Four high school football players hospitalized during camp

ROCKDALE - Four Rockdale County High School football players were hospitalized during a football camp last week, and their parents say the coaches are to blame. <br> <br> The boys suffered from dehydration and heat exhaustion, some of them having severe muscle cramps and chest pains during the camp in Americus. Three were released from the hospital after a few hours; a fourth remained hospitalized in Americus Friday night. <br> <br> The team coach, Larry Mortonson, was unapologetic about the hospitalizations. He told The Rockdale Citizen the boys fell ill because they chose not to drink enough water and weren&#39;t prepared physically for the camp. <br> <br> ``We did run a very structured and demanding camp, but I don&#39;t believe it was out of the realm of anything that any other coach of a team in Georgia would ask their players to do,&#39;&#39; said Mortonson, who is starting his first year as head coach of the Bulldogs. <br> <br> That attitude didn&#39;t sit well with Rosemary Brumby, mother of a football player who asked to come home the second day of camp. <br> <br> ``This camp is not about football. It&#39;s nothing but physical and mental abuse,&#39;&#39; she said. ``I think the coach should be removed from his position.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Rockdale High Principal Jason Doughty sided with the coach. <br> <br> ``They were worked hard. Expectations were set out for them, and they were tougher than they were accustomed to,&#39;&#39; Doughty said. <br> <br> The number of boys on the team fell by half this year, from 112 to about 52. Booster club vice president Wilbur Yaun said his son has played football for years but is considering quitting. <br> <br> ``My son told me, &#39;No matter how hard we try, we can&#39;t please the coach.&#39; ... I have been a sports fan all my life and you ask me, is this normal? No, this is not normal,&#39;&#39; Yaun said. <br> <br> Nationwide, three football players died of heat injuries last summer, including Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer. One of the deaths was a high school boy from Indiana who was trying to make the varsity team. <br> <br> Mortonson said his camp was not unsafe, and boys were given water breaks every 15 minutes. He acknowledged that the whole team was made to run laps when one broke a rule, but the practice is common. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s rough out in the real world, and sometimes we have to push through the obstacles, and I think that&#39;s the approach we&#39;re taking,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> At least one parent agreed. Booster club president Denise Simon said the ``boys came back as men&#39;&#39; from the camp. <br> <br> ``What my son learned is that there is a single common objective, and this is to be physically and mentally in shape, to play above the standard for high school football,&#39;&#39; Simon said.

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