Beat the Heat

Just like having a game plan and a strategy against your opponents, when you are playing pickleball here in Southwest Florida during this time of year, you need to have a game plan and a strategy against Mother Nature. The endless combination of heat and humidity can wear you down and affect your performance on the court.

Here are a few quick tips to help you “Beat the Heat”.

Stay hydrated:

Hydrate before, during and after playing. Make sure you consume a regular steady hourly intake of H2O on a daily basis. Be sure to drink water between every game. Recover after playing by drinking either some type of sports drink, or my favorite, Emergen-C vitamin drink mix.

Stay fully fueled:

In addition to staying hydrated, you need to make sure you have enough fuel in the tank to get you through.

When you go to play, take along some fruit such as grapes or a couple of bananas.

You will also need to fuel up on fiber and protein. While there are a wide variety of fiber and protein snack bars on the market to choose from, whole wheat or pumpernickel bagels are a good choice. I like to snack on Triscuit crackers or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain wheat bread.

Dress for the occasion:

Wear light-colored, loose-fitting shirts. Many modern fabrics now provide moisture wicking and UV protection. Personally, I prefer 100% cotton. Wear a hat or cap to help shade your eyes and face from direct sunlight. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. Sunglasses not only provide protection against UV rays from the sun, but also provide eye protection from being hit by a ball.

Cool off:

A cold wet towel or a misting spray bottle with ice water can quickly cool you down.

Pace yourself:

Take a 5-to-10-minute break between games and get out of the direct sun. This is a good time to sit down, wrap that cool wet towel around your neck or drape it over your head and spray your face with the ice-cold mist bottle.

Continue to hydrate with water and snack on your fruit, bagel and P and J sandwich.

Lastly and most importantly:

Unfortunately, we don’t seem to usually recognize we are going into heat stress until it’s too late. If you begin to feel dizzy or disoriented stop playing immediately. Get out of the sun and if possible, get indoors into an air-conditioned climate.

Also, watch out for your partner and your opponents. If you sense they seem to be somewhat disoriented, even if it’s in the middle of a game, take a break and cool off.

Wayne Clark is a professional tennis instructor with over 25 years’ experience coaching players on all levels of the game. Wayne is also qualified in pickleball instruction and is on staff as an instructor with The Naples Pickleball Center and Training Academy at East Naples Community Park. Contact Coach Wayne by email at coachwayneclark@aol.com, or by or by phone or text at 239-450-6161.