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Post by jim322ps on Apr 23, 2006 10:23:13 GMT -6
Coaches I had a coaches meeting last night and found out that we might have a new player that has serious Diabetes. Can anyone tell me the limitations this might have? My family has had Diabetes but it isn't the juvenile diabetes. I hear this boy is involved in sports, well if you call soccer a sport. So it sounds like he is an active athlete. I am sure his parents will inform me on his limitations but I was wondering what you coaches think. Thank you Jim
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Post by Coach Huey on Apr 23, 2006 11:33:04 GMT -6
i have been on a staff where one of the coaches had a jh age son that was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. the young man was very active & athletic. he participated in sports year-round. the family and the kid specifically really had to monitor his overall diet and medication in his daily life. this requires some maturity (for lack of a better word) on the athlete's part as he must really understand his body and what steps he must take to maintain his body's "balance."
i know nothing more than that -- no particulars as to what the family did on a day to day basis.
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Post by spreadattack on Apr 23, 2006 11:45:22 GMT -6
From my experience it depends on the kid, to a large extent. Sometimes juvenile diabetes is correlated with lots of other problems, but other times it is just something the kid has to deal with, but otherwise he is fine. I have found that some of the toughest kids are ones with diabetes who are willing to control their bodies and fight through their condition. Most others wouldn't even realize it.
Basically I would arrange an informal meeting with him where you make sure that he knows it is his responsibility to take most of the proper precautions and to alert you and the coaching staff if he has any needs. He needs to be aware of his own body, but your training/medical staff/coaches should be aware of anything and have an extra stash of glucose, etc should he need it.
Typically, the big thing is that he MUST have a glucose meter and should test his blood sugar before practice and games, and potentially during any breaks. He also must have some good form of glucose (sometimes simple Gatorades are fine, otherwise ask him to talk to his Doctor to recommend some good ones). He also will likely have insulin with him but usually going hypoglycemic and having his blood sugar drop too low is the more common problem.
Just make sure your coaches are aware and understand that he may need to step away during gasers at the end of practice and test his blood sugar or he may be risking getting hypoglycemic in the hot sun, particularly during two-a-days. It is a tough balance for the coaching staff because what looks like (and may even come across to the other players) as weakness or lack of toughness is simply legitimate medical concern, although kids with diabetes are like any other kids and one reason they play football is so that they will be pushed beyond what they think they can do. I'm sure this kid is a good one but kids definitely can play the sympathy card and skip out on difficult things even if they could do it. I'm sure it will become obvious quickly what kind of kid he is, and if he wants to push himself and be there he will, if he's not into football he'll probably move on like most other kids.
Not too much you need to do affirmatively other than take precautions and be understanding.
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Post by airman on Apr 23, 2006 15:58:30 GMT -6
at least you have it out in the open. I had a kid who did not disclose he had diabetes and he went into insulin shock during a game.
the parents did not want people to know as that thought he would be treated differently.
he was treated differently, a fire truck, emt unit and a ambulance had to show up. he was lucky to be alive is what one of the EMTS told me. he almost went into cardiac arrest. to top it off, we were a hour by bus back to our school and we could not find his parents, divorced situation on lived in another state and one live in our state.
needless to say, the doctors did what they had to do. if that did not top it off, the mother wanted the school to pay the emergency room bill.
so I tell this story to the parents each year now and I tell them to find me after the parents meeting and let me know.
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Post by groundchuck on Apr 23, 2006 16:07:54 GMT -6
I coached a good player who had diabetes. It was not limiting to him and I do not recall any serious situations. I know he had to check himself at certain times and regulate his blood sugar. I think it needs to be handled on the kid-by-kid basis because every case is different. I would want to get a note from his doctor as to his condition and what he needs to do. Just to CYA in case something happened you can say you were following the doctors regulations.
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Post by jim322ps on Apr 23, 2006 19:26:49 GMT -6
Coaches Great information and as I said my family has had a history of diabetes so I understand some of the problems. I have also had many kids with puffers so I can tell whether they are really in need of a break but I don't take any chances and always let them medicate if they say they need to. Coaching really is about adapting to all situations and being prepared for anything. Thanks again Jim
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