USSF Youth Soccer Hydration and Heat Illness Guidelines
The rapid growth of youth soccer participation in recent years, coupled with an increased need for qualified and certified coaches, has made insuring the safety of youth soccer players more important than ever before. Moreover, a rash of well-documented cases of heat illness in the past year across a variety of sports has prompted the U.S. Soccer Federation to issue the following information and guidelines to parents, young athletes and coaches for one of the most common and most preventable sports injuries – heat-related illnesses, including dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
The following information and youth heat stress guidelines provide suggestions for preventing the potentially dangerous and sometimes deadly effects of playing in hot or humid conditions.
Kid First Soccer Nutritional Information
The United States Surgeon General's 1988 report on nutrition and health, based on over 2,000 studies, concluded that illnesses of over eating and nutritional imbalance are the leading causes of death in North America. Numerous epidemiological studies point the link between diets high in saturated fats and cholesterol and increased risk for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The "silent killer," or elevated blood pressure, has been linked to high sodium intake (some 20% of the US population is predisposed to retain sodium and as a result hold water), and it is believed that 30% - 50% of all cancer is diet related (Hoeger, 1991). In addition, poor nutritional habits may also lead to obesity, diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis.
Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) Program
Female soccer athletes have shown a much higher incidence (2-8 times) of serious knee injuries. The most serious of which is a torn ACL, requiring a lengthy 12-18 month recovery period. The Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation performed an extensive study and determined that incidence of these injuires can be significantly reduced (80-95%) by follwoing a specific 15-20 minute warm-up/exercise regimen 3 times per week. Girls teams should determine the best way to incorporate this regimen into their fitness program. Click here for additional information.
New First-of-Its-Kind Study Shows Chronic Dehydration is a Significant Issue Among Youth Soccer Players
Adolescent males typically lose up to 1.5 liters of sweat per hour when performing intense soccer activities in the heat, says a new first-of-its-kind study from the University of Connecticut presented this week at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual conference in Denver, Colorado. The three-year research project also showed that nearly two-thirds of male and female youth soccer players are dehydrated before they even take the field and the average hydration routine observed by parents and coaches isn't preventing the problem. However, educational intervention implemented by researchers positively influenced hydration knowledge and attitudes among youth soccer players, and improved the chances of proper hydration status on the field.
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