It is remarkable how in the last few weeks our attention has been drawn to the severe onset and life threatening illness or sudden death of young star athletes in their prime.

The sudden death of the 16-year-old basketball player Wes Leonard, just after making the winning basket last week again horrifically rings the bell that calls for the need to evaluate athletes prior to these disasters happening. Leonard was one of three teenage athletes, in apparent perfect health, to collapse without warning and die in the past eight days. The most recent tragedy occurring just yesterday, right up the road in Gainesville, with the death of Eastside High’s 17-year-old Sarah Landauer. The track athlete wasrevived during a Monday practice, rushed to the hospital and succumbed early on Wednesday morning.

This should put all of us on high alert. Ask yourself: Has your child ever fainted or had a seizure when exercising, excited or startled? Has your child ever had chest pain, dizziness, fainted or had unremitting shortness of breath while exercising? Hasthere been a sudden death in your family especially before the age of 50?

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Have you been in the gym watching two guys competing to see who can lift the greatest amount of weight? When I see this, I often feel I may as well walk over and hand them my card because the next thing that is going to happen is a lumbar disc or biceps tendon rupture.

Weight lifting and weight training has grown in participation and popularity in the last decade. It is no wonder, especially when people see the ripped bodies of not only athletes of every ilk, but see the sculpted Hollywood wantabes as well.

Many of us, including teenagers, want to try and emulate their favorite athlete or actors sculpted muscles, Will Farrell aside. Weight training is a way to achieve, retain or rejuvenate that ‘Mr./Ms./Mrs. America’ body.

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I was standing in the arena at the closing ceremony of the 1961 National Figure Skating Championships, my sister and I had just won the National Junior Pairs championship. All the champions were gathered and the applause was deafening. In looking back, I am humbled by the realization that I would never see many of them again after that moment of applause.

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Watching the NFL games over the last few weeks narrowing the field to the final Super Bowl pairing this weekend, I could not help recalling one of my first articles about Tim Tebow’s concussion.
What made me think about this were the amazing number of helmet-to-helmet hits as well as the number of tackles made with helmets aimed at the opponents throats. The later tackling technique, while within guidelines, still can result in not only a concussion but also significant spine injury.

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