Doctor offers tips for athletes

Girls golf matches began on Monday, and practices in the other seven fall sports began that day.

Dr. Cary Guse, a fellowship-trained and board-certified sports medicine surgeon at Southern Indiana Orthopedics, has worked with high school, college and pro sports teams for 22 years, including more than a decade in Columbus. He is the team doctor for Columbus East and Columbus North.

Guse offered a few tips for athletes trying to stay safe in the heat and from COVID-19:

Know your school or league’s best practices and follow them: In addition to maintaining social and physical distancing as best as possible and respecting guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, players, parents and coaches shoul

  • d follow any state, local, school, league and venue regulations set to combat the spread of COVID-19.
  • Complete a sports physical: While many schools and leagues require a pre-participation physical before sports and school

seasons resume, athletes should get a physical from a medical professional as soon as possible even if they’re training individually to ensure the safety of their conditioni

  • ng and intensity of their workouts.
  • Take it slow: As state COVID-19–related guidelines have restricted the activity levels of many, athletes should slowly and cautiously increase their training and skill-building exercises. Cardiovascular and muscular strength may be inhibited from months of indoor sheltering, and it is important to pay attention to your limits and pains to avoid injury, illness or immunosuppression. Building strength and endurance takes time, and even athletes who have remained active will have an adjustment period.
  • Use extra precautions in the heat: With summer picking up, the risk of heat-related illness is high, especially for those who have remained indoors while following local COVID-19 guidelines. Athletes may need to slowly acclimate themselves to sun and heat and should stretch before activities, stay hydrated and keep primarily to shaded areas.
  • Make personal health and hygiene priority: Maintain a proper diet, drink plenty of water and fluids and do not overtrain. You should also practice good hygiene by washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, wearing face coverings when appropriate as well as avoiding close physical contact with those outside of your household.

“We understand that athletes, as well as their parents and coaches, feel ready for athletics and regular activities to come back, and we also know that this comes with a number of risks, including injury,” Guse said.

Pollert lands new coaching job

Tom Pollert, who coached the Columbus North boys soccer team the past two years, is returning to Massachusetts to coach the Nauset Regional High School girls team.

Pollert, a Columbus native, coached high school soccer in Massachusetts and college soccer at Southern Maryland before returning to his hometown to coach the Bull Dogs in 2018. He resigned that position shortly after the end of last season.

Banerjee takes 7th in finale

Aditya Banerjee carded a 4-over-par 76 to finish seventh in the season-ending Junior Tour Championship Invitational at The Players Club in Muncie.

Banerjee, who will be a junior at Columbus North, ranked 10th in the boys 16-19-year-old standings with 52 points in six events.

Book to feature local gyms

Gyms at Columbus, Hauser and Edinburgh are featured in a new book set to be released Aug. 18.

Chris Smith and Michael E. Keating have photographed and authored “Chasing Indiana’s Game: The Hoosier Hardwood Project,” a visual tribute to Indiana high school basketball. The book features 178 photos of more than 100 historical gyms in Indiana, plus short stories and memories from community members and some of Indiana’s most legendary players and coaches.

Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-379-5628.