By David McCollum thecabin.net Copyright 2009 The Cabin. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Coaches on all levels everywhere are concerned about what will probably be the biggest “X” factor this football season.

It’s actually the H1N1 factor.

Nobody wants it. Everybody is doing what they can to prevent it, but what is commonly known as swine flu will likely become an issue.

It already has. 

H1N1 struck down 15 football players at Duke University during preseason camp. Another dozen Tulane players recently came down with influenza-like symptoms. Some high schools across the nation have had to postpone or cancel some preseason practices.

Football is an in-close contact sport. There is a lot of face-to-face, shoulder-to-shoulder contact, particularly in the trenches.

Every school administrator realizes that once it starts, the flu can move rapidly through a team.

The deciding factor in some games, and even some conference races, may be if (or when) a team gets hit by the flu. The ability to stay healthy this season may go beyond injuries sustained on the field. And there may be strength issues even for players who have a minor case of the flu or are recovering from it.

Every school administrator realistically knows that the flu is gonna hit and hit hard in places with the likelihood of cutting a wide swath across college and high school campuses, both students and adults.

What you won’t read in preseason magazines is that the teams that best minimize the effect of the flu may be the ones who come out on top.

You wonder how many pivotal games will be decided by the best use of personal hygiene or the timing in which the flu hits. Coaches want titles and playoff and bowl berths to be decided with W’s and L’s, not H1N1.

It’s already having an effect on the thinking of local coaches and administrators.

Conway Christian, which will begin the season with about 21 varsity players, has already abandoned using squirt bottles for liquids in favor of disposable cups. 

“We’re spending a lot of money on cups, but it’s worth it,” said coach and athletic director Chuck Speer. “We’re making our players aware of the importance of cleanliness. We have such a small squad that if just a few come down with the flu, it could wipe us out.”

“We’re taking every precaution we can,” said Buzz Bolding, athletic director of Conway Public Schools. “We’ve already had some meetings and we’re trying to educate coaches, teachers, maintenance people — everybody who has contact with kids on what to do and how to react. We’re making sure balls are cleaned more often as well as the locker room areas.”

“It’s something we know we are going to have to be more pro-active about,” said UCA football coach Clint Conque. “We’ve already seen what can happen at Duke and other places. We’ve talked to our players, coaching staff, training staff, managers and everybody about health and cleanliness issues. When we get the chance, I want everybody involved with our program to get a flu shot. In our locker rooms, we try to clean and sanitize everything. It’s the same type of thing we do to try to guard against staph.

“Say, we have five players come down with the flu. That might not seem so bad. But if they’re the right five players, it could be devastating.”

Conque knows how quickly a contagious illness can wipe out a team from an experience years ago when he was an assistant coach at McNeese State. 

“We’re getting ready to play a game at Louisiana Tech and 20 guys come down with the mumps that week,” he said. “We had to take less than a full squad to Tech. Ricky Matt (former UCA assistant) and I are promoting freshmen and trying to teach and do what we can with the healthy kids.

“On the trip from Lake Charles to Ruston, six more players come down with the mumps. Ricky and I were co-special teams coordinators and I remember we’re in that locker room at halftime trying to coach kids up and find whoever we could to play. We lost 7-3. I don’t know whether that had anything to do with the mumps or not, but it’s a sinking feeling when players start dropping like flies.”

Almost everyone is preparing for issues.

“This year’s flu might be kind of like last year’s hurricanes,” Conque said. “It might be the biggest variable and the most disruptive factor in the season.”

Pigskin fever is fine. But “swine flu?” That’s something else.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)