Hydration important as youth sports heat up in North Allegheny Area for the fall

There’s no rest for the weary when it comes to youth sports. Even in the summer, young athletes gear up for the fall season.

But it’s still summer and likely hot, so play it safe, said Dr. Tyler McCardell, a board director for McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority, who is also chief resident of emergency medicine at Allegheny General Hospital.

“With summer sports practices approaching, the most important thing to do is stay hydrated. Your body can give off more than two gallons of sweat in a day of hard work, so even if you think you are drinking enough water, you may not be keeping up with your body’s demands,” said McCardell, who is also medical director for the Peebles Volunteer Fire Company in McCandless.

Pat Bailey, coach and vice president of travel soccer for North Allegheny Soccer Club, was coaching one of the club teams on July 24 after 5:30 p.m., when temperatures were in the mid-80s.

“As far as the summer practices go, many water breaks. I also personally like to bring the players in and talk about goals that players might have for themselves for the upcoming season, as well as team goals we can focus on. I let them guide the conversation and while they are doing that, they are also getting a little extra rest between training activities in the heat,” Bailey said.

North Allegheny School District athletics begin some sport practices, including varsity football on Aug. 7 with heat acclimatization, which is the body naturally adapting to exercising in the heat.

The rest of North Allegheny fall sports practices, some of which include soccer, field hockey, cheerleading, tennis, begin mid-August, said NA Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto Jr.

“It’s important to do everything possible we can to ensure our student athletes are practicing safely,” Bozzuto said.

For example, the varsity football players will be practicing about four days a week, he said. And each player weighs in and weighs out at practice to make sure he is maintaining his weight, which signals good hydration.

NA coaches are trained to recognize the symptoms of heat-related illnesses, including receiving heat-acclimatization certifications, Bozzuto said. Coaches also are trained in recognizing sudden cardiac arrest, concussions and in administering sports first aid, including CPR and using automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs. All coaches need to be certified in a coaching education program within two years of employment in Pennsylvania. The NA Athletic Department uses the American Sport Education Program’s Successful Coaching course, Bozzuto said.

North Allegheny also employs five athletic trainers who monitor players, coaches and spectators for safety.

North Allegheny High School band camp began camp on Aug. 1. But band members don’t practice this early in uniforms, said Brandi Smith, NA spokesperson.

“If someone does begin to feel ill in the heat, help them into the shade or a cool environment with good air circulation and apply ice packs or a cool rag. Call 911 immediately if the person has any sign of seizure, confusion, or other concerning symptoms,” McCardell said.

Bailey said the NASC refers to U.S. Soccer Federation heat guidelines. Sports teams, including at North Allegheny, may refer to the wet bulb globe temperature, a measure of “feels-like” temperature when factoring in humidity.

The guidelines recommend regions in Western Pennsylvania canceling practice if there’s a wet bulb globe temperature of 89.9 degrees and to provide hydration breaks of four minutes for every 30 minutes of play if higher than 89.6 degrees.

Some North Allegheny Soccer Club soccer teams, like in-house and travel teams, may not begin practices until Aug. 14, Bailey said. This includes more than 1,000 players in the clubs and 100-plus volunteer coaches for each season.

Chris Dell, chief of the McCandless Franklin Park Ambulance Authority, said his crew keeps a 5-gallon bucket of water on-hand for extended calls.

Never show up without water and take shade when possible, he suggests. Fortunately, there aren’t more ambulance calls than usual this summer, but still quite a few.

“As for sports and heat injuries, yes. Lots of them. All age groups. We see everything … heat exhaustion, bicycle accidents, strains and sprains, swimming pool accidents, and much more,” Dell said.

Biking over a long period can lead to using lots of body fluids, and many don’t realize it, Dell said.

Even playing pickleball can exact a price if not properly hydrated. Dell said the authority had a call in July of a player who had an irregular heartbeat due to dehydration.