There was a time after this morning’s race when you feared that you were going to need emergency services for your daughter. At the age of 17 and as a senior in high school, your daughter mead the decision to go out for cross country. This morning was her first real meet of the season. Two weeks ago she ran in a timed trial, but only ran against all of her teammates. Last weekend there was a meet, but it was a different format where the runners all ran according to class.
Based on her performance at those first two events, your daughter competed in her first every varsity race this morning. Running against the top seven girls from 11 different area schools, this was her toughest test so far. Unfortunately, because her race was pretty early in the morning, your daughter opted not to eat breakfast. As a result, although she finished the race with the best time of her season so far, she does not even remember crossing the finishing line. You were taking photos and you watched her go into the shoot, but did not notice how wobbly she was as soon as she stopped.

Fortunately, the trainer at the meet did notice and he and another parent helped her get to a training table. You arrived a few minutes later to find the trainer and the parent, who was a nurse, checking her pulse and monitoring her. Since you have very little experience at these events, you likely would have rushed her to the closets emergency services. Under the care of the meet experts, however, they were able to help her cool down, get her to drink some carbs, and within 15 minutes your daughter was back to her normal self.

High School and College Athletes Need Careful Monitoring During High Temperature Situations
If you have been paying attention to the latest news stories, you know the importance of monitoring athletes who are practicing or competing in high temperatures. Left unchecked and untreated, these young athletes can quickly digress into dangerous situations. Knowing when to go to a local urgent care center and when to call an ambulance, for instance, can often be difficult to determine. The best schools and colleges, however, have protocols in place to know what to look for and what to do.

Local hospitals and an urgent care nearby may sometimes be necessary, but having a list of guidelines to follow can help trainers, coaches, and officials have a more clear picture of what is needed. Not surprising, dizziness is the second most common complaint heard in doctor’s offices and urgent care centers. This condition occurs in 70% of the nation’s population, not just athletes, at sometime in their lives. Taking advantage of the available resources, which sometimes includes emergency services, can help everyone involved find the best results.