My neighbor is one of the Lakewood High School football coaches, so I've heard parts of this WKYC story for a few years. I've been impressed with the commitment of the students and the sensitivity of the coaches.
WKYC.COM wrote:
LAKEWOOD -- Imagine practicing four hours a day in the heat and sun of this Ohio summer without being able to take a single sip of water.
That's the reality for Lakewood High School senior Mohammad Khdour who, along with four of his teammates, is observing the Islamic month of Ramadan.
"We fast for 30 days from sunrise to sunset," Mohammad explains. "This year, it happened to land on two-a-days."
Mohammad has gone through summer practices during Ramadan without food or water.
The story goes on to explain all that the coaches and trainers do to ensure the health/safety of the fasting students during hot two-a-day practices. Cooling is achieved externally with ice packs and sponges.
WKYC.COM wrote:
"We're proud of our kids observing the holiday," says head coach Ron Lewis. "Two-a-days are tough enough, but then, to not be able to eat or drink from sun up to sun down, is really pretty incredible."
The whole WKYC story and video is at the following link:
http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_art ... 19&catid=3This is one of those too rare positive Lakewood stories covered by the regional media. It is a story that's good for kids, good for our schools, and good for Lakewood.
I'm not sure how/if a story like this would/could play out in other parts of the country.
Nice little lesson for the rest of the world.
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