I run track in Florida. High jump and triple jump. So practicing in serious heat isn’t a hypothetical for me. That’s why this one matters to me more than most.
Here’s the fact that shocked me. According to sports medicine experts, exertional heat stroke is the leading cause of preventable death in high school athletics. More than 9,000 high school athletes get treated for heat illness every single year. And climate change is making hot, humid practice days more common, which only raises the risk.
But here’s the part that actually gives me hope. Exertional heat stroke is close to 100% survivable if people recognize it fast and cool the athlete down right away, usually by getting them into cold water within about 10 minutes. The difference between a tragedy and a kid being totally fine often comes down to how quickly the people around them react.
Think of your body like a phone or a laptop. Push it too hard with no way to cool off and it overheats and shuts down to protect itself. The fix isn’t magic, it’s just paying attention: water breaks, easing into the heat early in the season instead of going full speed day one, and coaches and trainers knowing the warning signs.
I think we treat being tough and “pushing through” like it’s always the right call. With heat, it just isn’t. Knowing when to stop and helping a teammate who’s in trouble is the actual strong move here. This is one where being informed literally saves lives.
The Global Pulse 