PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Health experts are urging for extra safety precautions to be put in place as student-athletes across south central Pennsylvania face the heat, with temperatures rising to the mid to upper 90s throughout the week.
"We have to try and make sure that the kids are doing everything they can," said Mike Fleming, owner and athletic trainer of Fleming Athletics. "Any wiggle room that referees, athletic directors or coaches have to try and make it a little bit more beneficial will be really helpful."
Fleming says proper sleep, electrolyte intake, longer water breaks and adjustments to practice intensity will all go a long way in ensuring the safety of players amid the heat. He adds the biggest preventative measure for heat-related incidents is hydration.
"Hydration needs to accumulate. So, they need to be hydrating every night before they go to bed, making sure that they go to school [and] continuing to hydrate," said Fleming. "That way when they get to their practice or to their game, it’s all still there."
Once practice begins, athletic trainers emphasize that players and their coaches need to be extra mindful of symptoms related to dehydration or heat exhaustion, such as dizziness and lack of sweating, and to take immediate action if necessary.
"They need to step back and get [their] gear off, cool off, hydrate really well, talk to a medical professional if they have to and go to their athletic trainer right on the sideline," said Fleming. "They need to make sure they are getting checked out and that they are safe to go back in."
Officials added that overall, communication among athletes, coaches and parents is a key component to staying safe in the scorching heat.
"The best thing is just [practicing] open communication. Making sure everybody is on the same page as far as how we’re going to approach practice in this heat, how we are going to times things out, how we are going to take breaks," expressed Fleming. [We need] to make sure the athletes are talking with their coaches and athletic trainers if they're not feeling right, [and] make sure their parents are involved with hydration, electrolytes, good food, good sleep."