Stepping inside of Woodgrove High School, students may find their friends or classmates drinking an energy drink to “wake them up” or “get them through the day.” These phrases are frequently used on mornings when students feel tired or exhausted. This energy drink craze notably impacts student athletes.
In recent years, over 60% of young athletes ages 12-17 have admitted to consuming energy drinks, 17% of whom admitted to drinking them regularly, meaning at least one to three times a week, according to the National Library of Medicine. As of right now, energy drinks are becoming both more popular and more dangerous within the athletic community.
As of the most recent Spring Athletics Parent Meeting, Woodgrove’s Athletic Team has started to set guidelines against consuming energy drinks during or before games. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) have also included energy drinks under the category of drugs and other substances.
Woodgrove has started setting these guidelines because energy drinks can negatively affect the high school athletes bodies. Woodgrove’s Athletic Trainer, Paul Peterson, explained, “There’s a laundry list of possible cardiac side effects [such as] increasing blood pressure, heart rate, and setting yourself up for any kind of cardiac emergency. Especially somebody that has an underlying condition or youth or adolescents under 18, [energy drinks are] not recommended at all.” These effects can also lead to bigger problems. Peterson continued, “[Energy drinks are] the last thing you want when you’re exercising and your heart rate’s elevated already…People have died from drinking these drinks and doing competition at the same time.”
Some Woodgrove coaches also support the ban of energy drinks. Varsity softball coach, Joseph Spicer, stated, “[An energy drink] doesn’t boost your energy, it depresses your feeling of fatigue, which is a very different thing. It doesn’t change your performance, per se, as it gives you a false sense of how good you’re doing.” On the other hand, Woodgrove track coach Mr. Kent Staneart, believes otherwise, he stated,” I don’t believe it’s a placebo. Caffeine is definitely a real stimulant that boosts your energy.”
The rules with energy drinks were very different in past years. Now that energy drinks are becoming more popular, the rules may have to be reinforced. Varsity football defensive coordinator, Zachary Gargan, shared, “14 years ago, during a period of time where a couple of kids passed away in other states due to energy drinks, If I saw one of my players with an energy drink, they weren’t allowed to practice or they weren’t allowed to play in the game…Nowadays I see girls and boys walking around with Celsius’ all day.”
A big part of what may have led to the increase of energy drink consumption among young athletes is the media. Peterson expressed, “[Energy drink marketing] is definitely geared toward young kids because that’s their market, in sports and youth and things, they need this extra energy…They used to market toward young people because they want to get them hooked, so if they’re drinking it now when they’re young, they’re going to keep drinking it.”
Even though the NFHS and SMAC have started to try to put an end to energy drink consumption, athletic trainers have been advising against it for a long time. Woodgrove’s athletic trainer Paul Peterson emphasized,“That’s the last thing they want to drink for rehydration.”
Although most athletic trainers agree on the topic of energy drinks, advising against their consumption, some coaches have differing opinions.. Spicer emphasized,” I think it’s a very bad thing, and [student-athletes] should not drink them at all. In contrast, Gargan believes that energy drinks do have a time and a place to be used. He specified,“I think that it should be limited, but it is a necessary evil.” Gargan believes that the easy accessibility to energy drinks, and overall convenience make them impossible to limit.“Like I said, it’s convenient. You walk into a gas station and there’s dozens of rows. There are probably more energy drinks than food or pop,” mentioned Gargan.
The main people affected by these new repercussions towards energy drinks are the student-athletes. Sophomore and track athlete Penny Seemiller specified, “I think if you drink energy drinks in moderation it’s okay, just not excessively.” Seemiller also noted, “I think there’s so much energy drink usage because everyone has to balance school with sports and that makes it difficult to get as much sleep.” On the contrary, freshman football and basketball player Caleb Strahan expressed,” I think drinking caffeine is not an ideal way to fuel your body to play sports, and I think there are many bad side effects like affecting your sleep and hydration while playing.”
Although everyone has differing opinions on energy drinks, the risk of cardiac side effects such as increased blood pressure, and heart rate increase accompanied by dehydration give the NFHS and the SMAC a multitude of reasons to put an end to energy drink consumption in high school athletes.