On August 8, in the heat of the summer, the first Averett University Cougars returned on campus to start their preseason. As a university with athletes from all over the country and even all over the world, many athletes are not used to the extreme heat here in Danville, Virginia. Even those who have played their whole lives in this extreme weather still need to prepare properly for optimal performance.
Natasha Blakley is one of the assistant athletic trainers for the Averett Cougars. As it has been almost a month since the fall-sport athletes have been back in action, Blakley still sees a lot of athletes struggle with the extremely high temperatures. Many athletes don’t prepare themselves properly, or only start preparing themselves one day before they play.
“It is important for athletes to give themselves time to adjust to the heat,” Blakley said. “Just spending time outside during the day to adjust to the air can already be very helpful. Very often athletes do not start preparing their body for the heat, until the day before preseason. This, however, should be happening at least a week before.”
Practices are often split up in multiple sections to give athletes the time to adjust to the heat throughout the training and give them time to properly hydrate. However, a common misconception amongst athletes about hydration seems to be that they think just drinking a bunch of water is enough.
“Hydrate, with more than just water,” Blakely said. “Hydrate with drinks such as Powerade, Gatorade, Pedialyte and take electrolytes. Make sure your meals also contain a lot of sodium or extra salt.”
Many athletes already take these measures when they know it is going to be extremely hot outside. However as an athlete you should always be hydrating and making sure you eat enough and eat the right foods, to properly take care of your body.
“It is very important to make sure that you’re getting three good meals a day, with plenty of protein, carbs, fruits and vegetables,” Blakley said. “In the morning, have a good breakfast and lunch later that day. For the athletes that practice in the afternoon, make sure to eat a snack before to keep yourself fueled during practice. At night, make sure your dinner has a lot of carbs so you have enough to replenish for the next day.”
Although some of this advice might already sound familiar to a lot of athletes, as all the Athletic Trainers at Averett tell their athletes this a lot. The most important advice is to constantly keep taking proper care of your body and not just during the hottest days.
