These “little things” keep popping up… so I’ll make some comments and get them posted for you.
I watched my Hokies go down in a blaze of glory (gory!) last night!!! and thought it interesting when Bret and Kirk commented that 48% humidity was “high” for the Boise kids! For us on the East Coast, 48% humidity is late fall weather!!! and.. that there were: “numerous Boise players being treated for cramps.”
What do you do to prevent cramps? I’m not sure anyone has the “perfect” solution but I have some ideas. Now, let me preface by saying that we played a state semi-final game in Northern Virginia one year. It was 38 degrees at kickoff at 2 pm… with 14 inches of snow surrounding the field. It had been pushed off and piled up on the edge of the track. It was like playing in a freezer! But… we still had kids who cramped up!!! If kids can get cramps in THAT climate, I’m not sure there is a solution!!!
One theory I have is that kids haven’t really “gone hard” in preseason practice (not like they do in games anyway.) That type of stress on the leg muscles for an extended time could possibly contribute to cramping. Just a theory.
I think the pickle juice and the banannas have merit. But, the most success we had to good old H2O… and LOTS of it! But… the KEY is: the players must hydrate starting on Monday!!! Most kids, being kids, will start drinking lots of water around lunch of game day! This is waaaaay too late.
I asked our players to stop drinking all carbonated drinks; tea and coffee and stay away from Gatorade. Drink milk with supper (but drink water too!) but water… water… water… and more of it is the key. And continue to drink to “over” hydrate throughout the season. Some kids will stop drinking when the weather turns cool— thinking they don’t need to hydrate anymore. NO!!! (*note my comment above about our December game!)
How much is too much? I don’t think there is such a thing. Bigger kids need to drink more and kids who sweat a lot need to drink more. A rule of thumb is 64 to 128 oz’s. a day! Yep… that much! There is no such thing as being “water logged”!!!
