Hydration Tips For Young Athletes

Your little sports enthusiast has been practicing hard in the late-summer heat of northern California for an hour. Your athlete runs over to you, smiling, sweaty, and thirsty. You reach into the cooler and hand over a nice cold bottle of…liquid sugar. Wait. What? Yes! If you’re handing out a sports drink, essentially that is what you’re doing. While sports drinks have some added electrolytes, they are also loaded with sugar or, if you get the diet or “zero” version, synthetic sweetener. So what is the best thing for kids to drink when they’re playing hard in hot weather? Good old-fashioned water!

Marketing gurus can be geniuses at getting us to think our children need sports drinks after an hour of playing soccer or baseball. The original sports drink, you know the one that starts with a “G,” was created in the 1960s for The Gators, the University of Florida football team. It’s a fact; you can Google it. It was specially formulated for elite athletes who practiced for many hours in the humid Florida heat, not for kids. Water is the best way to keep your young athlete hydrated, although not always as popular as a blue or red or lemon-lime sports drink.

The healthy drink of choice is water, whether it’s in the hottest months of the year or all year long. Encourage your child to use a reusable insulated water bottle with a built-in straw; it keeps water cold and makes it easier to drink during practice or games.

Let’s recognize that plain water can get boring after a while. You can add fruits or veggies to water for flavor without added sugar. Lemon slices are a tried and true favorite or cucumber slices for a refreshing spa-like treat. Frozen berries can sweeten up plain water and keep it cold. Get creative and try fruit and herb combos such as strawberry and mint. Place one to two layers of fruit, veggies, or herbs of your choice on the bottom of a large pitcher. Fill with cool water and stir. Chill it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving. Get your family involved by asking each family member to create their own signature flavored water. For a friendly family competition, vote to see whose flavor wins and keep the winning flavor stocked in the fridge for easy access.

What about the times when kids do need to replenish electrolytes? If your child is active for hours in the heat, he may benefit from an electrolyte boost. Electrolytes are minerals in your body that help balance your body’s water level. Fruits are a triple benefit because they contain vitamins, minerals, and sugar that is produced naturally in the growing process instead of added sugar like those in sports drinks, and most fruits are full of water. Bag up sliced oranges and keep them in the cooler for an energizing treat after practice. Bananas are another easy option, conveniently packaged in their own wrapper, and a good source of potassium, an electrolyte.

If you are an elite athlete exercising for hours and hours in the humid heat, you likely need to replenish some liquids and electrolytes, and your body may process the added sugar in sports drinks easily. If you are seven-year-old playing soccer for one to two hours outdoors in the North State, you need to replenish some liquids, and maybe some electrolytes, but there’s a better way to do it than sports drinks. Try flavored water, a few bites of banana, and skip the added sugar.

To make it easy for your family to hydrate on the go, prep a large pitcher at home with naturally flavored water and fill up everyone’s water bottles before the big game. Stock the cooler with healthy electrolyte boosters by tossing in a few pieces of fruit. You will feel like a champion when your children reach for healthy alternatives instead of sugary sports drinks.