By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

Frank Vazquez was one of dozens of parents who watched the Monday practice of the Joplin Youth Football Association.

He sat under the liftgate of his SUV for shade, but the tinted window couldn’t keep away all of the sun’s merciless heat. Beads of sweat dotted his head.

He had parked the SUV strategically so he and his wife, Lori, could sit in the shade and watch their 10-year-old son practice. Sitting in a foldable lawn chair, he leaned back in the shade, wiped the sweat from his brow and shifted uncomfortably from the August heat and humidity.

Though Vazquez could have dropped his child off for the two-hour practice and waited somewhere with air conditioning, he and Lori said that was out of the question.

“We want to make sure that if something happens to him, we are right there,” Vazquez said. “That’s why we don’t leave, and why we deal with the heat and sweat.”

During the fall sports season, hundreds of student athletes across Southwest Missouri participate in football leagues. Hundreds more participate in junior-high or high-school athletics.

As children play and practice, parents have mixed emotions. They say they are proud of their athletic children, but fear an injury might befall them.

“I close my eyes a lot,” said Lisa Harns, who has a 10-year-old playing with the JYFA. “My son is a pretty big boy, but an injury is always in the back of my mind.”

Doctors across the nation say they are seeing more and more children suffering sports injuries. The National Council of Youth Sports reports that of the 50 million children playing organized sports each year, 1 million of them suffer an injury that causes missed school, a trip to the hospital or surgery.

Another trend is a higher number of injuries from overtraining, poor technique and rushed recovery — injuries that could be avoided with proper prevention.

Ryan Melton, executive director of St. John’s SportsCare, said he sees that national trend locally.

“We’re seeing an increase in injuries,” Melton said. “I don’t think coaches spend enough time stretching or demonstrating proper technique. There’s so much pressure to win that they want to get to the X’s and O’s, and miss out on stretching.”

SportsCare has partnered with the JYFA and other athletic leagues around Southwest Missouri. Bobby Landis, manager of the JYFA, said that all coaches are required to have first-aid training.