My son is 11 and this is his 2nd year to play tackle football. Practice just started this week and Mon night he was crying (stomach ache) along with several others and tonight he threw up about 20 minutes in. He plays different sports year round, not overweight and in generally good shape although he is not a great eater. We just finished Summer baseball and they kinda took it easy due to the heat (no conditioning, just played baseball). Well, now the football conditioning is getting to him. He says he's not sore as they are not even in their pads and hitting yet.
He has been drinking LOTS of water all summer as he has been outside a lot with camps/sports. He starts as soon as he wakes upped his intake this week.
Any tips on the stomach? Now he's afraid he's going to throw up every time he gets hit. How he;s hating the game he begged me to let him play for years :). We had no problems last year and nothing has really changed with him since then, only this heat!
Thanks!
Hmm. Could be that he bruised a rib, pulled a muscle, could even be his appendix. If it continues or he develops a fever he should be seen by his dr.
My nephew is the Quarterback of his High School Football team (he is a junior) . He is like your son who has always been in every sport possible.. I remember very clearly the first year he was on a tackle team when he was young.. He would get hit and I would almost faint. He would sometimes also have to sit on the sidelines and catch his breath and get his emotions together (not take off the helmet so he could shed a few tears)..
I sent him your entire question and here is his answer..
"He needs to eat. Not having the proper diet and replacing all the calories he's burning during football is hurting his body. Keep hydrating but he needs food to have energy and calories to burn because he is so active. Bananas, red meats, enriched pasta, etc are all great examples of good protein carbs and potassium. I would also recommend drinking coconut water before practices, another GREAT source of potassium."
Hope this helps.. L.
Well is he eating close to practice? If so what is he eating? Heavy foods? He also shouldn't pound water right before but drink it all throughout the day.(not sure if he is)Too much water in the belly will make them puke. My kids start practice(we had our first game last weekend) at 5:30 and I do not let them eat after 2:30. My oldest has played for 3 years and this is my youngests first year and we have had no sickness. It may really just be the heat though.
My 11 year old has been drinking about a half gallon of water a day and the coaches said no gatoraide during practice because it is mostly sugar. I also make sure my son cools down by pouring a little water over his head during breaks. I do make sure he eats a light meal about an hour before so he can have a good protein and carbohydrate for energy and then he eats a little something after. All the kids that I have seen get sick have been from eating nothing, eating junk or too much, and not enough water. Of course the heat.... Hope this helps:)
tell him to drink gatorade at practice and water outside of practice. He is getting heat cramps. tell him when his stomach starts hurting to put a wet cloth on his wrist and back of his neck. and get him some body armor. He needs to tell the coaches. They know how to handle it. that is what they are trained to deal with. It doesn't mean he is weak if he tells them they will tell him to condition a different way. They know what they are doing and he should not be scared to tell the coaches and learn the proper way to keep from dehydrating. and he can dehydrate by drinking to much water. to much is just as bad as not enough. I learned this when I worked construction. Also send sunflower seeds with him to chew on on the sidelines. anything high salt will make the cramps go away.
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tell him to drink gatorade at practice and water outside of practice. He is getting heat cramps. tell him when his stomach starts hurting to put a wet cloth on his wrist and back of his neck. and get him some body armor. He needs to tell the coaches. They know how to handle it. that is what they are trained to deal with. It doesn't mean he is weak if he tells them they will tell him to condition a different way. They know what they are doing and he should not be scared to tell the coaches and learn the proper way to keep from dehydrating. and he can dehydrate by drinking to much water. to much is just as bad as not enough. I learned this when I worked construction. Also send sunflower seeds with him to chew on on the sidelines. anything high salt will make the cramps go away.
At some point it does not matter how much he drinks. Your body can only use so much of that water and the rest of it will pass through you not used. It could just be that even if he is drinking enough it is just too hot to be practicing if they are outside. Maybe talk to your son's doctor and get some input from the doctor about this.
I would think he's just probably not used to it yet. It takes a while to get conditioned and used to the routine. I would suggest continuing with giving him water or gatorade throughout those days he has practice. I would have him wear his helmet off and on throughout the day to get used to it. Try to have something small on his stomach before practice, but, not to eat anything too heavy or filling. Also during practice, make sure he doesn't gulp the water...only sip it.
If he began getting sick due to a hard hit, I'm thinking maybe he got the wind knocked out of him, or maybe he injured a rib, or just was hit the wrong way in the abdomen.
Maybe during future practices, you could tell him to do what he can and if/when he begins to feel sick, to maybe slow down and take a break. Vomiting during football practice is very normal...especially at the beginning of thte season. I've even seen the best, most conditioned kids get sick after a hard work out. My son (almost 8yrs old) has been playing ice hockey since he was 18 months old participating in many practices, games, and private lessons. He never got sick until one time after a private lesson where he was worked harder than ever before. I was surprised b/c he was used to working out that hard and he's in great shape. He had never gotten sick before, so why now??? I just realized people can react to each workout differently...doesn't matter what shape you're in.
