The Vancouver Whitecaps continue their five-game road swing across North America with a stop this Friday in St. Louis.
While the lengthy road schedule, constant travel and different hotels and beds doesn’t make life particularly enjoyable for the players and staff, you can add one more factor that can really drag a team down.
The heat.
The current temperatures in St. Louis, Missouri are up around forty degrees Celsius. Training, along with playing in matches in those conditions will sap the energy out of anybody. The key to battling through the heat is replenishing fluids, as well as plenty of rest and recovery, says SportMedBC’s Senior Nutrition Consultant Patricia Chuey.
“When you’re training or playing in a match, the first thing that will happen is normal, healthy sweating. But as exercise and heat continue, sweat loss becomes significant. Fluid loss through sweat can be high. If adequate hydration is not maintained, heat exhaustion, heat cramps or worse, heat stroke can occur.
These are all caused by combination of heat and dehydration. Signs that an athlete is headed towards these problems are: dizziness, feeling disorientated or nauseated and mild cramping. Heat exhaustion tends to elevate the core body temperature to the range of 101°F to 102°F (39°C to 40°C).
Getting out of the heat is the best way to relieve the symptoms in mild cases of heat exhaustion assuming the athlete rests and rehydrates. In more severe cases, intravenous rehydration may be necessary – especially if the athlete has vomited.”
It’s safe to say that athletes and staff must carefully control fluid replenishment.
“Staff will be making sure that players keep grabbing some water or a sports drink.”
For more details, check out this article.
It’ll be difficult for the Whitecaps to extend their seven match (3W / 4D) unbeaten run away from Swangard as they take on a St. Louis side that has recently turned the corner.
“Friday will be a hard game. St. Louis has been getting some good results of late, and the heat here in Missouri will also not make it easy for us,” said Whitecaps Coach Teitur Thordarsson.
“However, we have played some tough games of late, so we will be ready for it.”
Kickoff goes Friday night at 5 pm PT.
For more information, take a look at these nutrition articles. For plenty of nutrition tools and tips, join the SportMedBC Community.
Photo: whitecapsfc.com / Bob Frid
– with files from whitecapsfc.com
