Getting ready to go back to school doesn’t mean just shopping for new clothes and crossing items off the school supplies list. For student athletes, it also means getting back into a rigorous training schedule.

Dr. Scott Robinson, emergency department medical director at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, offers some tips for getting in the game.

“If you’re just starting football practice or you’re just starting back into a sport and you haven’t been doing it for awhile, plan a little extra conditioning time and make sure that you stretch well and plan for extra fluids,” he said.

Fluids are especially important in the late summer and early fall months when heat makes practice even more intense.

“Thirty years ago, they threw you a couple of chips of ice and a salt tablet and said, ‘Go play for two hours.’ Now there’s water at every drill,” said Dirk Wedd, head football coach at Lawrence High School.

“During practice we give them water whenever they want it. We usually try to break somewhere around 30 minutes depending on the weather. Again it’s important to keep fluids in them. As long as you do that, you should be OK.”

But heat-related injuries aren’t the only concern. Doctors say sprains and fractures light up the scoreboard too when fall sports start each year.

“Ankles, knees and shoulders  those are the joints that tend to get in trouble. Muscle conditioning and strengthening can really make a difference. Your best protection against hurting your knees or your ankles is good physical conditioning of those muscle groups that protect those joints,” Robinson said.

Safety is at the top of the roster for coaches. They say having the right foundation is key.

“I don’t think you’re in coaching if you don’t care about kids. We try to do everything in the world (to keep them safe). Whether it’s buying them the best equipment, whether it’s teaching the correct technique or selling to them the importance of doing things correctly,” Wedd said.

The health benefits of sports can’t be ignored, but neither can the consequences. Planning ahead to minimize risks is especially important.

“Whatever activity you choose, just plan to do it as safely as you can,” Robinson said. “That goes for all sports  golf, tennis, football  to do what you can to prevent it.”