Using Heads in the Heat of Competition
December 20, 2013
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
With so much recent attention to the risks and recognition of concussions in collision sports, athletic leaders have put their heads together to address far more common – but often overlooked – threats to the health of our student-athletes: heat and sudden cardiac arrest.
The No. 1 killer of young athletes is sudden cardiac arrest, while heat stroke victims can surpass that during the year’s hottest months. While the moment of impact leading to a concussion is totally unpredictable, athletic trainers, coaches and administrators have the ability to diminish the occurrences of cardiac arrest and heatstroke. Typically, there is a pre-existing condition, or family history suggesting probabilities for sudden cardiac arrest, which can be treated when detected. And, the perils associated with hot weather – heat stroke, prostration – are almost always completely preventable.
The MHSAA has addressed both issues recently. With assistance from numerous medical governing bodies, the annual pre-participation physical form was revamped and expanded prior to the 2011-12 school year to include comprehensive information regarding participants’ medical history.
In May, the Representative Council adopted a Model Policy for Managing Heat & Humidity (see below), a plan many schools have since adopted at the local level. The plan directs schools to monitor the heat index at an activity site once the air temperature reaches 80 degrees and provides recommendations when the heat index reaches certain levels, including ceasing activities when it rises above 104 degrees.
The topic of heat-related illnesses receives a lot of attention at the start of fall when deaths at the professional, collegiate and interscholastic levels of sport occur, especially since they are preventable in most cases with the proper precautions. In football, data from the National Federation of State High School Associations shows 41 high school players died from heat stroke between 1995 and 2012.
“We know now more than we ever have about when the risk is high and who is most at risk, and we’re now able to communicate that information better than ever before to administrators, coaches, athletes and parents," said Jack Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “Heat stroke is almost always preventable, and we encourage everyone to avail themselves of the information on our website.
“Schools need to be vigilant about providing water during practices, making sure that students are partaking of water and educating their teams about the need for good hydration practices.”
All of which is not to say concussions aren’t a serious matter; they are. In fact, leaders in sport safety can take advantage of the concussion spotlight to illuminate these additional health threats.
A recent New York Times story (May 2013) by Bill Pennington featured a February 2013 gathering in Washington organized by the National Athletic Trainers Association. In the article, Dr. Douglas J. Casa, professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and Chief Operating Officer of the Korey Stringer Institute (founded in the late NFL offensive lineman’s name to promote prevention of sudden death in sport), suggests just that.
“All the talk about head injuries can be a gateway for telling people about the other things they need to know about, like cardiac events and heat illness,” said Casa in the article. “It doesn’t really matter how we get through to people as long as we continue to make sports safer.”
Education and prevention methods need to find a permanent place in school programs if those programs are to thrive and avoid becoming targets at which special interest groups can aim budgetary arrows.
Dr. Jonathan Drezner, the president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, said in the New York Times piece that sudden cardiac arrest is “so incredibly tragic and stunning that people aren’t comfortable putting it into the everyday conversation. I do wish, to some extent, it was something people talked more about because we are getting to a place where we could prevent many of these deaths.”
When it comes to heat-related deaths or illnesses, the prevention efforts can be even more successful by educating the masses. And, these efforts can be done at minimal cost to schools.
“That’s the thing about curtailing exertional heat illness: it’s 100 percent preventable, and unlike other health threats to athletes, the solutions can be very low-tech and inexpensive,” said Dr. Michael F. Bergeron, the director of the National Institute for Athletic Health & Performance at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford Medical Center, in the New York Times story.
To assist with cost and data maintenance, the MHSAA has teamed with Sports Health to provide schools with psychrometers (heat measurement instruments) at a discounted rate, and has built online tools to track heat and humidity conditions.
Managing heat and humidity policy
- Thirty minutes prior to the start of an activity, and again 60 minutes after the start of that activity, take temperature and humidity readings at the site of the activity. Using a digital sling psychrometer is recommended. Record the readings in writing and maintain the information in files of school administration. Each school is to designate whose duties these are: generally the athletic director, head coach or certified athletic trainer.
- Factor the temperature and humidity into a Heat Index Calculator and Chart to determine the Heat Index. If a digital sling psychrometer is being used, the calculation is automatic.
If the Heat Index is below 95 degrees:
All Sports
- Provide ample amounts of water. This means that water should always be available and athletes should be able to take in as much water as they desire.
- Optional water breaks every 30 minutes for 10 minutes in duration.
- Ice-down towels for cooling.
- Watch/monitor athletes carefully for necessary action.
If the Heat Index is 95 degrees to 99 degrees:
All Sports
- Provide ample amounts of water. This means that water should always be available and athletes should be able to take in as much water as they desire.
- Optional water breaks every 30 minutes for 10 minutes in duration.
- Ice-down towels for cooling.
- Watch/monitor athletes carefully for necessary action.
Contact sports and activities with additional equipment:
- Helmets and other possible equipment removed while not involved in contact.
- Reduce time of outside activity. Consider postponing practice to later in the day.
- Recheck temperature and humidity every 30 minutes to monitor for increased Heat Index.
If the Heat Index is above 99 degrees to 104 degrees:
All Sports
- Provide ample amounts of water. This means that water should always be available and athletes should be able to take in as much water as they desire.
- Mandatory water breaks every 30 minutes for 10 minutes in duration.
- Ice-down towels for cooling.
- Watch/monitor athletes carefully for necessary action.
- Alter uniform by removing items if possible.
- Allow for changes to dry T-shirts and shorts.
- Reduce time of outside activity as well as indoor activity if air conditioning is unavailable.
- Postpone practice to later in the day.
Contact sports and activities with additional equipment
- Helmets and other possible equipment removed if not involved in contact or necessary for safety.
- If necessary for safety, suspend activity.
Recheck temperature and humidity every 30 minutes to monitor for increased Heat Index.
If the Heat Index is above 104 degrees:
All sports
- Stop all outside activity in practice and/or play, and stop all inside activity if air conditioning is unavailable.
Note: When the temperature is below 80 degrees there is no combination of heat and humidity that will result in need to curtail activity.
PHOTO: The Shepherd volleyball team includes hydration during a timeout in a match this fall.
Frankfort Hoops Staff Bolstered by Past Stars Giving Back in Banktson, Kreski
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 18, 2023
Veteran Frankfort girls basketball coach Tim Reznich will have a couple of true superstars on his bench this winter.
They don’t have MHSAA eligibility remaining, but they should really help the Panthers. They’ve used up their college eligibility as well.
They are Lindsey (Pettit) Banktson, a 2008 graduate of Portland High School and all-state forward, and Presley (Hudson) Kreski, a 2014 product of Wayland High School and all-state guard. And, they are now serving as assistant coaches for Frankfort.
Banktson has been on Reznich’s bench 10 years, and Kreski is headed for her first at Frankfort. Kreski has been on women’s basketball coaching staffs at Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University since her playing days.
“I have always felt very fortunate in my situation at Frankfort,” Reznich said. “I have felt like we have always been able to provide our players with the resources and opportunities to excel at basketball, if that is what they wanted to do.
“When Lindsey came those resources increased, and now adding Presley to the mix just brings everything over the top,” he continued. “Our players are already starting to realize it.”
Kreski, who will be teaching health and physical education at Frankfort, and Banktson, now a physician assistant with Crystal Lake Clinic, are excited to work together and with Reznich this winter as he begins his 22nd season at the helm of the Panthers.
“I’ve loved coaching with Rez the past 10 seasons and am just as excited for season number 11,” said Banktson, who went on to play basketball and softball at Ferris State University. “Every year, the night before our first day of practice, is always like Christmas Eve for me.
“I can’t sleep and I can’t wait for my alarm to go off to head to the gym to start our 2-a-days,” she continued. “I am so grateful to coach with Rez and learn from him.”
Kreske too is eager to work with Rez after getting involved with the Panthers in summer ball.
After Wayland, Kreski went on to an illustrious playing career Central Michigan where she won the NCAA 3-point contest in 2019. She also played with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA before playing professionally overseas in Poland.
“I am really excited to be at Frankfort and helping the team out,” Kreski said. “The girls work really hard and want to get better.
“Tim is a great coach, and I am looking forward to working with him and sharing my knowledge of the game as well as learning from him.”
Frankfort is coming off a District championship in 2022 and a District title loss to eventual Division 4 champion Glen Lake in 2023.
Reznich says the Panthers have already noted keys to success just by being around Kreski and Banktson. Reznich, who guided Frankfort to back-to-back Class D championships in 2005 and 2006, admits he may have softened up a bit on his players over the years. Conditioning will be a top priority this year.
“They (Kreski and Banktson) have the first-hand experience of the benefits of pushing yourself hard and not cutting corners,” Reznich said. “Our players will be in the best shape of their lives when those two are finished with them.”
And Banktson is happy to pass on her high school experience to the Panthers. She graduated in 2008 as the Lansing State Journal’s “Female Prep Athlete of the Year” after shining in three sports and leading Portland to the season’s final weekend in two.
“As a player, high school athletics taught me a lot about hard work and dedication,” she said. “High school sports taught me that you have to put in the extra work if you want to be great.
“You have to be in the gym getting extra shots outside of practice, you have to be at the field getting extra reps on the weekends,” she continued. “If you work hard and give everything you’ve got to develop your game, you will be successful.”
Kreski recalls fondly her high school days working hard and having fun with her friends and teammates, along with making deep runs in the tournament.
“High school sports is the truest form of competition,” Kreski said. “It starts with a community who supports everyone from a young age and involves all the friends and family you grew up with.
“High school sports help guide young people into leaders, teaching them how to work hard and be disciplined.”
Kreski led CMU to Sweet 16 her junior year. She is the all-time leading scorer at CMU (2,309) and career assist leader (643). Central won the Mid-American Conference three times during her days with the Chippewas. She married Gage Kreski after that chapter of her career was done.
Banktson met her husband Max Banktson at Ferris State, where he played football. They moved to Frankfort, where Max was born and raised. They have a 3-year-old son named Briggs and a 6-month old daughter named Landyn.
Both Reznich and Banktson express respect and appreciation for their coaching together. They’ve been on the same page with game plans and scouting reports, and they expect it will continued with Kreski aboard.
“Rez and I really work well together,” Banktson said. “He has always respected me as a player and coach and has given me so much autonomy with our teams.
“He is always open to my input when it comes to running certain drills in practice, putting in new offenses, or adding defensive schemes,” she continued. “He trusts me to handle our subbing during games.”
Reznich agrees.
“I have always appreciated Lindsey’s perspective on what the girls are doing on the court,” he said. “It is going to be a lot of fun and exciting to add Presley’s ideas.
“We have always treated the regular season as practice for the tournament, making adjustments and tweaking things,” he continued. “I can’t wait to see the end product this year.”
Banktson was a three-sport, four-year varsity player at Portland earning a combined 12 varsity letters in basketball, softball and volleyball. She helped the Raiders win league, District and Regional titles. Her teams reached MHSAA Semifinals for softball twice and basketball once.
It doesn’t take much to get her back in game mode.
“I can still remember the feeling of adrenaline getting ready in the locker room with my teammates, running out to our warm up music, and battling on the court each game,” she said. “I am thankful for my teammates who, when on the court, were so unselfish. We just wanted to win.”
She hopes to continue to instill greatness in the Panthers.
“I always tell the girls, ‘We were tough’ — not just physically but mentally,” she said. “We had a type of swagger – we played like we knew the bullseyes were on our back, and every game we had to fight to stay at the top.
“We took pride in wearing that Portland Raider jersey,” she continued. “I just want to instill that same mental toughness and swagger into my girls here at Frankfort.”
Having a pair of women who played now coaching and serving as mentors is beneficial on a personal level as well.
“I feel like I can relate to players on a personal level,” Banktson said. “I always try to be a good role model for them and someone they can come to with anything.
“I’m their biggest cheerleader but also not afraid to hold them accountable and help steer them down the right paths of life.”
And Banktson has learned how she might have coached herself.
“I would push myself to continue to work on my right hand, because everyone in the gym knows I’m a lefty,” she said with a smile.
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PHOTOS (Top) Lindsey Banktson plays at Portland in 2008 and stands for a celebratory photo with Frankfort’s District champion last season. Presley Kreski plays for Wayland in 2014 and more recently served on Central Michigan's coaching staff. (Middle) Kreski directs the offense during her time at CMU. (Below) The Banktson family: From left, Landyn, Max, Lindsey and Briggs. (Photos of Banktson courtesy of Lindsey Banktson. CMU photo courtesy of CMU sports information. Wayland photo courtesy of Joel Bissell, MLive.com)