understand its importance. We will also share information to educate the whole community on the dangers of Rhabdomyolysis which was the condition that caused the students hospitalization. I have given you a link that gives information on Rhabdomyolysis and one that talks about a similar problem that occurred recently with a football team in Iowa and their follow-up report. At some point soon we will also plan a training session for all coaches and PE teachers, so they know what 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 in the schools auditorium at 7:00pm on June 7th. In this email (below) to coaches we also took the opportunity of reminding them of all protocols that they have been following and continue to do so. Our thoughts are obviously with all the students involved and now particularly with the remaining hospitalized student as he recovers, and his family as they continue to go through this very tough time. He is an amazing young man who I know has been strengthened by the support of the entire Wootton community. Michael Doran Ed.D Principal Wootton High School

Coaches, Off season conditioning programs may begin again starting Monday May 16 with the following being emphasized:

Eligible Participation 1. All students participating must have a signed Parent Permission form for your program. You may create your own or use ours as long as it is stated that the program is for conditioning. 2. All participants must have a current Health Inventory on file with our Athletic Department. 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 Guidelines 1. 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 words Freshmen, or those new to the program, must not be subjected to the same level of difficulty as the upperclassmen and/or those weeks into a program. 5. Participants must continue to be monitored closely for signs of any physical duress. These guidelines have been in place for many years, we are just being more specific particularly with Participation Guideline #4. When serious instances like this occur we are forced to reevaluate what we all do as coaches. We must push our athletes to work hard and do their best, but it is also our responsibility to keep them safe with proper training. Athletes are competitive by nature, we need to make sure they feel comfortable in stopping an activity if they so choose, and conversely stop them from going beyond their capacity as they may not understand their own physical limitations. All of these guidelines are in place to protect our 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 or contact the Athletic Department.