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Bucs have had close calls

Proper hydration and avoiding heatstroke concern Tampa Bay players, large and small.

By RICK STROUD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 2, 2001

TAMPA -- Several hours after the Bucs' dramatic 38-35 victory over St. Louis on Monday Night Football in December, George Hegamin found himself losing to a more dangerous opponent he was unprepared to fight.

Hegamin, a 6-foot-7, 331-pound offensive tackle and one of the largest members of the Bucs, played well against the Rams in his only start. But the effort left him physically spent and suffering the effects of dehydration.

Severely cramped and virtually unable to move from the couch at his home, he reached the phone and called for help.

"I had to call 911. I thought I was dying," Hegamin said. "I had a full body cramp. I felt a couple twinges right after the game, but when I got home, I sat down and it just hit me. It's one of those things you really can't prepare for because you exert so much energy during the game. A lot of times it's too late."

Paramedics who responded to Hegamin's call averted possible heatstroke by pumping four bottles of intravenous fluids into him.

As one of the behemoth blockers in an NFL full of giants, Hegamin has struggled with his conditioning.

So the news of the heat-related death of Vikings right tackle Korey Stringer on Wednesday hit particularly close to home for Hegamin, 28, and many of his Bucs teammates who wage war with the heat and humidity of Tampa Bay wearing a helmet and full pads.

In many instances, players say, they remain on the field despite obvious signs of dehydration for fear of letting teammates down and being viewed as soft, thereby jeopardizing their chances of earning a spot on the team.

In 1999, while playing for the Eagles, Hegamin skipped a practice and was punished by coach Andy Reid by being made to push a blocking sled 100 yards after a workout. Shortly afterward, Hegamin was released.

"You do stay out there, not just because of the pressure to try and make the team," Hegamin said. "But when you look around and you see all your other guys fighting through it, it's hot, everybody is sweating, everybody is cramping -- you know, it's a mental thing. I just really think you really can't discredit the guy for trying to work hard and push through. Because it's the nature of the game and the position."

Dehydration is a problem that afflicts Bucs from the size of Hegamin to 5-8, 180-pound running back Warrick Dunn.

The former Florida State star, who has little body fat, has struggled with dehydration most of his career. During the off-season, Dunn voluntarily attended the Gatorade Sports Science Institute in Barrington, Ill., where they analyzed his sweat and physiology.

"I've had my problems with cramping and still do," Dunn said. "Some guys are heavy sweaters and when you lose that amount of fluid you're vulnerable to cramps. I remember (against Florida in the '96 Sugar Bowl), it was the worst I've ever experienced. I was very dehydrated. I had full body cramping. It was a lot of pain. It was so bad that they gave me the IV at halftime and I started stretching, and after I was still in a lot of pain.

"I think sometimes you can see the signs. I can feel it coming on. I can tell by looking at my skin and seeing it starting to look white."

Quarterback Ryan Leaf, who was sidelined 20 minutes Monday, said: "It does scare you a little bit, especially when you don't know what it's like. That's the first time I'd really been in heat like that. I've always come from a dry, high altitude heat. From Montana to Washington to California where it's at sea level and it's 65 (degrees) and never any humidity.

"It's a different deal and I'm relying on (Bucs trainer) Todd (Toriscelli) more if he says cool it down a little."

Other players, such as defensive tackle James Cannida, have not experienced symptoms of heat stroke and were alarmed by Stringer's death.

"I was asking the trainers Wednesday morning what it feels like to be dehydrated because I have never been in a situation where I have been dehydrated," he said. "Every time where I've been somewhere where it's been hot enough, I have always heard the (coaching staff) say keep hydrated, keep hydrated, keep fluids in you because it got pretty hot out in (Reno, where he played in college).

"Now sometimes at night I have to force myself to drink water. The bad thing is that then I get mad because I have to get up three or four times during the night to use the bathroom."

As much as trainers and doctors are there to help and detect signs of dehydration, players say they have to police themselves.

"As athletes you're used to having pain, used to feeling bad, so you just fight through it," offensive tackle DeMarcus Curry said. "That's the danger there. You keep going and going. But there's got to be a limit. There's got to be a part when you say, 'I'm about to fall out.' "

Added linebacker Nate Webster: "You've got goals set coming into training camp, where you say, 'I'm going to make it through two-a-days without getting hurt. I'm going to stay strong all the way through.' It's like a car, if you keep pushing the engine without replacing the oil, you're going to blow the engine."

- Staff writers Roger Mills and Darrell Fry contributed to this report.

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