Georgia high school football team walks out of practice to protest rough conditions

[bevosu]

Georgia high school football team walks out of practice to protest rough conditions

By Jacob Bogage
Staff writer
August 18 at 1:18 PM


Players from one of Georgia’s top high school football teams walked out of practice this week to protest conditions they called too physical and dangerous.

Grayson High players complained of full-contact practices in shorts and inadequate attention to hydration and heat exposure, according to reports from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gwinnett Daily Post.

The concerns at the Loganville, Ga., school date from the 2017 season, a parent told the Daily Post, when the training sessions resulted in “full-body cramps, multiple players with broken bones in their hands from excessive hitting in practice and players who are injured being called ‘soft’ and being ‘isolated.’ ”

Players walked out of practice Wednesday, and Coach Christian Hunnicutt met with the team the next day and apologized for the practice conditions, the AJC reported. He promised lighter practices in the future.

The protests come as the University of Maryland football program continues to navigate the fallout from the death of freshman offensive lineman Jordan McNair, who suffered from heatstroke during conditioning drills in late May and died two weeks later. University leaders are investigating what an ESPN report called an abusive culture at the school and have placed Coach DJ Durkin on administrative leave.

Grayson, 40 miles east of Atlanta, is the fifth-ranked team in the country, according to USA Today, and the No. 1 team in Georgia’s Class 7 division, according to the Georgia Sports Writers Association’s rankings.

 

[SmilinBob]

I'll ask those whom have played or coached HS/college/pro football as I never did...don't these kids pretty much, especially the top football schools, work out pretty much all year? How much is actually enough? Back in my day (had to write that!) nobody just worked out 12 months for one sport and now the demand at the practices before the first game seems to be rough along with what they did in the past. Also, is this a "weeding" out of the kids who didn't work out for the 11 or 12 months and perhaps they are the ones considered soft? "Hey, Johnny worked out all year and you don't see him gasping for air!". I understand getting ready for the strains of the game and I'm sure some are completely out of shape as well but how do you recognize when enough is enough?

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

I'll ask those whom have played or coached HS/college/pro football as I never did...don't these kids pretty much, especially the top football schools, work out pretty much all year? How much is actually enough? Back in my day (had to write that!) nobody just worked out 12 months for one sport and now the demand at the practices before the first game seems to be rough along with what they did in the past. Also, is this a "weeding" out of the kids who didn't work out for the 11 or 12 months and perhaps they are the ones considered soft? "Hey, Johnny worked out all year and you don't see him gasping for air!". I understand getting ready for the strains of the game and I'm sure some are completely out of shape as well but how do you recognize when enough is enough?

Same here. Played three sports, and never honed in on just one. My nephew is playing basketball now year round, because the varsity coach has told him that if he wants to make varsity he has to play on x, y, and z teams. He's just going into 9th grade, and this has been going on for two years.

It's gotten insane. Year round travel soccer, etc... These kids need to be able to develop beyond obsession for one sport. They end up burning out, and not enjoying the experience (some at least). Coaches in high school think they're coaching in the pros. Mind you, the varsity team (and this coach) at this school are a combined 23-93 over the past seven years. It's not as if it's a powerhouse.

Kids don't need to be forced into specialization that early, and these coaches and schools are complicit in it.

 

[kcsu]

Its how they work out that matters. My HS coach was a freak actually today he would have been fired. I get to college and the guy was brilliant. Way ahead of his time. Oh and hes now in the Hall.
Im a firm believer in what Dino is doing off season. I still think that coaches in general but too much emphasis on live contact during fall camp with the ones.

 

[Dadarules]

My son's high school baseball coaches are in full support of kids playing other sports. His travel coach does too - last year the coach even said that what my son needed was just to get stronger and the travel and high school games were not the most important things for him at that point, knowing my son was still definitely going to play, but just putting everything in perspective.

He was going to switch from soccer to football for his upcoming SR year for the weight training but decided to take the fall off. All coaches were cool with it.

I think with all the overly obsessed, delusional youth sports coaches (AND PARENTS FOR THAT MATTER) out there there are still some that are looking out for the kids' overall good and their high school experience too.

Then again, football may be much different but my son has been in travel baseball since he was 13 so I have seen a lot of teams like the insane ones people talk about. Just wouldn't let my kid be part of one of them.

 

[PhatOrange]

Grayson Football coaches dscourage kids or outright don’t let kids play any other sports, football year round. I know someone who coaches a sport in that school. 200k weight room and training field house they have just for football.