Be responsible or be sorry, it’s your choice! Read below
When sharing isn’t nice; Every young athlete should have their own water bottle
The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo)
Byline: ANDREW COPPOLINO
Wed 19 Jul 2006
Page: E5
Section: SPORTS
Column: KIDS IN SPORTS; A WEEKLY LOOK AT YOUTH ISSUES
Source: FOR THE RECORD
Back at the end of May, the Edmonton Oilers were struck with the flu bug as they battled for the Stanley Cup.
The irrepressible and garrulous Don Cherry — who, I must admit, often directs relevant and valuable points to youth hockey players — showed a clip from an Oilers practice. Sitting along the boards were players’ water bottles, each with a strip of tape displaying the individual player’s jersey number. The message was clear: one water bottle per player.
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish stopped the communal use of water bottles (and shared towels on the bench) in an effort to stop the spread of influenza germs that was taking its toll on the Edmonton squad. It made very good sense.
I can count several occasions in the last few years where young soccer players I know have contracted nasty colds, flus and on at least two occasions even the viral infection mononucleosis during the course of the season.
Mono hits the 15-25 year-old demographic and while not highly contagious (nor is it airborne), it can be transmitted through oral contact as well as through sharing drinking straws and water bottles.
Similarly, some forms of bacterial meningitis (much more serious than viral meningitis) can be picked up through transmission of oral secretions.
Now, there’s no way to definitively attribute the illnesses I witnessed to water bottles shared during the course of practices and games, but there is no doubt that sharing water bottles is a habit best broken.
Sporting events in the summer heat require lots of fluid intake, and often players rush to the sideline clamouring for a drink. A teammate jumps up and offers her water bottle. The player drinks and is back into action. The original owner of the bottle then takes a swig of her own and either picks up a bug or prepares to pass it on to another thirsty and unsuspecting teammate.
This simple, seemingly innocent act is exactly what MacTavish was trying to curtail with his professional players. Summer or winter, I can’t think of a team sport for youth where there isn’t some sort of water bottle sharing.
An information bulletin distributed by the Canadian Hockey Association noted that good team hygiene includes “ensuring all players and staff have their own water bottles to prevent the transmission of viruses and bacteria. Bottles should be labeled and washed after each practice or game.”
This should be a water bottle-hygiene credo for every minor sports club.
The importance of washing water bottles thoroughly and regularly is particularly important.
Research has shown that repeated refilling of water bottles without proper washing, while environmentally sound, can result in unacceptably high levels of bacteria capable of making a player quite ill.
One study of elementary school children revealed that 65 per cent of samples retrieved from their refilled water bottles had high levels of bacteria. Worse, young kids may visit a restroom, fail to wash their hands properly (or at all), and refill their water bottles.
That one water bottle shared with a couple of kids could have a very bad outcome for the entire team.
A particularly potent culprit has to be the “six-pack” squeeze bottle carrier that sits at the bench for shared use, the type of practice MacTavish sought to end.
Players open up the nozzle and wrap their lips around it taking in the replenishing fluid. Repeat this spit-swap a few times with a half-dozen or so different players and potentially you’ve got a ripening brew swirling with nasty germs.
In hot weather, I use this six-pack to have additional water at hand, but I control its use by making sure players pour the cooling fluid down their throats without making contact with their mouths.
There’s water, water everywhere, but each to his own water bottle.
