The combination of high heat and high humidity in Central Texas can be tough on an athlete’s body. Exercising in the heat—summertime practice for football, track, baseball, soccer, or any youth sport—can make the summertime more enjoyable and help to improve a young athlete’s skills, but it can also pose added risks for those young athletes working out in the hot sun.

The normal guidelines for fluid intake—one ounce of water per pound of body weight per day—don’t apply when you’re suited up in pads in 90-degree heat. Youth who are part of teams practicing outdoors in the summer sun must increase their fluid intake considerably in order to avoid heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

“If you’re running or working out and you find yourself thirsty, you’re already two liters behind what you should be drinking,” cautioned Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Ross Tobleman, M.D. at Scott & White Hospital - Round Rock. “You need to stop and drink.”