It's football season. While St. Louis Rams fans are celebrating the start of the season, high schoolers around the area practicing in St. Louis' unpredictable weather - which often means summer heat in the middle of fall.

When Minneapolis Vikings'' player Korey Stringer died in 2001 from heat exhaustion, it brought national attention to exercise expectations at professional football training camps. Many of those same concerns apply to non-professional athletes.

Matt Matava, MD, team physician for the St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Blues, is working with the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), to educate young athletes and their parents about heat-related illness. Matava, who is a Washington University orthopedic surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, says heat-related illness is the most common preventable cause of death in the country.

• Schedule practices early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid extreme weather
• Make sure players are acclimated to the heat before practice begins
• Wear mesh jerseys that let the body perspire
• Only wear pads or helmets when necessary
• Drink eight ounces of fluid every 15 minutes

To Matava — a former high school player himself — the last tip is the most important. "If you start to drink only when you''re thirsty, you''re already behind the 8-ball," says Matava.

Many other types of injuries can''t be avoided completely, says Dr. Matava. To prevent structural injuries to limbs and joints, Matava says proper fitting equipment and tackles that don''t lead with the head are key. "These are basic principles that are followed by every team in the NFL and we echo the same advice whether you''re a high school player or a pro," says Matava.

For a PDF copy of the National Safe Kids Campaign and NATA brochure "Parents'' and Coaches'' Guide to Dehydration and Other Heat Illnesses in Children," click here.

For a referral to a Washington University specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, call 314-TOP-DOCS (314-867-3627) or toll free 1-866-867-3627.