• Hydration
 ~Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!
 ~Have them drink water throughout the day.
 ~Have them bring a jug or a couple of bottles of water to practice.
 ~Do not let them bring PowerAde or Gatorade to practice, water is better for them.
 ~Limit Gatorade or PowerAde consumption to just one a day after practice to replace
    electrolytes lost from heavy sweating.
 ~Limit fruit juices due to high sugar content.
 ~Eliminate soda – mild diuretic (causes the body to lose water).

• Nutrition
 ~Have them eat healthy – fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, etc.
 ~Do not let them eat a big meal within an hour of practice – it will end up on the practice field.
 ~Have them eat dinner after practice or an hour before practice.
 ~If they are hungry before practice, give them a light snack – fruit, yogurt, granola bar, etc.

• Clothing
 ~Have them wear light colored clothing during hot days. Light colors reflect heat while dark
~colors absorb heat.
~During cooler weather, please dress them appropriately to handle the temperatures,
   particularly during the last week or two of the season.

• Equipment
~PHJFL supplies the helmet, chin strap, mouthpiece, shoulder pads, game jersey, practice
   pants, game pants, belt, hip pads, tail pad, thigh pads and knee pads.
~Parents are responsible for athletic supporter with protective cup, socks, and
   football shoes and if needed, a special mouthpiece for those wearing braces.
~If PHJFL equipment is broken, missing or faulty, please inform the coach. We will get a
   replacement.
~Helmets take a lot of getting used to. They are supposed to fit snug to protect the player’s
   head. If your child complains that the helmet is too tight, report it to the coach and we will
   check for proper fit.

• Practice
~Please have the boys at practice a few minutes early. We have a short amount of time to
   teach them a lot about football.
~Please have them dressed for practice (pads on), not carrying their pads to the field. That
   causes delays for the start of team warm-ups or incomplete warm-up for the player.
~Please contact the head coach or one of the assistants if your child is going to miss practice.

• Acceptable reasons for missing practice.
   Family emergency, illness, etc.
• Unacceptable reasons for missing practice.
   detention, don’t feel like going, etc.
• Football is a team sport and if they miss practice or games, they will be unprepared for
   game day. This increases their chances of injury, and prevents them from being able to properly support their team.