Heat Illness Lectures on Arizona Campus

Dr. Brendon McDermott lectures on heat illness and hydration

As Arizona athletes begin to train for fall sports in the lingering desert heat, heat illness and hydration practices become a serious consideration for coaches and athletic trainers.

Helping athletic training students at ATSU-ASHS prepare for this responsibility was Brendon McDermott, Ph.D., ATC, who conducted two lectures on the Arizona Campus August 13 and 14 titled “Evidence-Based Heat Illness Concepts and Hydration Practices” and “Methods of Rehydration: What is Best for Athletes?”.

Dr. McDermott is an assistant professor, clinical coordinator, and assistant athletic trainer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and his research focuses on heat illness and rehydration practices in athletic training.

“Because of their graduate assistantship positions, most athletic training students currently have responsibility for a fall sport,” said John Parsons, Ph.D., AT/L, director of the ATSU-ASHS athletic training program. “Obviously, Phoenix weather predisposes these athletes to heat injuries. Consequently, our students play a critical role in the community for keeping adolescent athletes safe in these hazardous environments.”