FHSAA keys in on athlete safety

By SCOTT PURKS
Published April 13, 2005

Less than three months after 17-year-old Matthew Miulli died on Tampa Alonso's baseball field during a preseason conditioning exercise, the Florida High School Athletic Association has required that all students go through a series of checks before they can participate in "any physical activity."

Specifically, the requirement states a school, "must have on file a parental consent and release form and a physical evaluation form for a student-athlete before he or she can participate in any form of physical conditioning regardless of when such conditioning occurs."

The proposal, sponsored by FHSAA commissioner John A. Stewart, passed unanimously at Tuesday's FHSAA representative assembly.

"It's a matter of common sense and quite frankly, a practice that the vast majority of our member schools already have in place," Stewart said. "We, however, felt strongly that it needed to be in writing that a school must have the parental consent and release form and the preparticipation physical evaluation for a student-athlete on file before that student is permitted to engage in any form of physical activity related to interscholastic athletics.

"This includes physical conditioning, such as running, jumping, swimming or lifting weights, regardless of whether it occurs during the sports season, outside the sports season or during the summer."

Miulli, who had a heart defect, died Jan.19 during a preseason conditioning exercise in preparation for baseball tryouts. His death raised questions about requirements for sports.

Hillsborough school officials said they keep files on all students, including academic and health information. But under the former state rules, Miulli would not have been required to submit physical forms for school sports until the first day of tryouts.

--Information from the Florida High School Athletic Association was used in this report.

[Last modified April 13, 2005, 01:30:19]