HowCTathletes training for high school sports can cope with summer heat wave

Jul. 26—That kind of heat puts many at risk of suffering heat-related illness, but especially athletes exerting themselves as temperatures rise.

"I sent an email to all our coaches that are in summer training, as an athletic director with my athletic trainer, with heat-related guidelines," Hamden athletic director and football coach Tom Dyer said. "We're moving things up, moving them back, to stay out of the heat. It's similar every year. Play it safe. Extra water breaks. Reduced time outside. Modify your conditionings. You modify those things. We ran 8-10 (a.m.), and it didn't get over 82 degrees. I'm monitoring on my phone what temperature is."

Dyer did add that if Thursday is as hot as expected, student training activities will be at night or inside.

"Tomorrow, it's a different deal. Tomorrow's going to be 100. Are you practicing outside? If it's past 9 a.m., I don't know if we are," Dyer said. "One or two (sports) will have night things going. They're probably going to be inside the gym doing running in air conditioning, not out on the turf running."

In 2021, Connecticut lawmakers passed a bill requiring high school coaches go through heat-related illness training alongside their concussion education

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The CIAC does not sanction practices of any kind, including captain's practices, before the start date for football OTAs August 10-12 and when practices beginning August 19. All other fall sports, besides golf, begin practices August 24.

Players may gather to practice on their own, and do so with a coach or another adult supervising and allowing them access to the school's fields, gymnasium and weight room.

In the CIAC medical handbook, they offer schools heat-related guidelines which are set up through a partnership with the Kory Stringer Institute (KSI) out of UConn.

Over the last two years, the CIAC has provided cold-water immersion tubs and Wet Bulb Globe Thermometers to measure heat index to any school which requested one (approximately 140 schools received tubs, according to the CIAC).

CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini said: "The CIAC continues to partner with the Connecticut Athletic Trainers Association, who delivered the cold water tubs to our schools, and KSI to keep our schools updated on best practices for heat illnesses prevention."

Wet bulbs provide trainers with a composite temperature used to estimate the effect of temperature, humidity and solar radiation on people. This instrument determines a true heat stress temperature by accounting for air flow, humidity and the strength of the sun, in addition to air temperature and relative humidity.

If the wet bulb indicates the weather is not conducive to outdoor sports, trainers can alert coaches to halt practice.

Having cold immersion tubs on site is critical to saving lives, according to the KSI.

"I cannot overstate how important cold water immersion tubs are in the treatment of exertional heat stroke," Christianne Eason, vice president of sport safety at the Korey Stringer Institute, told Hearst Connecticut in 2021. "Exertional heat stroke is 100% survivable if cold water immersion is initiated within 15 minutes of collapse. We advocate for cool first, transport second because rapid cooling is the most important determinant of exertional heat stroke outcomes."

However, as athletes train outside of formal practices in July and sometimes away from trainers and coaches, they have to take their own precautions in terms of regulating practice in the heat.

Coaches say it is the responsibility of the player and their families to ensure they arrive to train in proper condition, something coaches teach and stress throughout the year.

"Lot of water, lot of water. Just taking the necessary precautions before you get to football," Cromwell/Portland football coach Randell Bennett said. "If you show up and haven't really drank water yet, haven't really stretched, haven't put the right fuel in your body, that's setting yourself up for failure. Just coaching them up in ways to take care of themselves, talk to their families about what food can help them, what precautions they can take."

Exertional heatstroke, or EHS, is a severe form of heat-related illness that can result in brain damage, organ failure and in some cases death. It occurs when someone's body temperature rises to 104 degrees or higher, according to the American Council on Science and Health.

According to the CDC, heat illness during practice or competition is a leading cause of death and disability among high school athletes in the United States. Forty-seven high school players died from 1995 through 2018, making up the majority of the 64 players who died in that time frame, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. 90% of those heat stroke deaths occurred during practice.

Before athletes reach the heat stroke threshold, there are stages of heat-related illness to look out for listed in the CIAC Medical Handbook:

Heat Cramps: Heat cramps are a common mild heat illness and can be easily treated with fluids. These intense muscle cramps generally develop after an athlete has been exercising and loses large amounts of fluid and salt from sweating.

Heat Syncope: Heat syncope is weakness, fatigue and fainting due to loss of salt and water while exercise in the heat. Those suffering syncope should sit it or lie down in a cool place and slowly drink water or sports drinks.

Heat Exhaustion: Heat exhaustion is a moderate heat illness that occurs when an athlete continues to push through the effects of heat syncope and dehydration. A person suffering heat exhaustion should be removed from the field immediately and lay down, elevate their legs and be cooled by spraying or sponging with cool water and fanning while sipping chilled water.

The CDC and KSI recommend training in the morning or evening and taking frequent water breaks when heat reaches the dangerous levels which are expected in this heat wave.

KSI at UConn is named after the Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl offensive tackle who died from an EHS during training camp in August 2001.

The Institute provides research, education, advocacy and consultation to optimize safety and prevent sudden death for athletes and others working or playing in extreme heat.

More education on heat illness is a good thing. Connecticut was ranked 39th in the 2020 State High School Sports Safety Policy Evaluation, according to the Stringer Institute.

"Education is a crucial component of preventing exertional heat illnesses," Eason, vice president of sport safety at the KSI, told Hearst Connecticut in 2021. "We always advocate for the presence of a health care provider, such as an athletic trainer, on site at practices and games. Whether that's possible or not, it's important for coaches to have this education to help protect the health and safety of student-athletes. The more eyes that are looking out for the well-being of these young athletes, the better."