Adriaan Naudé

Background

Tuesday, 14 April 2009, began just like any other day. It was the last day of the school holiday. By the end of this day, however, we have lost more than is humanly possible to imagine.

On this day our son/big brother/cousin and grandson collapsed and died after rugby practice. Adriaan Naudé (17 years of age and in Grade 11) waved us goodbye for the last time at 4'clock that afternoon.

His death was caused by a series of unfortunate events - an underlying flu virus, an asthma attack and a strenuous rugby practice.

How do you explain to someone how it feels when your 17 year old child just all of a sudden stops breathing one day? When you hold onto his legs while emergency personnel, his dad and his team mates do CPR? When you pray and plead with others to also pray that your child's heart starts to beat again, that he will open his eyes! When you keep waiting for a miracle for two hours since you arrived to find your child lying lifeless on his back. When you can hear how his dad and brother cry and plead. When you can hear his little brother say: "You can't die! I'll miss you too much!"

Imaging yourself asking God to keep your children safe and for 17 years he answered your prayer, but on this day Adriaan's heart just won't beat anymore.

We live in South Africa - so many bad things can happen to us, but on a normal sunny day in the protected area of a school, under the supervision of trained adults, your child dies on a rugby field while playing a game he loved!

The shock, the sudden finality of death, is something that simply can't be explained! It is as if my own insides were ripped out, as if I was slowly suffocating. The denial: riding in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, while all the while knowing that your child is already dead? The unreal feeling when you hold his beautiful face in your hands for the last time, caressing his body, the feeling when we had to leave him behind, when we had to take his rugby boots next to the bed... The finality is unthinkable! I had to force myself to leave my child behind, with the full knowledge that he will now be placed in a fridge. His body - warm until a short while ago - was now starting to feel cold to the touch, his arm repeatingly falling from his chest...

Why a website?

What do you do with emotional pain? We decided to turn the tragic loss of our loved one into something positive. We hope that by providing information, we can prevent other families from experiencing the same heartache.

We believe Adriaan's death will only have some kind of meaning once our efforts to educate and enlighten parents, coaches and the general public, will help to prevent similar deaths.

Our mission

to collect information/articles/personal experiences from sport- and other experts, parents, rugby players, etc.;
to make this information available to parents and players so that ignorance do not cause serious injury or death;
to form a pressure group which will lead to the training of ALL coaches (current and new) in the coaching of school children and the subsequent appointment of a body to monitor the implementation thereof;
that all coaches must undergo compulsory basic first aid training and also have sufficient knowledge of contributing factors that may potentially be dangerous during practices;
that no match may be played without the presence of qualified first aid personnel and the proper equipment next to the field; (Did you know that no rugby match may commence if a stretcher and first aid personnel and equipment are not present?)
that there must also be qualified first aid personnel with the proper equipment present at practices and bleep tests;
that no coach are allowed to coerce a child to play sports and also to not allow any child to play sports without obtaining a complete medical history of that child. (BokSmart has a form which club rugby players must complete).

Questions parents should ask:

Is it sufficient for a first aid official overseeing a rugby match to only have basic first aid training, especially when you think of how rugby is now becoming a physical contact sport that is played professionally even at school level? (Take into consideration the fact that a first aid official can only be held accountable for actions up to the level of his training, ie. each level is limited to the level of training received).
When a coach also acts as a first aid official, what will be his first priority - his obligation as first aid official or as coach?
When a coach has first aid training, shouldn't an objective medical person also be available next to the field anyway?
Do coaches understand the responsibility they have when working with children?
Are children seen as objects that serve a purpose (winning matches whatever it takes) or as people?
We are not at war - we therefore can't write off our children as "statistics" (he died for his rugby...). We can't make rugby less of an idol, but we can strive to make it a safe sport with responsible coaching.

Your input is important!

Let us know your experiences with school sports.
Share your ideas on how we can make school sports safer.
If your child were seriously injured/killed during a school sporting event, please let us know.

Background

Why a website?

Our mission

Questions parents should ask:

Your input is important!

Links:

Adriaan's writing: