As student athletes prepare for their upcoming seasons, they’re being met with some new regulations.
The Virginia Highschool League (VHSL) have cracked down on athletes and the usage of energy drinks. According to the new policy, if a student athlete is found drinking an energy drink, they will be unable to take part in any sports activities on that day. Further offenses against the rule can lead to harsher punishments regarding play time and participation.
While this policy does seem necessary regarding the 30-50% of young athletes experiencing affects. These affects vary, including insomnia,migraines, and gastrointestinal issues. Even though these rules will help prevent energy drink related problems, many students aren’t very happy about it.
Junior Lily Gist, a student athlete, has a lot to say on the matter.
“It’s very, very unfortunate to see this newly placed ban on energy drinks for athletes. I guess it can be understandable for heart problems and it can be unhealthy for some students.” Gist said.
No matter what the athletes say, the rules have been passed. While energy drinks do provide a good bit of caffeine, they also have caused some problems for athletes during games.
Athletic Director Anthony Marasco spoke about how these drinks can affect the health of our athletes.
“The VHSL doesn’t think that energy drinks are something the kids should be drinking. I also don’t really agree that energy drinks are something the kids should be drinking. There’s not a lot of research behind all the stuff that’s going into them and the effects that it’s having. And then obviously the amount of cardiac incidents that have happened has skyrocketed recently with high school athletes.” said Marasco.
Along with an increase in cardiac incidents, energy drinks can also cause many other problems, including an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and sleep disturbances. All of these symptoms can greatly affect an athletes health and ability to perform in sports
Even if people’s opinions clash on the new enforcement of this rule, only time will tell how effective the policy really is for Wildcat athletes.
