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How to tackle hydration in young footballers
Hydration is one of the most important, yet often overlooked, parts of supporting young footballers. Whether it’s after-school training, competing in weekend matches, or attending tournaments, ensuring your players are getting enough fluid intake to maintain energy levels, concentration, performance, and overall health is an essential step in building their skills.
To help young players perform at their best while reducing the risk of fatigue, coaches need to understand how to identify and tackle dehydration effectively. In this blog, we’re going to explore the practical strategies for tackling hydration in young players as well as how to create healthy habits that support both performance and long-term wellbeing
How does hydration affect sports performance?
Football is a physically demanding sport that requires players to sprint, rapidly change direction, use technical skills, and maintain concentration throughout training and matches. So, in order to meet these demands, proper hydration is key.
Despite its importance, many footballers underestimate their fluid needs before, during, and after training. Understanding why hydration matters and how it influences performance can help players, coaches, and parents alike develop effective strategies to support health, well-being, and success on the pitch.
Signs of dehydration in sports
Recognising the signs of dehydration will help you understand how much and how often your players will need to hydrate. Luckily, if you suspect that your young players aren’t getting enough water, then there are a few signs you (and fellow players) can look out for. A few of these signs include:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Muscle cramps
- Difficulty concentrating, all of which can impair decision-making and physical performance
- Slower reactions
- Reduced work rate
- Decline in technical skills
- Looking flushed
How to promote hydration in young footballers
It’s not always a simple task to get kids to drink water. Encouraging children to drink fluids regularly throughout the day, rather than relying solely on thirst, can help ensure they begin training and matches well hydrated. Below you can find some great habits and tips you can adapt for your team to ensure they’re hitting their water intake.
Educate your players on the importance of hydration
Better than just drilling into them that they should be doing it, when they know the why behind it, young players may take it upon themselves to stay hydrated. Many of your young players will want to perform their best, so knowing how dehydration can affect their performance will give them the incentive they need to stay on top of their water intake.
Educate them on the signs of dehydration
Similarly to educating them on why hydration is important when playing football, helping them understand the signs of dehydration will help them know if they need to up their water intake or not.
While many parents and coaches can keep an eye out for signs such as fatigue and lack of concentration, there are some signs that only the players themselves will notice. Help them identify signs such as:
- A dry mouth,
- Headaches
- Feeling overheated
- Tiredness.
You can also teach them the urine colour check, as this is one of the most reliable ways to teach children if they’re dehydrated. You should teach them the system below:
- Clear/pale yellow - well hydrated
- Dark yellow - dehydrated, drink plenty of water.
- Apple juice colour - severely dehydrated, drink plenty of water and rest to fix.
Encourage hydration breaks
Build regular drinking breaks into training sessions and matches. Kids often become absorbed in play and may not recognise or respond to feelings of thirst until they are already becoming dehydrated.
Start by teaching them a simple timeline:
- Drink two cups of water 2 hours before any workouts/training sessions
- 1-2 cups 30 minutes before training
- Every 15-20 minutes drink half a cup of water during training
- Drink 2-3 cups of water after training
You can keep this up as a poster near your training area to remind young players to hydrate. You should always include extra water breaks on hot days or during intense training as they are more likely to dehydrate.
Ensure easy access to water
Players are more likely to hydrate regularly when water is easily accessible before, during, and after training sessions and matches. Coaches should encourage every player to bring clearly labelled water bottles and ensure bottles are kept close to the training area so that drinking is convenient and does not disrupt activities.
Take these red 600ml water bottles, for example, their easy-to-squeeze design makes quick hydration between drills and matches easy, so your players can stay on top of their water intake. Allowing kids to personalise their bottles with accessories and stickers will help them easily identify which is theirs, making drinking breaks more efficient and more fun.
Red 600ml water bottles - £2.95
Or if you’re looking for shared water bottles for your squad, these hygiene water bottles have a no-touch spout, minimising cross-contamination and are perfect for sharing. Also featuring a squeezy design, these bottles make hydrating an effortless task.
Hygiene water bottle 1L - £3.65
You should also consider the ease of transporting water. Whether playing at home or travelling with your young athletes, these water bottle carriers make staying hydrated easy, no matter where your training takes you. Making it easy for players to avoid dragging their bottles around, these carriers neatly store and hold bottles to promote hydration.
Drinks Bottle Holder - £4.40 (Bottles not included)
When access to water is simple and consistent, young athletes are more likely to maintain adequate fluid intake, helping to support performance, concentration, recovery, and overall health.
Make drinking water fun
Drinking plain water can be seen as more of a chore rather than something your young athletes actively want to do. Try mixing it up by adding flavours and natural additions to their water such as:
- Cucumber and mint
- Water infused with strawberries and citrus fruits
- Adding a dash of diluting juice (best to look for sugar-free versions)
- Freezing fruits in ice cubes for flavour
These small additions of flavour will help make hydration interesting and can encourage young children to up their water intake.
How you hydrate matters
Preparing for hydration is just as important as hydrating. Teaching your kids what they need for strong hydration will set them up for success. They should be:
- Bringing 2x more water than they think they'll need (it helps if coaches can have backup water for those who run out)
- Use cooler boxes to keep water cool during hot days
- Packing watery, healthy, snacks such as oranges and watermelon.
Lead by example
One of the most effective ways to encourage good hydration habits in young footballers is for coaches to lead by example. When players regularly see adults taking water breaks, carrying water bottles, and prioritising hydration during training and matches, they are far more likely to mirror those behaviours themselves. This normalises drinking water as a natural and essential part of sport rather than something optional.
Increase fluid intake during hot days
Hot weather places additional demands on your young footballers, as higher temperatures lead to increased sweat loss and a greater risk of dehydration. On these days, it’s important to increase fluid intake before, during, and after activity rather than relying on usual hydration habits.
Hot weather - double water intake before, during and after activities.
Cold weather - maintain regular intake.
Indoor facilities - you may find that facilities with indoor heating and air conditioning have drier air, so water intake should be increased to combat this.
Have a hydration chart
Especially great for younger children, giving them a reward every time they remember to hydrate is wonderful motivation for encouraging water upkeep. Handing out stickers or putting stickers on a chart whenever they hydrate is a constant reminder to your little athletes that hydration should be constantly considered during physical activity. It also adds in an extra healthy piece of competition, which is both fun and practical - making hydration feel less like a chore and more like a challenge.
Tackle hydration in young footballers with Avec Sport
Hydration plays a vital role in keeping young footballers safe, healthy, and performing at their best. From starting sessions well hydrated to taking regular drink breaks and ensuring easy access to water, every small habit contributes to better performance and a reduced risk of fatigue. Make sure your squad has everything they need to stay hydrated, and browse our full water bottles range at Avec Sport for efficient and hygienic options.
Looking for more ways to keep your students cool and comfortable during intense games and drills? You can also explore our Avec for Education page to learn how your school can bulk order custom school kits at great discounts. With a wide range of sweat-wicking materials and breezy mesh side panels, don’t miss out on kitting out your squad with these premium discounted designs.