The Dangers of Heat

This weekend is the annual FPYC Father’s Day All Star Soccer Tournament.  It is a great event.  But it also tends to be a hot event.  Right now, the forecast is for 90 degrees on Saturday and 92 degrees on Sunday.

With that in mind, i just wanted to post  a reminder that heat is an issue for athletes – young athletes in particular.

This from US Youth Soccer:

Here are physiological/psychological reasons placing children at risk [from heat]:
1) Children absorb more heat from a hot environment because they have a greater surface area to body-mass ratio than adults. The smaller the child, the faster they absorb heat.
2) Children and adolescents may have a reduced ability to lose heat through sweating.
3) During prolonged exercise, children and adolescents frequently do not have the physiological drive to drink enough fluids to replenish sweat losses.
4) Youth athletes may be more easily distracted when they should be resting and rehydrating.
5) Some youth athletes may be under intense pressure to make a competitive squad and may not want to report feelings of heat distress or take the appropriate amount of time to rehydrate.

You can read more about heat issues here on this blog.

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