NFL star pushes hydration at Fincher Foundation event

August is a hot and dangerous month for young athletes, which is why the Kendrick Fincher Hydration Foundation held its fourth annual A Cool Summer Night Prom fundraiser during Heat Stroke Awareness Month.

Dressed in prom attire, people enjoyed drinks, dinner and dancing. The event was emceed by KNWA meteorologist Dan Skoff.

The KFHF is named for Rhonda Fincher’s 13-year-old son who died of heat stroke in 1995, after his first football practice. After Kendrick died, his mother started the foundation to promote proper hydration and heat stroke awareness.

“His death was completely preventable,” Fincher said. "A lot of people are affected by heat illness, but with rapid cooling they will survive. Prevention is the cure for heat stroke."

Football is a particularly hazardous sport for young athletes.

“From 1960 through 2009 there have been 123 heat stroke cases that resulted in death,” according to the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research, compiled by the University of North Carolina in 2009.

"In Arkansas there has been one death since Kendrick died, but that is one too many," Fincher said. "We educate the parents, the coach and the athlete because the coach only has the athletes for a limited time period. Parents need to make sure their kids don't come to practice dehydrated."

Fincher estimated that more than 300 people attended the event, which was held at the Fayetteville Town Center. The goal was to raise $40,000 through sponsorships, a silent auction and ticket sales, Fincher said. The 10 members of the prom court raised more than $12,000 for the foundation.

One of the highlights of the evening was the dinnertime speech by record-setting former NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson. He used his personal history to illustrate the importance of proper nutrition and hydration.

“I had one coach who would yell at us: ‘no ice cream, no soda water,’” he said.

The coach was teaching his athletes the value of good nutrition and that water is better than soft drinks for hydration. Tomlinson said parents and coaches have a role to play in keeping kids hydrated.

“I can still hear my mother telling me to drink water,” he said.

Gatorade was the biggest sponsor, and the Wal-Mart Foundation gives grants to the KFHF.

"Losing Kendrick is always there," Fincher said. "With the passage of time things get easier and you can replace the heartache with more joy in your life."