asthmatic player

[Just Curious]

Originally posted by Matt S.
Happened today...

Near the end of the 1st half, running down the court I hear this strange noise...finally realize that a girl is wheezing...as soon as her team gets ball, I blow my whistle, get her off the court-coach then says to me and partner we need to be "more aware" of that. I honestly didn't realize what it was until I saw her, but shouldn't the coach have told me before the game even started?

Ever happen to you? And do you kill the ball immediately, or wait like you would in any other sitch?

Early on as a coach, I had a girl that had a condition wherein she didn't have any sweat glands. I never knew this until one evening after practice her mother came in and wanted to know why her daughter had been made to run laps... Couldn't I see how red her daughter had become? This puzzled the heck out of me, but after an information exchange, I found out about this condition her daughter had and the mother found out that she didn't run anymore laps than any of the other girls had. We kept a damp towel on hand to cool her down if she became overheated from there.
As a coach or a official this information isn't always made available... I don't believe it to be a ref issue either. Asthmatic players are fairly common these days. Consider yourself aware... and in your judgement if a player is struggling, stop play and get with their coach.