A KSFY investigation into student athletic physicals has found some real differences in how often junior high and high school athletes are cleared to play. Saturday night a Pierre High School football player collapsed on the field as his team warmed up.

18 year old Taylor Maier is in good condition and resting comfortably in a Sioux Falls hospital. His parents and doctors knew about a heart condition but he was still allowed to suit up.

Before any junior high or high school athlete in South Dakota can suit up for practice or a game, they have to take a physical, designed to find any health conditions that may be pre-existing.

On the field at Baltic high coaches say they're pretty lucky. They're not a big school so the number of medical issues they need to keep track of is usually pretty low. But coach Jim Aisenbrey says they look closely at the results. "When ever we get the physical forms back, we always go to the last page first and look for anything that we should be aware of."

We did find some big differences in what's required for high school athletic physicals around the region. In Iowa, physicals are required once a year. In Minnesota, once every three years. And in South Dakota it's up to the local districts, as often as once a year, but up to once every three years.

We talked to the parent of another athlete who said their only complaint about the physicals is the timing. They're usually done in the spring, while athletes don't hit the field until the next fall. Parent Ron Krogstand said, "I think a lot can change in 3 months time."

Dr. Craig Smith does thousands of these physical exams. He says the current physical exam form and questionnaire South Dakota schools require will find most health issues. "The scanning questionnaire as well as the general exam does a good job of highlighting any glaring issues. But it's not going to show you everything."