Welcome Packet

Muscle Cramps, Swimmer’s Ear, and StretchingSimply put, muscle cramps are normally caused by a salt imbalance. Normally this is the resultof low potassium, hence, “eat a banana.” But sometimes cramps can be due to a lack ofmagnesium. Recent research has shown that up to 60% of elite athletes have a magnesiumdeficiency. Consider this if your athlete gets a lot of cramps.Swimmer’s ear is the result of water being in an athlete’s ear canal for extended periods oftime. Most of the time, most swimmers get water in their ears but they can remove it simply byshaking their heads with that particular ear down. If your swimmer has water in their ear by thetime they get home, a few drops of rubbing alcohol or vinegar tend to get it out. The over-thecounterdrops work well too. If an athlete starts to experience pain in their ears, a trip to thedoctor is warranted.Though the research has been around since 2000, many people still think the best way toprevent injuries and get muscles ready for exercise is to stretch before the activity. This is false.At least three studies have shown that stretching weakens muscles by a third for up to twohours after stretching. It has also been pretty well proven that there are no injury preventionbenefits to stretching prior to exercise, in fact it may actually increase the chance of injury.Stretching is beneficial, but do not stretch right before practice or a meet. We will ensure yourathletes are warmed-up in other ways.Lightning and Cold WeatherWe are in an outdoor pool. Weather is a factor. If the air temperature is less than 68 degreeswe likely will not have practice. It is possible that if the air is warming we will still have practice.It is quite possible we will have a dryland practice for the 13-18 year olds if the weather is cold,so please call the pool with any questions.We will not have practice during a thunderstorm. If there is sporadic lightning we will make ajudgment call as to whether to hold some type of dryland practice. We will have practice if it isjust raining.The recreation hotline is 608-348-4067. It will be updated if the pool is closed. The pool phonenumber is 608-348-5186.