Athletes warned of summer heat

With this record-breaking summer heat wave, athletes and coaches alike fight to keep safe and hydrated under the summer sun as they train for the fall semester's competition.

The heat-related deaths of several high school athletes and coaches across the state have been a cause for concern for many teams practicing during the summer. Over a month's worth of triple-digit temperatures has increased caution and awareness about potential health-related issues.

"We take good precautions – that's why we train at 7:30 in the morning," Women's Soccer Coach Scott Toups said. "It's a sacrifice for these kids to get up and come here this early, but it's part of what we need to do to keep safe."

Although Richland coaches are taking many precautions for their athletes, they cannot rule out the fact that they need to train them to get used to competing in the mid-day heat.

"Once school begins, [the athletes] have classes," Toups said. "Since we can't train in the morning, we'll go in the afternoons at 2. It's hot, but it's also when our games are, [so] we need them to be acclimated to the heat."

However, since most of the athletes are not taking classes at the moment, Toups and other coaches have taken advantage of this time to stay clear of the heat by holding early morning training sessions.

Some of the common dangers of staying in the sun are heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration. To prevent people from becoming susceptible to the extreme heat conditions, Richland Nurse Susan Pilukaitis stresses the importance of hydration and eating right.

"The best way to stay safe is to remain indoors," Pilukaitis said. "If you're active outdoors, it's important to drink lots of water – not juice or soda – and to wear light clothing. You should at least have a 20-minute break every hour to make sure you don't suffer from heat exhaustion."

Pilukaitis and Toups agree that exercising indoors or during the coolest parts of the day, which is early morning and early evening, is the safest way for people to train and stay fit with minimum health risks. They both said that drinking water is one of the easiest but most effective ways to stay safe.

"If you're going to be active and out playing, you need to drink water, and that starts long before you actually get out in the sun," Toups said. "We're talking about drinking lots of water the day before and having several glasses when you wake up."