KFDM COOP Posted March 14, 2011 Report Posted March 14, 2011 Texas teen hoops player collapses, dies McALLEN, Texas -- A South Texas high school basketball player died after collapsing during a timeout at a tournament in Austin, coaches said.Roma High School junior Robert Garza, 16, was playing in the AAU tournament on Saturday with the Hoopsters, a South Texas club team, when he collapsed without any warning."It's unexplainable. He got a glass of water. He 'high-fived' Pablo Adame [a Hoopster teammate] and then it just happened. He collapsed," Hoopster coach Arnold Martinez told The Monitor of McAllen.The cause of death was not yet known, Martinez said."During pregame warm-ups, he was dunking the ball and laughing with his teammates. Everything looked good," he told the newspaper.Paramedics administered CPR, but Garza was pronounced dead at Austin's Brackenridge Hospital just more than an hour later, said Abelardo Escobar, Garza's high school coach. An autopsy was planned."Robert was a great, great human being," Escobar told The Monitor. "I'm very, very sad. The Lord asked for an angel to come to Him today. He took care of his body. He ate all the right things. I don't know how else to explain it."Calls by The Associated Press to Martinez and Escobar went unanswered on Sunday.Garza's high school teammate Carlos Gonzalez told the newspaper that Garza was smart and had a lot of friends."He was quiet, but once you got to know him, he was fine. ... He inspired many people, many young guys. I'm going to miss everything about him," said Gonzalez, a senior at Roma High School, which is located on the Texas-Mexico border.Garza's death comes more than a week after a 16-year-old Michigan basketball player collapsed and died after making a game-winning shot in overtime. Wes Leonard, a junior at Fennville High School, died of cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart on March 3, moments after his shot gave the undefeated Blackhawks a victory to wrap up the regular season.
Mr. Buddy Garrity Posted March 14, 2011 Report Posted March 14, 2011 Something has to be done now. These players need to be medically cleared. This is happening way too much.
east texas bb Posted March 15, 2011 Report Posted March 15, 2011 In the paperwork that has to be done by coaches each year, Steriods Form, PAPF, Physical Form 2 times, they are going to have to add that the child have to receive an EKG. It will cost alot of money, and with the economic crunch that everyone is in I dont see it being a requirement of the State, but it is something that players need to have. But, you never know in life, someone could just be out for a jog or stressed at work and have a heart problem they dont know and it will eventually hurt or kill them. Thank God for every day, He said it was like a vapor. My prayers are with the family.
BLUEDOVE3 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Posted March 15, 2011 [quote name="east texas bb" post="982718" timestamp="1300150473"]In the paperwork that has to be done by coaches each year, Steriods Form, PAPF, Physical Form 2 times, they are going to have to add that the child have to receive an EKG. It will cost alot of money, and with the economic crunch that everyone is in I dont see it being a requirement of the State, but it is something that players need to have. But, you never know in life, someone could just be out for a jog or stressed at work and have a heart problem they dont know and it will eventually hurt or kill them. Thank God for every day, He said it was like a vapor. My prayers are with the family. [/quote]There is another test beyond the EKG that may be needed. One of my sons just had it. Happy to hear everything looked normal, whew!
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