Back in June 2017 we penned a blog on players and the heat. It’s a good time to share this again.
Wow! It’s hot out there……. it’s been a long hot couple of weeks and as we set off on another weekend of adventure in football I thought it was good to share some thoughts on keeping our young ballers safe in hot weather.
I am the worst for not wearing sun protection at these long football tournament weekends but I have to say last Saturday the factor 50 saved me a lot of pain!!
I know we look after our children better than ourselves but it’s so important we are all protecting ourselves against the sun. There are some obvious long term horror stories but also a lot of short term pain and damaged caused by the sun. The players also in general will always look up to their coach so if the coach is sunburnt I really don’t like the impression it sets.
As well as keeping our skin safe, there is the challenge with players to get them to pace themselves and get them to drink. As a coach I will be using the drills that are lower tempo. It’s a great time to get into technical detail instead of doing too much high tempo practices. Certainly with the 7s I work with they are still keen to play from dawn to dusk and it’s a challenge to calm them down. Drinks breaks have always been a regular part of my sessions and during this period of strong sun drinks breaks will be more regular and a chance for the players to have a fun chat with their team mates.
The importance of taking on water is simple. You cannot perform at your best when you are not well hydrated. If you are dehydrated you can also suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke and a player is much more likely to get an injury caused by tiredness.
The recommended daily amount of fluids is;
5-8 year olds : 5 glasses (1 litre)
9-12 year olds: 7 glasses (1.5 litres)
13 years old+: 8 to 10 glasses (2 litres)
This should then be topped up when water/fluid is lost as sweat during training or matches.
To take this to a more technical level, you can check weight before and after training. For every pound lost it needs to be replaced by roughly half a litre of water (2-3 glasses).
Another tip, let children take some control, they love talking about their trips to the toilet so….. what colour is their wee? If it’s dark in colour then they are not drinking enough.
As a coach I am responsible for the children when they are on the field with me. They will have sun lotion on, they will have plenty of water and where possible they will wear a sun hat. Please keep your child well fed and well watered and we can all carry on enjoying our usual standard of football excellence.
