Football player, 13, collapses and dies after suffering cardiac arrest at training session

A 13-year-old North Carolina football player has died days after he went into cardiac arrest during practice. Caden Sorrell, an eighth-grade student at Northwest Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, began football practice Friday by running a lap around the field, his older sister, Vanessa Clark, told WXII. The teen, who wore No. 42, then went into cardiac arrest.

Clark said she was at Walmart when she received a call from their mother telling her what had happened. We don’t know why [it happened], but it did.” Caden was taken to Cone Health Hospital, where doctors worked to save his life. He underwent intensive treatment, including a heart pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which can temporarily provide support for the heart and lungs.

Despite those efforts, the damage was too severe, and Caden died Sunday. His sudden death has left his family struggling to make sense of what happened. Doctors have suggested that an undetected genetic condition could have played a role.

His family is now pursuing genetic testing for Caden’s twin brother, as well as his three additional siblings, according to a GoFundMe page created to help with the family’s medical expenses. No underlying cause has been publicly confirmed. Caden is remembered as a devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan and, according to Clark, someone who had a way of making people around him feel special.

He was brilliant, sweet, smart, kind,” she said. Principal CeCe Matson said in a statement Tuesday. As we grieve this loss, let us lean on one another and extend compassion to those around us.

A caring heart and gentle presence can mean so much right now,” she added. A memorial has been set up by the school spirit rock, and a vigil is scheduled for Wednesday evening in Caden’s honor. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies