ROY, Utah — Mike Foss's son has learned how to work hard and take care of himself by being on Roy High School’s football team, he said.
“It's keeping them out of trouble," he said. "It's keeping them busy. They form relationships they wouldn't normally form. The coaches are really good in that, and supporting the fact that these kids, and they reiterate it over and over again, should be maintaining a high GPA. My son has successfully managed a 3.5 over the years due to their support.”
On Tuesday, another parent “Chris,” which is not his real name, said his son has been dedicating almost 40 hours every week this summer to the team, which violates the Utah High School Activities Association's 20-hours-a-week maximum practice rule.
“He's putting in more hours for a game than I do for my job," he said. "He's exhausted. He's burned out. Everyone on the team is that way.”
“Chris” didn’t want to bring his concerns to the football coach or reveal his identity out of fear of retaliation toward his son, he said.
“You look anywhere in the country, there's cardiac arrest, there's kids with heart problems, there's kids falling down of heat exhaustion," he said. "We have set standards in place. Why can't we follow them?”
This isn’t the truth though, Foss said; his son has been practicing for two and a half hours in the morning every day and then maybe one hour of weightlifting in the afternoon, three days a week.
“There's always ample water, they're always allowed to take breaks when they need breaks if they're feeling too hot or they need to cool down or they just need a break," he said. "Coaches are excellent about letting them out, and I've seen that”
A spokesperson with the Weber School District told FOX 13 that Roy High School’s athletics department still has not received any complaints and is not aware of concerns about student athletes practicing for too many hours.
