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Ask The Coach Guidance for those lost in sports
Dear Coach: I'm a high school wrestler, and to make weight I've
been losing up to 10 pounds of water weight before every match.
Is this dangerous?
TIPPING THE SCALE
Dear Tipping: Assuming you're smart enough to avoid the notorious
rubber suits and saunas that have caused wrestlers fatal heart
attacks, your biggest risk is dehydration, says Nathan Houska,
trainer of the NCAA-champion Minnesota wrestling team. "Your body
doesn't have time to replenish the fluids it's lost," says
Houska. Maintain an appropriate weight throughout the season and
don't lose more than three pounds in the two days before a match.
Rapid weight loss can also hurt you in competition. Says Iowa
coach Jim Zalesky, "It catches up to you. You're more apt to get
hurt, and you'll be out of gas by season's end."
Dear Coach: I'm fairly certain a guy in my regular golf foursome
shaves strokes, but I'm worried if I confront him, I'll come off
as overly competitive. What should I do?
EVENING THE SCORE
Dear Evening: "Ask him to keep score, then hand him an electric
razor and say, 'You'll be needing this for yours,'" jokes Jim
Corbett, host of the etiquette site mrgolf.com. Seriously, since
he's a regular partner, cracking a joke is a good way to make
your point. Just be certain you're right. Says Corbett, "You'd
look worse than just competitive if you accuse him and you're
wrong." If he still counts bogeys as pars, try another tactic.
"Say you'll keep score for the group," says Corbett, "and tell
everyone you want to keep track of stats like putts and greens in
regulation."
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