Volleyball coach fired over bear crawls on burning blacktop
After a JV girl's volleyball team did a series of bear crawls and pushups on hot blacktop in the midst of California's heat wave last week, the girls' hands started blistering, their skin soon peeling off.
One mother took her 14-year-old daughter to urgent care to treat the blisters. The doctor reportedly told them the second- and third-degree burns were definitely from the temperature of the blacktop. The mom called the local police, and after several more parents complained, the district fired coach Mercedes Winchester, 25.
“It was a captain’s decision [on Wednesday], and it was around 3:15 p.m. It was overcast at the time, so I thought it was OK," Winchester told the Daily Press, adding that she didn't test the temperature of the pavement.
The school is in Hesperia, Calif., where temperatures reached 96 degrees (with 83 percent humidity) on Wednesday, according to Weather Underground. The nearby L.A. Unified School District had cancelled all outdoor activities that day due to the heat.
“I didn’t mean to hurt my girls at all. None of the girls said anything," Winchester said.
Two girls did come up to her as practice was ending to show her that the skin on their palms was peeling, but Winchester thought the blisters were forming because the girls had been using the wrong diving technique while practicing indoors, she said.
Winchester was a second-year coach at Oak Hills High School. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spoke with three players and determined that there was no intent to harm, so no criminal charges will be filed.
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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or follow her on Twitter!
