athlete

In a continuing crackdown by the Southern Section against against students and parents who are supplying inaccurate information on transfer paperwork, Orange Lutheran High announced Tuesday that it has declared a football player ineligible and will forfeit its first two games of the season. The school self-reported the violation after an investigation that lasted for weeks.

More than 40 students this fall have been given penalties of two years without being able to play for violating CIF rule 202, which involves providing false information. In September, the Southern Section disqualified 19 players from the Bishop Montgomery football program for a total of 24. The school canceled its varsity season.

Players at Long Beach Millikan, Long Beach Poly, Compton, Victor Valley and Bellflower have also been hit with two-year penalties.

The Orange Lutheran student will be ineligible only until next season because the transfer did not submit fraudulent paperwork.

The Southern Section has deployed new investigative techniques to checker transfer paperwork submitted by schools.

Orange Lutheran principal Jack Preus and football coach Rod Sherman informed players and parents on Tuesday. Preus said as a result of this experience, his school will institute a “more rigorous process” of reviewing bills and visiting homes of transfer students before sending in paperwork for a valid change of residence.

Schools have started to submit transfer paperwork for basketball players, with the season beginning on Nov. 17, and that will be a good indication whether athletic directors and parents have learned lessons from what has been happening to football players.

A big change is that the Southern Section has been declaring players ineligible after accepting a school’s decision declaring the athlete eligible with a valid change of residence. If additional information becomes available, whether the student was cleared for a valid change of residence, they can be switched to ineligible. Same with students cleared after sit-out period athletes.

“We’re going to be different and do it right,” Sherman said.

Southern Section commissioner Mike West said last month, “We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork. It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

Orange Lutheran drops to 2-6 overall but is still considered a likely Division 1 playoff participant with its strength of schedule. It forfeited wins to Miami Northwestern and Rancho Cucamonga.

AMY HUNT is prioritising “medals over men” as she adapts to life as a superstar athlete.

The 23-year-old shot to fame last month after claiming a silver medal at the World Championships in Tokyo.

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Following her achievement, Hunt claimed that she would celebrate with some karaoke.

Quizzed what she’d be singing, the confident star said: “Probably Maneater.

“That’s really boring but I feel like that was the vibe tonight, just sexy and aggressive.”

Hunt, who has a degree in English Literature from Cambridge, continues to have her eyes firmly set on further prizes.

Speaking to The Times, the 200m specialist said: “Obviously, as a female athlete, you also have to plan when you think motherhood is a feasible thing for you.

“But the world is very open to me and I will get a sense of what I want to do when the moment is right.

“I actually always joke to my coach, ‘medals before men’, that’s the quote of the day!”

Hunt has not ruled out balancing her blossoming athletics career with further studies.

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She added: “I change my mind on it every year. Immediately after coming out of university I thought about the V&A and doing a Masters — with the hope of maybe going on to do a PhD, because I always thought being ‘Dr Amy’ would be pretty cool.

“But then my mind changed and I think I’d want to actually work at a museum or gallery and curate.

“But then I’m like, no, maybe I’d do a law conversion because a lot of my friends did a law conversion out of English.

“And then maybe I’d do that, or maybe an Amal Clooney kind of thing.

“So my mind is always changing on that and I think I’ll only decide when I get to the end.”

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Maybe this was a pressure-creating-diamonds situation.

Somehow in the 1930s, amid the immense stresses of economic collapse, natural disaster, Olympic anxiety and the looming shadow of World War II, Los Angeles built some of its best-loved architectural gems. The jaw-dropping lobby of the Pantages Theatre (1930), the hilltop domes of Griffith Observatory (1935), the grand halls of Union Station (1939) — all were produced in that harrowing decade.

How rough were the ’30s in L.A.? The Depression, beginning with the stock market crash in October 1929, put the brakes on new construction and farm production, pushing California unemployment to an estimated 28% in 1932. The City Council, meanwhile, was led by one of the most corrupt politicians in L.A. history, Mayor Frank Shaw.

The city did pull off the 1932 Summer Olympics, drawing a record 101,000 people to the Memorial Coliseum opening ceremony. But those Games drew only 1,332 athletes from 37 countries — half as many athletes as gathered for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.

In 1933, the Long Beach quake killed more than 100 people and destroyed at least 70 schools. The 19-story Los Angeles General Medical Center was completed (and after decades mostly idle, is now being repurposed).

In 1934 and 1938, major floods along the Los Angeles, Santa Ana and San Gabriel rivers took scores of lives and prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to build Hansen Dam in the San Fernando Valley and encase 51 miles of the L.A. River in a concrete channel.

Begun in 1936 and completed in 1959, that channel might be among the city’s largest and least attractive man-made landmarks — in the words of historian Kevin Starr, “A tombstone of concrete.” But it does its job.

As the city weathered these changes, its signature industry shrunk, then bloomed, as movies (priced at about 25 cents) distracted the masses. The arrival of color deepened the spell, as did blockbusters like 1939’s “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

The landmarks that went up during those years aren’t all great architectural innovations; many flow directly from the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne trends of the 1920s. But all carry hints about how Angelenos changed with the times.

As critic and author David Kipen has written: “If you don’t like the weather in San Francisco, they say, just wait five minutes. If you don’t like the architecture in Los Angeles, maybe give it ten.”

Here we take a year-by-year architectural stroll through the 1930s. You can enter most of these buildings, in some cases for free, in some cases by booking a tour, buying beer or seeing a show.

During his commissioner’s address on Thursday in Long Beach at the Southern Section Council meeting, Mike West said his office has become “very adept at identifying” fraudulent transfer information submitted by parents and schools in a message explaining why there has been an increase in declaring athletes ineligible for a two-year period for violation of CIF bylaw 202.

“We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork,” West said. “It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

Bishop Montgomery and Long Beach Millikan have been among the schools where football athletes were declared ineligible for two years after providing false paperwork information.

Addressing administrators and athletic directors, West said, “Talk to your athletes and parents when they come in for a valid change of residence. It’s OK to question it and OK to say no to a valid change of residence.”

Before the meeting, West was asked if he could say anything to educate parents going through the transfer process. “Don’t turn in fraudulent paperwork in order to gain eligibility,” he said.

It’s not just the Southern Section finding ways to detect false information. It’s also happening in Northern Calfornia, according to Brian Seymour, associate executive director of the CIF.

The real test for whether schools and parents adjust to what has been taking place during the football season comes when paperwork begins to arrive for basketball transfers next month.

Under CIF transfer rules, you have a one-time opportunity to have a sit-out period following a transfer over four years or the student must change residences with the entire family to be eligibile immediately.

The clip, featuring a Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft, was filmed at Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain. The zoomed-in footage, filmed from a terminal window, shows the ground staff member outside the plane’s rear door.

A baggage handler was caught on camera hurling luggage in scenes have left social media users divided.

The zoomed-in footage, filmed from a terminal window, shows the ground staff member outside the plane’s rear door. He can be seen catching items tossed by a colleague and flinging them on.

The clip, featuring a Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft, was filmed at Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain. The video-taker joked: “I’ll put this bottle of wine in the suitcase, I don’t think it’ll break…”

Social media users were quick to react to the clip. “This video should reach his company so they can see how well this man works,” one said.

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Milo Boyd

READ MORE: Ryanair passenger ‘stunned’ to receive ‘worst food ever’ on flight

Raquel questioned: “Is that what we pay for checked baggage for?” While Mónica vented: “This only happens in Spain. I’ve never seen luggage treated so badly anywhere else, it’s unbelievable. Almost every time we come back from a trip, the suitcases arrive wrecked.”

Analú said: “Honestly, that’s a disgrace. I’m sure there are plenty of unemployed people who would be happy to do that job properly.”

But not everyone was convinced the baggage handler was in the wrong.

“For those who’ve never flown or even seen a plane and criticise without knowing: they’re just taking out the blankets to clean the cabin, it’s not luggage,” one commenter pointed out.

Pablo added: “Suitcases aren’t unloaded at the passenger doors.” And Nicolás concluded: “Honestly, I think he’s doing everything right – he’s very efficient at his job.”

Madrid–Barajas Airport and Qatar Airways have been approached for comment.

The incident is not the only aviation-related outrage to ruffle feathers. Declan Minogue and his wife Claire Minogue, 61, were travelling back from Faro to Dublin Airport on 21 July after seven relaxing nights in Portugal. The 63-year-old felt a bit of hunger coming on, so he decided to order the £5.90 Hot Ham and Cheese Panini from a flight attendant.

However, it was not the hunger-busting snack he had hoped for. Decland claims he was ‘stunned’ to open it up and discover just one piece of ham and the ‘tiniest bit of cheese’ with no butter. Despite polishing off the ‘bland’ sandwich that he compared to ‘something out of Oliver Twist,’ Declan claims he was forced to buy more food when he landed because he was still hungry.

Taking to social media, the dad-of-two shared a photo of the sandwich captioned ‘shocking and insulting’.

Declan who lives in Lusk, Dublin, Ireland, said: “It was the worst airplane food ever. It was a massive rip off. I was shocked when I saw it. I got it and I opened it and couldn’t believe it so I took a picture. It had two slices of ham and the tiniest bit of cheese and the cheese was like butter. There was no substance to it. I was stunned.”

If Kerley were to run quicker than Usain Bolt’s 100m record of 9.58 seconds, he would receive $1m (£730,000) in prize money from the Enhanced Games.

Earlier this month, Olympic swimmer Ben Proud became the first British athlete to sign up, despite World Aquatics being the first international sport federation to ban athletes, coaches and officials from its events if they have taken part in the competition.

An athlete commission from UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) described the Enhanced Games as a “reckless venture” which could “damage the integrity of world sport irrevocably.”

In January, Kerley was tasered and arrested by police following a confrontation with officers in Miami but said later in May it was down to a “misunderstanding”.

He was reported to have been arrested for allegedly punching his former girlfriend and fellow athlete Alaysha Johnson in the face.

As well as his bronze in Paris, Kerley also won 100m silver at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

He has also won world 4x100m and 4x400m gold medals, and recorded the sixth-fastest 100m time in history with 9.76 seconds.

SEB COE believes Keely Hodgkinson can be Britain’s greatest-ever athlete.

Hodgkinson is now in Japan for the World Athletics Championships — a year after she won Olympic 800 metres gold.

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Twice she has missed out on the world title over two laps.

But 23-year-old Hodgkinson remains determined to add the crown to her Olympic and European successes.

Given that the Leigh athlete also wants to break the 42-year-old world record in her event, then the sky really is the limit for the next decade.

Asked if she could become the greatest track-and-field star Britain has ever produced, World Athletics chief Lord Coe said: “Yeah, she absolutely could.

“I have no doubt about that. Absolutely, for sure. She could end up at the top of the heap internationally if she goes on.

“Touch wood, she’s got many athletics seasons ahead of her. And she’s also got good coaches in Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter.

“Those guys know what they’re doing. It’s a really good example of British coaching at its best.

“I have spoken to her enough times to know that, mentally, she’s mahogany hard. She really is.

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“She wants to end her athletics career at the top of the heap — and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t.”

Hodgkinson opened her season on August 16 having not competed for 376 days following two hamstring injuries.

And her time of 1min 54.74sec in Poland  — the best in the world so far this year — was described by Coe as “unbelievable”.

In her next appearance, four days later in the driving rain of Lausanne, Switzerland, she posted a winning mark of 1:55.69.

British middle-distance legend Coe, 68, a double 1500m Olympic champion himself, admitted: “You just have to marvel at how she has come back.

“To be out injured and then basically you first set foot on the track and you’re running 1:54… 

“We’ve been saying for a long time, she is the real deal. What was clever was doing two races back to back.

“She was clearly testing out a thesis: did she have enough in the tank to go back-to-back? That is what she’s going to be asked to do in Tokyo.

“The answer was a resounding ‘Yes’. She’s in good nick.”

The nine-day World  Championships begin on Saturday and are being staged in the same national stadium which hosted the Covid-hit Olympics four years ago.

However, Coe insists there are contingency plans in place in case the event is impacted by typhoons in the Far East.

Severe weather saw three matches cancelled during the Rugby World Cup in Japan six years ago.

The British boss added: “Let’s hope there isn’t one!

“We do have full meteorological prediction and predictive teams out there at the moment.”

Olympic swimmer Ben Proud has become the first British athlete to join the controversial Enhanced Games – but says he would never do anything to undermine ‘clean’ sport.

Proud, 30, is a world and European champion at 50m freestyle, and won silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

But he has now committed to an event which allows athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs.

He never won Olympic gold or broke the 50m freestyle world record, which has stood since 2009, but feels that the Enhances Games “give me a new opportunity to continue this pursuit and see how far I can take things”.

Asked if he thinks the event undermines clean sport, Proud told BBC Sport: “No. I think it opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way.

“Speaking for myself, I think realistically I’ve achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced [Games] is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don’t think that’s undermining a clean sport.

“I really respect the sport I’ve been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I’ve done something which isn’t in the rules.”

Proud has previously supported UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week while British team-mates Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott have been outspoken against doping.

Proud said he sees ‘traditional sport’ and the Enhanced Games as “two very separate entities”, and that he found athletes breaking the rules “incredibly frustrating”.

“I see doping in clean sports as a complete no-go,” he said. “I don’t have any time for that.

“The fact it’s still happening is a problem. It’ll always be a cat and mouse game, there will always be people developing new techniques or people getting away with things.

“That’s one thing that has ruined sport for a lot of people. The anti-doping agencies just don’t have the ability to completely make sure everyone is clean and on a level playing field, and that to me has always been the biggest frustration.

“If you were part of my life for the past 12, 13 years, you’d see how much time you have to allocate to making sure we’re available to be tested on a daily basis, making sure we’re constantly giving our samples.”

BBC Sport has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for comment.

Wada’s latest Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) report, external was published in July, covering 2022. It said that from 241,143 samples, 1,979 (0.82%) were reported to be adverse findings, of which 1,376 (69.5%) resulted in an ADRV.

Andrew Rodriguez first picked up a golf club when he was 3. Now that he’s an 18-year-old senior at La Serna High, golf has become his passion.

He’s heading to New York to compete in the championship event of Steph Curry’s UNDERRATED Golf Tour in the Curry Cup on Sept. 10-12.

UNDERRATED Golf was created to provide equity, access and opportunities to athletes from every community. Rodriguez earned his spot in the final with a second-place finish at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick, Ind.

He helped La Serna win the Southern Section Division 1 title last spring and has committed to Long Beach State.

He said the UNDERRATED Tour has been especially helpful for his family in saving money for travel and course expenses.

“It’s definitely been a big sacrifice for them,” he said. “It’s a huge help to myself and my family. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

He’s excited about his senior year at La Serna.

“I have a bunch of buddies I’ve been playing with since I was little,” he said. “We’re making memorable moments with each other. I love competing as a team with my friends.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Coco Gauff was struggling for the second time in as many matches this week at the U.S. Open.

At one point during her second-round match against Donna Vekic on Thursday in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s No. 3-ranked player became overwhelmed and couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

Gauff played through it all, however, and advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory. She became emotional again afterward as she thanked the crowd for its support.

“You really helped me a lot,” the two-time major championship winner said during her post-match interview.

Gauff indicated that one member of the crowd in particular provided extra inspiration during the match — U.S. gymnastics legend Simone Biles. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist has been open about her mental health struggles during a career in which she has also won 23 world titles.

“Honestly, I saw her and … she helped me pull it out,” said Gauff, who later told reporters that her “Mount Rushmore of athletes” consisted of Biles and tennis legend Serena Williams. “I was just thinking if she could go on a six-inch beam and do that, with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball in this 75 — I don’t know how big this court is.

Coco Gauff reacts after defeating Donna Vekic during the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday in New York.

(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

“So, yeah, I saw her late in the second getting interviewed by ESPN and, yeah, it brought me a little bit of calm, just knowing her story, with all the things she went through mentally. So, she’s an inspiration, surely, and her presence definitely did help me today.”

During her in-match interview with ESPN’s Katie George, Biles said she came to the U.S. Open specifically to watch Gauff.

“She’s incredible, amazing, and it’s like, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Biles said. “It’s just such a privilege to watch her on home soil and watch Black Girl Magic.”

Soon after the match, the two athletes had the opportunity to meet.

“Gymnastics is so different, so I just wanted to scream, ‘Go, Coco!’” Biles told Gauff. “But then they were like, ‘Maybe not right now.’ And I was like, ‘Got it.’ But congrats. I love watching you, everything you do.”

The winner of the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 French Open told her idol: “You’re such an inspiration. Like, seriously. What I said in the [on-court] interview, I was thinking about that literally.

“My mom did gymnastics on a way lower level than you. And so, she was like, ‘If I can focus on that, then you can do that.’ So, I was like, ‘OK, I guess you’re right.’ … You’re an inspiration, seriously.”

It’s year No. 49 covering high school sports in Southern California. Let me tell you how it started.

Cut from the Madison Junior High basketball team, I discovered writing for the school newspaper offered more power and influence than sitting on a bench. Everyone likes to see their name mentioned, so now I knew I had a big responsibility going forward.

It was the time of Watergate and new heroes such as journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovering corruption at the highest level, inspiring future journalists. While attending Poly High in Sun Valley, Pete Kokon, the sports editor of the San Fernando Sun, offered to pay me $15 a week to write a story about high school sports. It was the first lesson of a sportswriter — don’t worry about the money, bask in the spotlight of having your name appear in a byline.

Kokon was the most entertaining character I’ve ever met. He owned an apartment building in Sherman Oaks and lived in his “penthouse,” which consisted of entering a screen door that was never locked and seeing a small room on the top floor. He’d leave his keys in his unlocked car under a mat. He used to cuss out Ronald Reagan whenever his name was mentioned. He taught me how to bet at the race track, saying, “Give me a dollar,” before going to the window to place a $2 bet.

Eric Sondheimer giving a speech in 1989 at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame at Knollwood Country Club.

(Bob Messina Photography)

He taught me how to play golf, inviting me to Woodland Hills Country Club and shouting out his club ID number to pay for everything from food to shirts to drinks. He’d write all his stories on an ancient Royal typewriter. He smoked cigars and once was a boxing promoter. Two of his best friends were Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Bob Waterfield, fellow Van Nuys High graduates. Everyone knew him, appreciated him and feared him whenever he got angry.

Pete Kokon covered high school sports in the San Fernando Valley for more than 60 years.

(Valley Times)

For more than 60 years, he covered high school sports. I never thought I’d challenge his record. But after becoming a stringer for the Daily News in 1976 and being hired full time in 1980 after turning down the job of sports information director at Cal State Northridge, I learned there was a need to cover local sports and it became my passion to make a difference. Yes, I’ve covered the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the 1984 Olympic Games, the World Series, the Rose Bowl, the Breeders’ Cup, the Little League World Series, but nothing has provided more satisfaction than telling the stories of teenagers rising up in the face of adversity or overcoming doubts from peers to succeed.

There have been tough stories through the years. I’ll never forget staying awake until 11:30 p.m. to see the lead story on ESPN SportsCenter detailing possible NCAA rule violations by the University of Kentucky after a package sent to a high school basketball star in Los Angeles had money inside. That was a story helped by others at the Daily News.

I’ve always treated high school sports as different than college or pros. These are teenagers, with criticism of coaches and athletes mostly off limits. But times are changing. Players are getting paid. Coaches are engaging in ethical lapses. It’s a growing challenge. I will continue to respect the tradition of high school sports being about having fun but insist on rules being followed.

Eric Sondheimer interviews Corona Centennial’s Eric Freeny at the end of the state championship in Sacramento in March 2022. Freeny is now a freshman at UCLA.

(Nick Koza)

There are so many stories of coaches getting mad. Sometimes it takes time for them to understand I’m just trying to do my job as a fair, dedicated journalist who understands my responsibilities and remembers my role.

Let me give an example. At one point years ago, Sylmar basketball coach Bort Escorto stopped reporting scores. Maybe it had something to do with writing about transfers. Maybe not. But today, he always answers my calls, “I didn’t do it.”

You know you’ve won any argument when someone claims your bias for one school over another. That used to be the weekly debate years ago among Crespi and Notre Dame fans. Signs were made, barbs were shouted. It made me laugh. Now it’s about sharing selfies.

What keeps me coming back every season are the many new stories to tell. No area has a larger, more diverse collection of top athletes from a variety of sports than Southern California.

Eric Sondheimer interviews sophomore Tajh Ariza after a basketball game in 2022.

(Nick Koza)

There was a time more than a year ago that I got frustrated with the negativity going on in the world. I needed to do something to change my perspective. That’s when I vowed to write something positive every day about high school sports. Prep Talk was created to help inspire me and hopefully others that a positive message can break through in an era of social media nonsense.

To the readers through the years, you’ve helped me stay employed and stay dedicated to telling stories that resonate around the Southland. Newspapers are in trouble, but I can only control what I can control, so thank you for being loyal customers at a time of upheaval.

Eric Sondheimer interviews coach Ed Azzam of Westchester in 2020.

(Nick Koza)

Through the years as technology changed, I’ve adapted, such as sprinting from games to find a rotary telephone in a locked P.E. office or driving to a phone booth to call in a story under deadline pressure. I’ve climbed fences after being locked in as the last person in a stadium. I’ve sat on a gym floor in darkness writing a story. One night at Bishop Alemany, I lost my cellphone on the football field. I was ready to throw up in embarrassment. The athletic director, Randy Thompson, found it. My story was saved. I’ve learned to take videos and shoot photos and speak in front of audiences (thank you to speech class 101 at CSUN).

Today’s world for high school sports reporters is about not getting kicked out by security after games when everyone has left and staying calm when security doesn’t want to let you in before games or on a sideline with a press pass to do your job. Common sense is disappearing in the name of following orders.

I already have gold passes from the Southern Section and City Section, which means if I step away, I’ll still be able to attend events.

When and how this ends has yet to be decided. Pete Kokon died at age 85 in 1998 when he was found with his TV on and the channel tuned to ESPN in his penthouse apartment.

As long as a level of professionalism remains among stakeholders, I will continue to do my best to tell stories. My job is about serving the public, not myself, and that will be my mission forever.

With the high school sports season resuming, it can’t be stressed enough about the importance of schools having athletic trainers to help keep athletes safe when emergencies happen.

That was never more evident than last spring during a track and field meet at Culver City High.

At the end of a 400-meters freshman race, a runner dropped to the ground on his chest near the finish line. The initial impression by most observers was just another exhausted athlete from a grueling race.

Culver City first-year athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas, fresh out of graduating from Cal State Northridge, was immediately on the scene to evaluate. That’s when things got serious.

“He didn’t have a pulse,” Rivas said.

He determined the athlete from Inglewood High was in full cardiac arrest.

He instructed one of his assistants to call 911 and the other to retrieve the AED defibrillator. He started compressions. He hooked up the unresponsive athlete to the automatic defibrillator. It advised one shock. Rivas pushed the button. It worked. The shock brought the athlete back.

Paramedics arrived within five minutes to take over and transport him to the hospital. The athlete would learn he needed a pacemaker. The quick action by the athletic trainer helped save him.

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas of Culver City.

(George Laase)

“This was my first cardiac arrest,” the 28-year-old Rivas said. “I was super stressful. Honestly, I went on auto pilot. My main goal was to get this kid help as fast as possible.”

The majority of high schools don’t have athletic trainers. In the City Section, there’s only 12 out of 71 that have 11-man football teams.

Adam Cady, an athletic trainer for Kaiser Permanente, has started a nonprofit trying to help athletes gain access to trainers.

“It’s super important,” Rivas said of schools having an athletic trainer.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Mattia Debertolis discovered unconscious during an orienteering event in Chengdu on August 8 and died four days later.

Italian orienteering athlete Mattia Debertolis died on Tuesday after being found unresponsive during competition at the World Games in China’s Chengdu, organisers have said.

The 29-year-old was discovered unconscious during an orienteering event on August 8 and died four days later, said a joint statement from World Games organisers and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).

The World Games is a multisport event held every four years for disciplines not included in the Olympics.

“Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China’s leading medical institutions, he passed away,” the statement said.

It did not provide details on the cause of death.

The event took place in intense heat and humidity, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Orienteering sees athletes navigate an unmarked course with a map and compass, punching in at designated spots along the route in the quickest time.

Debertolis, from Primiero in eastern Italy, was taking part in the final of the men’s middle-distance, the first medal event of the Games.

The 6km (3.7-mile-) course featured 180 metres (590ft) of ascent and 20 control points that athletes must visit.

Footage from the World Games’ social media accounts showed athletes running through crop fields and villages on a largely rural course.

The winner, Switzerland’s Riccardo Rancan, completed the course in 45 minutes and 22 seconds.

“I needed to acclimatise quickly with hot and humid conditions. I think I managed quite well,” Chinese state media quoted Rancan as saying.

Debertolis was listed as “Did Not Finish” in official results, along with 11 other athletes.

He was ranked 137th in the men’s Orienteering World Rankings and had been competing since 2014, according to the IOF website.

He participated in several World Championships and World Cups as part of the Italian team.

Alongside his training, Debertolis was studying for a PhD at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he lived.

President of the Italian Orienteering Federation (FISO), Alfio Giomi, invited the national team to wear black armbands while competing in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, which begin on Tuesday in Poland.

Debertolis’ family had agreed that “athletes will be able to participate in the competitions in Mattia’s name and memory,” Giomi said in an online statement.

World Games organisers and the IOF were “struck by this tragedy and extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the athlete and the whole orienteering community”, the joint statement read.

“Our thoughts are with those touched by this event.”

Organisers will “continue to support the family of Mattia Debertolis and the orienteering community in every possible way”, it added.

This is the 12th edition of the World Games, and it runs until August 17, with approximately 4,000 athletes competing in 253 events.

Jonathan Hertwig-Ødegaard has opened up about his journey as an openly gay athlete.

On 1 August, the Norwegian decathlete sat for an interview with Norway’s public radio and TV broadcaster NRK, where he discussed coming out and why it shouldn’t get so much “attention.”

“I think it’s great that you can be a role model, but at the same time, I hope in the long run that it doesn’t have to be necessary, and that it gets so much publicity and attention,” he revealed.

Hertwig-Ødegaard went on to discuss the current state of coming out as a gay athlete and how there is a “bit of a wrong focus.”

“The problem is perhaps that among athletes, people talk about ‘it’s so brave and tough’ when people come forward,” the 20-year-old explained.

“I feel that there is a bit of a wrong focus, that the responsibility should not lie with individuals. I think it is the responsibility of society at large to facilitate that people are comfortable being open about their sexuality, also as athletes.”

While Hertwig-Ødegaard doesn’t want massive amounts of attention focused on his gay identity, he did reflect on how having more openly queer athletes could have positively impacted him during his formative years.

“I think it would have helped me as a young boy or young athlete. Not necessarily to have someone to look up to, but just to see that it is completely normal to be gay and be a top athlete. Because it is,” he told the news outlet.

Towards the end of his interview, the young decathlete exclaimed that he was “proud and happy” to be gay and if others have an issue with his sexuality, “it’s their problem.”

Two weeks before his recent sit-down, Hertwig-Ødegaard made massive waves at the European Athletics U23 Championships, dominating six out of ten events and scoring 8,002 points, a personal best.

Alongside his recent feat, he is ranked 81st in the world in the decathlon rankings, has won the Norwegian Under-20 title three times, and is preparing to attend the University of Texas, where he will compete for NCAA titles.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Hertwig-Ødegaard. 

Megan Romano announced as first female competitor at 2026 debut of Olympic-style Enhanced Games in Las Vegas.

The Olympic-style sport venture that will run an event next year with no drug testing signed world-champion swimmer Megan Romano as its first female and first US athlete.

The Enhanced Games will debut next May in Las Vegas, featuring swimming, track and weightlifting competitions in an event that will allow athletes to use performance enhancers.

Romano calls competing in the event “an opportunity to push the boundaries of human performance in a transparent and scientifically-backed environment, and to compete on a stage where female athletes are valued and compensated fairly. equally. I believe this is the future of sport.”

The Enhanced Games will offer a prize purse of $500,000 for each event, with $1m bonuses going to anyone who breaks a world record in the 100-metre sprint (track) and 50-metre freestyle (swimming).

Those marks would not count as “official”, because world records need to be ratified by international federations, which require record-breakers to pass doping tests.

The International Olympic Committee has condemned the concept of the Enhanced Games, saying, “If you want to destroy any concept of fair play and fair competition in sport, this would be a good way to do it.”

But the games have built some momentum and raised money in the “double-digit millions,” according to founder Aron D’Souza.

Four male swimmers, including Olympic medallist James Magnussen of Australia, have committed to the games.

Romano, a standout swimmer at Georgia in college, anchored the US 4×100 freestyle relay team to a gold medal at world championships in 2013.

It’s a chaotic time in college sports, the rules seeming to change daily and some athletes making nearly as much money as their coaches.

At UCLA, the revenue-sharing era officially starts Friday. Athletes will undoubtedly keep refreshing their PayPal accounts to check for that first payment from the pot of $20.5 million that will be distributed in the first year.

Meanwhile, Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond will be keeping tabs on another bottom line — following up a successful Big Ten debut with something far bigger.

Having tallied 10 conference championships between the Big Ten and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation — more than any other Big Ten school — UCLA could be poised for a breakthrough in its two marquee sports as part of a potentially historic year across the board for its athletic department.

The football team landed transfer Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee and the men’s basketball team brought in Donovan Dent from New Mexico, giving UCLA perhaps its best quarterback-point guard combination since Josh Rosen and Lonzo Ball nearly a decade ago.

“If you look at our athletic program,” Jarmond, who recently completed his fifth year on the job, told The Times, “there’s an energy and buzz that I feel we haven’t had since I’ve been here, and that’s why I’m most positive now.”

At a recent player-run practice on campus, Jarmond watched Iamaleava step up in the pocket and fire a 50-yard pass down the sideline to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer.

“Nico made a play that I don’t know how many other guys in the country could make,” Jarmond said, “and I was like, ‘whoa.’ Like, that’s pretty cool, you know?”

There’s lots of intrigue to behold in Westwood these days.

Fresh off a Final Four run, the women’s basketball team bolstered itself with the additions of sharpshooter Gianna Kneepkens, a highly coveted transfer from Utah, and freshman Sienna Betts, the younger sister of All-America center Lauren Betts. Oh, and don’t forget that softball slugger Megan Grant will make Pauley Pavilion a second home as part of her bid to become a two-sport standout.

Grant will also once again combine with Jordan Woolery as perhaps the nation’s top-hitting duo in their bid to help the softball team not only make it back to the Women’s College World Series but win the whole thing this time.

The baseball team that just made the College World Series is bringing back shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the probable No. 1 pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, and recently learned that high school pitcher Angel Cervantes will play for the Bruins next season instead of the Pittsburgh Pirates after contract negotiations ended with the recent draftee. Jarmond said he was confident the team could continue to play at Jackie Robinson Stadium in 2026 after a judge issued a stay of legal proceedings that threatened to force the Bruins to go elsewhere.

The men’s water polo team will try to defend its national championship with Ryder Dodd trying to top a season in which the freshman scored a MPSF-record 102 goals.

After finishing as runner-up to national champion Oklahoma, the women’s gymnastics team will welcome a top recruiting class plus the return of two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles.

Jarmond said he appreciates working for a university administration that understands the importance of supporting a strong Olympic sports program, particularly with the 2028 Summer Olympics headed to Los Angeles.

UCLA’s Jordan Chiles competes on the floor exercise during the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships in Fort Worth on April 17.

(Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)

“This is the time to continue to invest in our Olympic sports and make sure that we have the excellence that UCLA is known for,” Jarmond said, “and we’re going to uphold that tradition.”

Unlike other schools that have imposed student fees to help offset rising athletic department costs upon the onset of revenue sharing, UCLA officials have not discussed such a move, Jarmond said. The Bruins will instead focus on revenue generation through fundraising, ticket sales, sponsorships and new creative endeavors.

The school plans to partner with an outside firm to help its athletes with content creation to boost their social media following, making them more attractive to brands that could hire them for name, image and likeness deals.

Jarmond said he’s not aware of any NIL deals involving UCLA athletes being rejected by the new College Sports Commission, though there remains a backlog of deals under review. Deals of $600 or more are evaluated by a clearinghouse called NIL Go to ensure they represent fair market value and a legitimate business purpose.

UCLA football coach Deshaun Foster speaks to reporters during Big Ten media days in Las Vegas.

(Louis Grasse / Getty Images)

The role of collectives in offering additional compensation to athletes beyond revenue sharing continues to evolve as part of a shift away from what was previously considered a hard cap on earnings.

“I’m optimistic that it’s going to work out,” Jarmond said of maximizing earnings opportunities for athletes. “I’m optimistic that we will adapt to whatever situation that presents itself based on hard cap, soft cap, whatever cap.”

UCLA is also strengthening the infrastructure of its men’s and women’s basketball teams with the hiring of an assistant general manager for each sport to help with recruiting and navigating the transfer portal.

When it comes to revenue sharing payments, Jarmond said he’s leaving it up to coaches to dictate how much each player makes. Football coach DeShaun Foster said he divvied up his team’s money based on talent, with general manager Khary Darlington and assistant general manager Steven Price assigning values for each player based on previous NFL front office experience dealing with salary structures.

“They loved that we had people explaining to them how you’re getting this money or why you’re not getting this money,” Foster said of his players, “and I think that resonated with them.”

Across all sports, the Bruins are seeking a strong encore after an initial Big Ten season that saw the school place fifth in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings, its best finish since 2018. UCLA athletes posted what Jarmond called a “phenomenal” 3.22 grade-point average through winter quarter (the latest for which figures are available) despite the travel challenges presented by playing in a coast-to-coast conference.

For UCLA athletics to reach the heights that Jarmond wants, its football and men’s basketball teams must win big, and he believes the coaches and influx of talent on each of those teams will give them a chance to do so next season.

Iamaleava’s arrival has generated heightened excitement about a football team that went 5-7 in Foster’s debut season. Jarmond said two recruits he met with on their campus visits mentioned the quarterback as one of the reasons they wanted to come to UCLA.

“You know, we just have more interest and buzz, and it’s cool,” Jarmond said. “I think DeShaun has created that, and Nico and the guys.”

What excites Jarmond most is the potential to be on a victory lap that’s picking up speed.

“This is a great time for UCLA athletics,” Jarmond said, “and I feel like it’s just the beginning.”

A DRAGON’S Den winner and former Team GB gold medallist fraudulently used Covid loans to buy himself a £1.8million mansion.

Rick Beardsell illegally pocketed £100,000 worth of taxpayers cash to purchase his home – despite receiving a £75,000 investment during his stint on the BBC show.

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The 46-year-old fiddled two Covid Bounce Back loans to buy himself five-bed Holly House in the exclusive village of Prestbury, Cheshire.

Dad-of-two Beardsell was only entitled to apply for one loan worth £50,000, but fraudulently applied for two and greatly exaggerated his annual turnover by up to 23 times.

It came after the world champion sprinter had successfully secured investments from TV Dragons Tej Lalvani and Deborah Meaden for his successful protein shake bottle business, ShakeSphere.

Chester Crown Court heard he applied for the loan to prop up his other company, Sports Creative Ltd, but none of the money went towards the sportswear business.

Prosecutor Geoff Whealan told the court Beardsell made the fraudulent applications to HSBC in December 2020 and then to NatWest in January 2021.

He said: ”The defendant stated on the HSBC form that the turnover of Sports Creative was £485,000 and on the NatWest form said it was £320,000.

“But unaudited financial statements showed turnover for the year end February 2020 was £20,622.

”The turnover was clearly exaggerated to secure the maximum bounce back loan.

“Subsequent transactions showed the bounce back loan funds were not being used for the economic benefit or business purposes of Sports Creative at this time.”

The money arrived in Sports Creative’s account in January 2021, but then almost £400,000 was transferred to Beardsell’s personal Santander account in the space of six months.

Then £431,160.80, including the remaining bounce back loan funds, was transferred to a firm of solicitors for the purchase of Holly House he bought with his wife Ezster.

Mr Whelan added: ”In effect the bounce back loan funds had been used for this purchase.

“It can be inferred from the defendant’s conduct that it was his intention to use the bounce back loans for this purpose at the time he made the application for it.”

Beardsell, who won two World Records for sprinting, faced three years in jail after he admitted two charges of fraud.

In October 2024, he attended an interview under caution at the Insolvency Services offices.

In a statement he said: ”The guidance pertaining to Bounce Back Loans indicated that the proceeds of such loans may be utilised for any purpose that yields a direct benefit to the company.

”At that juncture, I sought professional advice and was advised that such purposes include, but are not limited to, the coverage of overhead expenses or outstanding liabilities, as well as the investment in company assets or property.

“The funds that were transferred to my personal account constituted a director’s loan and other economical overheads for the business.”

Mitigating, his counsel Nichola Cafferkey explained that the loans had been repaid in full to the banks.

She said: ”The loss of his good character is of some significance in respect of a man who has dedicated his life to his family, his professional entities and also his sporting endeavours.

“These offences were out of character and were committed four years ago.

“He has taken responsibility and repaid the money back. He knows that it’s his own fault.

“He has brought shame on his family and brought shame on himself.

”His wife is also his business partner and concerns that they have had about the ability to provide financially for their young children have been significant.”

The court also heard that Beardsell had suffered a series of medical issues both before and after securing the loans.

Ms Cafferkey continued: “A year prior to the submission of the first loan application, the defendant was diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer and required surgery and extensive chemotherapy.

“The chemotherapy was successful but led to some significant side effects.

”One of those being vertigo, of which he had a severe episode which required hospitalisation and thereafter there are ongoing long-term issues as a result of that.

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“The investigations brought on by the defendant’s own actions has had an impact on his family which has led to a situation where he has been experiencing significant stress over the past few years.

“On top of that there are ongoing knee pains associated with his athletic success at national and international level.

“He has been running a business for many years without issue and it is plain he is extremely remorseful and regretful for his actions.

“The impact on his wife’s physical health in terms of stress and strain has been significant. There has been significant weight loss and insomnia.

“This will be the only time that Richard Beardsell appears before the court.”

Beardsell was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £11,142.70.

Judge Simon Berkson told Beardsell: “You fraudulently lied and lied again in your applications for these loans.

“They were supposed to be for use in keeping your business running but the money was used for your own personal needs and the needs of your family.

“This is not a victimless crime. The government was trying to help struggling businesses at the time of national crisis.

“People were in lock down, people were dying and people were very ill at the time when people required their public services.

“You used fraudulently obtained public funds for your own use, depriving honest people of the scheme’s funds when the country was in crisis.

“You are a generally successful man both in business and in sports, particularly your involvement with athletics.

“You continue to run your business and it was on the TV programme Dragons’ Den.

“You are a married person with two children and they are young children. You have survived an aggressive form of cancer.

“I have concluded that an immediate custodial sentence would have a significant harmful impact on your wife and children.”

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Keith Meister is worried. The 63-year-old orthopedic surgeon feels as if he’s screaming into a void, his expert opinion falling on deaf ears.

Meister, whose slight Southern twang sweeps into conversation through his 20-plus-year career in the Lone Star State as the Texas Rangers’ team physician, is a leading voice in baseball’s pitching-injury epidemic. Meister wants the sport to err on the side of caution and create change to save pitchers’ arms. The trend, Meister says, stems from the industry-wide push to increase speed, spin and break at all costs.

While MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Assn. bicker about what’s causing the problem and how to solve it, the doctor provides his perspective. He just wants the 17-year-old high schooler, the 23-year-old college pitcher, and the 32-year-old MLB veteran to stop showing up at his office.

“It’s not going to change at the lower levels until it changes at the highest level,” Meister said in a phone interview. “I don’t see a motivation within Major League Baseball to change anything that would enhance the level of safety.”

MLB asked Meister to sit on a committee examining the growth in pitcher injuries about 18 months ago, he said. Meister says the committee never met. (MLB did not respond to a request for comment about the committee.)

Injury is among the biggest risks for youth pitchers looking for the all-too-sought-after faster fastball. Their quest to emulate their heroes, such as hard-throwing veteran starters and stars Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom, has caused them to need the same surgeries as the pros.

Trickling down, it’s the teenager, the budding pitching prospect desperate to land his Division I scholarship, who is hurt the most. MLB teams wave around multimillion-dollar signing bonuses for the MLB Draft. Those same pitchers hurt their elbows after pushing their abilities to the extreme, calling into action surgeons such as Meister.

“It’s an even bigger problem than it appears,” said David Vaught, a baseball historian, author and history professor at Texas A&M. “This goes back into high school or before that, this notion that you throw as hard as possible. … It’s so embedded, embedded in the baseball society.”

Tommy John surgery saves careers. But as pitchers across baseball push for higher velocity, more hurlers are going under the knife — for a first time, a second time and in some instances, a third or fourth procedure.

MLB pitching velocity steadily rose from 2008 to 2023, with average fastball velocity going from 91.9 mph to 94.2. According to Meister, the total number of elbow ligament surgeries in professional baseball in 2023 was greater than in the 1990s altogether. A 2015 study revealed 56.8% of Tommy John surgeries are for athletes in the 15- to 19-year-old age range.

“It’s like the soldiers on the front lines — they come into the tent with bullet wounds,” Meister said. “You take the bullets out, you patch them back up and you send them back out there to get shot up again.”

“It’s like the soldiers on the front lines — they come into the tent with bullet wounds,” Orthopedic surgeon Keith Meister said about performing Tommy John surgeries. “You take the bullets out, you patch them back up and you send them back out there to get shot up again.”

(Tom Fox / The Dallas Morning News)

MLB released a report on pitcher injuries in December 2024. The much-anticipated study concluded that increased pitching velocity, “optimizing stuff” — which MLB defines as movement characteristics of pitches (spin, vertical movement and horizontal movement) — and pitchers using maximum effort were the “most significant” causes of the increase in arm injuries.

Meister was interviewed for the report. He knew all that years ago. He was yelling from the proverbial rooftop as MLB took more than a year (the league commissioned the study in 2023) to conclude what the doctor considered basic knowledge.

“Nothing there that hadn’t been talked about before, and no suggestion for what needs to be changed,” Meister said to The Times Wednesday.

Although pitching development labs such as Driveline Baseball and Tread Athletics provide fresh ideas, Meister said he does not entirely blame them for the epidemic.

It’s basic economics. There’s a demand for throwing harder and the industry is filling the void.

However, Meister sees the dramatic increase in velocity for youth pitchers, such as a 10-mph boost in velocity within six months, as dangerous.

“That’s called child abuse,” Meister said. “The body can’t accommodate. It just can’t. It’s like taking a Corolla and dropping a Ferrari engine in it and saying, ‘Go ahead and drive that car, take it on the track, put the gas pedal to the metal and ask for that car to hold itself together.’ It’s impossible.”

On the other end of the arm-injury epidemic is the player lying on his back, humming along to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” as an air-cast-like device engulfs his arm, pressurizing the forearm and elbow.

The noise of the giant arm sleeve fills the room of Beimel Elite Athletics, a baseball training lab based in Torrance — owned by former MLB pitcher Joe Beimel. It generates Darth Vader-like noises, compressing up and down with a Krissshhhh Hhhwoooo… Krissshhhh Hhhwoooo.

Greg Dukeman, a Beimel Elite Athletics pitching coach whose 6-foot-8 frame towers over everyone in the facility, quipped that the elbow of the pitcher undergoing treatment was “barking.”

For professional and youth players alike, this technology, along with red-light therapy — a non-intrusive light treatment that increases cellular processes to heal tissue — and periodic ice baths, is just one example of how Beimel attempts to treat athletes as they tax their bodies, hoping to heal micro-tears in the arm without surgical intervention.

With little to no research publicly available on how high-velocity-and-movement training methods are hurting or — albeit highly unlikely — helping pitchers’ elbows and shoulders, Meister said, it’s often free rein with little — if any — guardrails.

Josh Mitchell, director of player development at Beimel’s Torrance lab, said that’s not exactly the case in their baseball performance program. Beimel will only work with youth athletes who are ready to take the next step, he said.

“You got the 9- and 10-year-olds, they’re not ready yet,” Mitchell said. “The 13- and 14-year-olds, before they graduate out of the youth and into our elite program, we’ll introduce the [velocity] training because they’re going to get it way more in that next phase.”

Beimel uses motion capture to provide pitching feedback, and uses health technology that coincides with its athletes having to self-report daily to track overexertion and determine how best to use their bodies.

Their goal is to provide as much support to their athletes as possible, using their facilities as a gym, baseball lab and pseudo health clinic.

Joe Beimel pitched for eight teams, including the Dodgers, over the course of a 13-year career.

(Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)

Mitchell knows the pleasure and pain of modern-day pitching development. The Ridgway, Pa., native’s professional career was waning at the Single-A level before the Minnesota Twins acquired him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.

The Twins, Mitchell said, embraced the cutting-edge technique of pitching velocity, seeing improvements across the board as he reached the Double-A level for the first time in his career in 2021. But Mitchell, whose bushy beard and joking personality complement a perpetually smiling visage, turned serious when explaining the end of his career.

“I’m gonna do what I know is gonna help me get bigger, stronger, faster,” said Mitchell, who jumped from throwing around 90 miles per hour to reaching as high as 98 mph on the radar gun. “And I did — to my arm’s expense, though.”

Mitchell underwent two Tommy John surgeries in less than a year and a half.

Mitchell became the wounded soldier that Meister so passionately recounted. Now, partially because of advanced training methods, youth athletes are more likely to visit that proverbial medic’s tent.

“There’s a saying around [young] baseball players that if you’re not throwing like, over 80 miles per hour and you’re not risking Tommy John, you’re not throwing hard enough,” said Daniel Acevedo, an orthopedic surgeon based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., who mostly sees youth-level athletes.

In MLB’s report, an independent pitching development coach, who was unnamed, blamed “baseball society” for creating a velocity obsession. That velocity obsession has become a career route, an industry, a success story for baseball development companies across the country.

Driveline focuses on the never-ending “how” of baseball development. How can the pitcher throw harder, with more break, or spin? And it’s not just the pitchers. How can the hitter change his swing pattern to hit the ball farther and faster? Since then, baseball players from across levels have flocked to Driveline’s facilities and those like it to learn how to improve and level up.

“Maybe five or six years ago, if you throw 90-plus, you have a shot to play beyond college,” said Dylan Gargas, Arizona pitching coordinator for Driveline Baseball. “Now that barrier to entry just keeps getting higher and higher because guys throw harder.”

MLB players have even ditched their clubs midseason in hopes to unlock something to improve their pitching repertoire. Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler left the Dodgers last season to test himself at the Cressey Sports Performance training center near Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., before returning to eventually pitch the final out of the 2024 World Series.

Driveline is not alone.

Ben Brewster, co-founder of Tread Athletics, another baseball development company based in North Carolina, said high-school-aged players have been attracted to his performance facility because they see the results that MLB players and teammates achieve after continued training sessions.

Tread Athletics claims to have a role in more than 250 combined MLB draft picks or free agent signings, and says it has helped more than 1,000 high school players earn college opportunities.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans achieved a 4.4-mph increase from 2022 to 2023, the largest in MLB that year. With the velocity increase after his work at Tread Athletics, Ragans went from a league-average relief pitcher to a postseason ace in less than a year.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans achieved a 4.4-mph increase from 2022 to 2023, the largest in MLB that year, after his work with Tread Athletics.

(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)

So what makes Ragans’ development different from that of a teenage prospect reaching out to Tread Athletics?

“Ragans still could go from 92-94 miles per hour to 96 to 101,” Brewster said. “He still has room, but relatively speaking, he was a lot closer to his potential than, like, a random 15-year-old kid throwing 73 miles per hour.”

Meister knows Ragans well. When the southpaw was a member of the Rangers’ organization, the orthopedic surgeon performed Tommy John surgery on Ragans twice. (Ragans has also battled a rotator cuff strain this season and has been out since early June.)

“These velocities and these spin rates are very worrisome,” Meister said. “And we see that in, in and of itself, just in looking at how long these Tommy John procedures last.”

Throwing hard is not an overnight experience. Brewster shared a stern warning for the pitching development process, using weightlifting as an example. He said weightlifters can try to squat 500 pounds daily without days off, or attempt to squat 500 pounds with their knees caving in and buckling because of terrible form. There’s no 100% safe way to lift 500 pounds, just like there is no fail-safe way of throwing 100 mph. There’s always risk. It’s all in the form. Lifting is a science, and so is pitching — finding the safest way to train to increase velocity without injury.

“The responsible way to squat 500 pounds would be going up in weight over time, having great form and monitoring to make sure you’re not going too heavy, too soon,” Brewster said. “When it comes to pitching, you can manage workload. You can make sure that mechanically, they don’t have any glaring red flags.”

Brewster added that Tread, as of July, is actively creating its own data sets to explore how UCLs are affected by training methods, and how to use load management to skirt potential injuries.

MLB admitted to a “lack [of] comprehensive data to examine injury trends for amateur players” in its December report. It points to a lack of college data as well, where most Division I programs use such technology.

The Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center based in Birmingham, Ala. — founded by James Andrews, the former orthopedic surgeon to the stars — provided in-house data within MLB’s report, showing that the amount of UCL surgeries conducted for high school pitchers in their clinic has risen to as high as 60% of the total since 2015, while remaining above 40% overall through 2023.

Meister said baseball development companies may look great on the periphery — sending youth players to top colleges and the professional ranks — but it’s worth noting what they aren’t sharing publicly.

“What they don’t show you is that [youth athletes] are walking into our offices, three or six months or nine months later.”

The legendary daredevil, best known for his record-breaking jump from the stratosphere, lost control of his paraglider and crashed into a hotel pool.

Renowned extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, most famous for jumping from a record 39 kilometres (24 miles) at the edge of space in the 2012 Red Bull Stratos project, has died in a paragliding accident in Italy on Thursday.

The 56-year-old Austrian crashed his paraglider in Porto Sant’Elpidio, situated on the Italian Adriatic coast, after losing control and plunged into a wooden structure next to a swimming pool of the Le Mimose Family Camping Village, according to Italian media reports.

A female hotel employee was injured by a piece of debris and taken to hospital with neck injuries.

Baumgartner died at the scene of the accident, and investigations into the circumstances of the accident are under way.

Italian media reported that Baumgartner had already lost consciousness in the air.

The city’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, confirmed Baumgartner’s death in a social media post.

“Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight,” the mayor said.

Just two hours before his deadly crash, he posted on the social media platform Instagram with the foreboding caption “too much wind”.

From skydiving to the stratosphere

Born in Salzburg, Baumgartner completed his first parachute jump at the age of 16 and later became a parachutist in the Austrian military.

Baumgartner’s reputation as an extreme sports athlete grew exponentially when he turned his hand to the sport of base jumping in the 1990s.

He set a new world record for the highest base jump from a building with his leap from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1999. Later that year, he completed a base jump from the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On July 31, 2003, Baumgartner again made global headlines for his base jumping feats when he became the first person to cross the English Channel in free fall after jumping out of a plane equipped with specially developed wings made of carbon.

But it was Baumgartner’s record-breaking free fall from space in 2012 that shot the Austrian to worldwide fame.

Over the desert of New Mexico, he jumped from a helium balloon almost 39km (24 miles) above the planet and became the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall.

Baumgartner set three world records for his jump: He reached a maximum speed of 1,357.6 kilometres per hour (834mph), or Mach 1.25; completed the highest jump at 38,969 metres; and recorded the longest free fall with a length of 36,402 metres.

His death was confirmed late on Thursday by the energy drink company Red Bull, which sponsored many of Baumgartner’s stunts.