I hear that all athletic directors have a lot of paperwork explaining the whole thing to the coaches during a sitdown meeting. Plus, there are handheld electronic devices that automatically tell you when the heat index is too high.
My question is: why is this necessary today compared to the 60's, 70's, 80's...? I think it has to do with two things. First, when I was a kid, we always spent our free time outdoors when we were not in school. So when football or track or any other outdoor sport started up we were already in shape and used to being outside. Second, the whole boom with GNC and these supplements and everything else the kids are force fed nowadays have to have a negative impact on the human body. When I was a kid all we did was play outdoors all day and even at night when it wasn't a school night, and we ate meat and potatoes and the only supplements we took were a daily vitamin maybe. I think if the kids stayed away from GNC and got outdoors more instead of video games and computers then their bodies would not go into heat shock when they finally do get outside. Not to mention the gatorade deal. I know electrolytes are important because doctors say so, but water is what we are mostly made up of, and the kids now are programmed to think that only gatorade is what you need.
More water, real nutrition, and get outside more often, and less video games, computers, supplements and gatorade.
Just my opinion. I don't feel it is a wimpification, but more of a misguided way for HS athletes to exist nowadays. It has to be somewhat valid, because I never saw even one heat related illness my entire life until the mid-90's. Why so much now?