North Texas

Dozens of High School Baseball Players Sidelined By the Flu

Dozens of players from Wylie, Forney, Frisco Wakeland and Centennial high schools have been sidelined by the flu.

The Dallas Morning News reports Forney had six players out during a 10-day span. Frisco Wakeland had three starters out in its last game last week, and Wylie had a game with three players out.

At Frisco Centennial, baseball head coach Dan Walsh said 25 out of 54 players, from the varsity program down to the freshmen team, had the flu.

"It's something I've never seen as a player or as a coach," Walsh said. "To have so many players go down with the flu was just incredible."

As a precaution, a cleaning crew disinfected the team's locker room, Walsh said.

"We had them clear out their lockers, bring all of their stuff home and wash it individually," Walsh said. "They share water bottles. We cut that out for the week and we made sure to replace all of the old water bottles."

Although flu season is supposed to be winding down, doctors at Care Now, an urgent care clinic with 26 North Texas locations, are treating between 30 to 70 patients a day with flu-like symptoms.

"It's not unusual when you have kids work together, especially when they are athletes. It is very easy for them to give each other the flu," said Dr. Shawn Riley. "For kids, they're still not washing their hands when they need to. They share drinks and they don't cover their mouth when they cough."

Centennial High School will have a full roster available Wednesday night.

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