Sports Hydration Center

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Verbal encouragement from parents and coaches to drink fluids before, during, and after practice is important. Remind your child to drink fluids before practice, and then again after practice to replace fluids lost during sports. Ask questions and take other steps to determine your child's hydration status and how much fluid he needs to drink to fully rehydrate.

Young boy drinking from water bottle When you are watching your favorite sports team on TV, have you ever noticed that the first thing the athletes do when they get to the sideline or dugout is get a drink? Whether on their own or from the hand of a trainer, they drink constantly every chance they get throughout the game. That is how important hydration is to athletic performance.

Proper hydration [7] is just as important to athletic performance as the food your child eats, and more important to his safety. An athlete who becomes dehydrated is at risk of a heat illness, among the most dangerous sports injuries, as well as the most preventable.

To find information on a sports hydration topic, click on a topic in which you are interested. You will be sent to a list of articles, videos and blogs on that topic. If you are unable to find the sports hydration information you are looking for on the topics page, please e mail us your request or pose the question to the MomsTeam community of parents and experts (of which you are an important part) by clicking on the Forums tab at the top of the page, finding a forum in which to ask your question or start a new discussion thread.

Together, we can go a long way towards making sure youth athletes are properly hydrated and to eliminating heat illnesses in youth sports.

Featured Articles

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Hydrating During Winter Sports: Just As Important As In The Summer [9]

Frostbite and hypothermia aren't the only health hazards associated with winter sports. Cold weather studies at the University of New Hampshire show increased risk for dehydration, a condition more commonly associated with hot weather. The reason, says Robert Kenefick, UNH Associate Professor of Kinesiology, is that, "People just don't feel as thirsty when the weather is cold, and when they don't feel thirsty, they don't drink as much, and this can cause dehydration." Kenefick offers the same advice he tenders during the heat. Drink plenty of water or sports drinks, especially when exercising or working outdoors.

Read more » [9]
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Drink Fluids Before, During and After Sports Important For Kids [10]

Surprising, as it may seem, the most important part of an athlete's diet isn't what they eat, it is what and how much they drink. Drinking fluids before, during and after sports is especially important for pre-adolescent children because they have special fluid needs compared to adults, or even teenagers. Recent research, however, suggests that a "one-size-fits-all" prescriptive advice to drinking is outdated because sweat water losses are dynamic and and because the three main drivers of sweat water loss are highly variable in children.

Read more » [10]
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Cold Weather Sports: Recognizing and Preventing Dehydration, Hypothermia and Frostbite [11]

Spending time outdoors is fun, even in the cold of winter. But, just as in warmer weather, special precautions need to be taken when exercising in cold weather to avoid dehydration, hypothermia, and frostbite. Here are some things to consider if you or your children are playing sports in the cold.

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Can Education Improve A Youth Athletes' Hydration Status? [12]

If you want your youth athlete to arrive at practices and games well-hydrated, and to maintain that status during and after sports, it stands to reason that educating them about the benefits of proper hydration could make a difference? But does it? MomsTEAM's hydration expert says the studies suggest that education alone doesn't work.

Read more » [12]
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Hydration in Sports: It's All About Balance [13]

As summer swelters on, those on the front line of athletic care should be especially vigilant of hyponatremia when treating sick patients or advising healthy individuals. Recommend having a variety of fluids freely available and advise people - especially exercising athletes - to drink when thirsty and reduce activity, splash with water, and seek a shaded spot when hot. Before we promote blanket advice to "drink lots of fluid" and "stay well-hydrated", we should be mindful that fluid is a balance - especially during exercise.

Read more » [13]