Here Comes the Sun. Are you prepared?
We have already experienced 90-degree days this year, and more will come. As tennis players, we need to take the sun seriously.
Both Dehydration and Sun Exposure can be deceptive. Often, the effects of sun exposure are cumulative. When it’s 90 degrees out, and we are fine, we think we will be alright because it will only be 85 degrees out tomorrow. I have first-hand experience with the cumulative effects of the sun. Several years ago, I coached 16 and Under Zonals at the University of Texas at Austin. On the second day, we came back from our match to find that one of the Eastern boys on one of the other teams had gotten heat stroke – Eastern Section players were divided into three teams. His parents told me he had to get three bags of IVs in the ambulance. On Day 3, it was our turn. One of my players came over to me on a changeover and said, “Coach, I don’t feel too good.” He wasn’t walking normally, and he looked lethargic. I brought the player to the tournament office - the campus rescue squad was stationed there. They had him lie down on the side of the air-conditioned office.
I went back to check on the matches my other kids were playing and let them know I would be in the tournament office. When I got back to the tournament desk, my player was asleep on the floor.
The rescue squad told him to take a gallon jug of water and drink that overnight before playing the next day. In hindsight, I know that was not the best advice. The next day - the last day of the event - my Girls’ team played first. I was coaching match from the fence. When I turned to go to my next match, I saw my player, and it looked like he was throwing up a little. I saw that two more times before the Boys’ matches went out, so I asked him if he had thrown up three times. He told me he threw up six times – 3 times in the bathroom.
I told him I was going to default his match. He didn’t complain, but I found out later that he was mad at me. Some of the kids told me when they were here playing in one of my tournaments later that year. I also found out what happened after the match in Texas. The players all went back to the dorms, and he fell asleep. The kids woke him up several times because they had to leave and get to the airport to catch their flights home, but he kept falling back asleep. In the end, someone had to go back in to get him so that he wouldn’t miss his flight.
The problem is when we sweat; we lose salt and electrolytes. Without them, water goes right through. Electrolytes help normalize fluid levels in your body and keep the acid/alkaline in your blood at normal levels. They make muscle contractions in your body possible, including the heart’s contraction. They are also needed to get nerve signals to your heart, muscles, and nerves. I know I sound like an advertisement for Gatorade or Powerade, but we must replace fluids AND electrolytes when it’s hot and realize that we have to recover from the sun – even if it doesn’t feel like there was a problem. I will go into more detail in future postings.
If you have had personal experiences that illustrate the effects of sun and heat during tennis, let me know. Personal experiences help tell the story better. Names can be anonymous if desired.
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