One thing that I get a lot of are abrasions. These are grass/dirt/packed clay burns from laying out. The standard places I get the are on my forearms/elbows and knees. These things are extremely painful, take a long time to heal, and limit your mobility while they heal. However, i've found something that really helps.
Advanced Healing Band-Aids are great. They are a little expensive, but they provide several benefits.
First, read the directions and follow them for applying them. It makes a real difference if you do the minute warmup and the minute hold.
Second, they say you can leave them on for a long time. I don't know anyone who has been able to psychologically keep them on for more than about 2 days. What I normally do is put it on (normally afternoon/night after the injury) and keep it on that night, the next day, and that next night. If I can resist one more day, I'll do that, and then the night, but that's it.
I found this great link:
Exercise and Fluid Replacement.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I live in Phoenix, Arizona. We play year-round, which includes the summer. This means we can be playing for 2-3 hours when it's 110+. You lose a LOT of fluid. This article provides a wealth of actually peer-reviewed information on exercise and fluid replacement and all of it's assorted issues. Read it if you're serious.
But what does it mean? Here is what I've gleaned from it, in summary:
Fructose takes too long to convert to glucose and may cause stomach problems
I've looked at Propel and Gatorade. Here are the basic calculations. If I've gotten them wrong, let me know.
Don't use these figures yet, I'm doing them from memory Basic Assumptions: 1 ml = 1 cc = 1g. A cc and a ml are the same, and 1 cc of water is 1 g, but this would be slightly off for stuff not water. Propel: 240 ml bottle has 14g of carbohydrates, and 13g of sugar (none fructose). 14/240 = 5.8 % Gatorade: 240 ml has 14g of carbohydrates and sugar. 14/240 = 5.8 % Source of sugar: glucose Powerade: 240 ml has 19g of carbohydrates and 15 g of sugar. 19/240 = 7.9% Source of sugar: high fructose corn syrup
There is also a good article at UltimateHandbook, but I think it's a bit dated, and lacks the scientific information that I tend to look for, but it's not bad.
Also, make sure you watch out for the signs of heat distress, of which dehydradtion is a problem. You should be watching for the warning signs. Here are the things that stick out in my mind, that are warning you to sit out a few points and guzzle some water:
Update: The U.S. Military has come out with hydration guidelines for people who are 'working out'. This is that they should consume between 1 and 1.5 quarts of water per hour. I still think that the deaths that they report are in extreme cases, but to be honest, this is the most that normal people can drink anyway. The lesson here is to know your body.
I think they're web site is sub standard, I just want a catalog, not this guide stuff, but then again I'm a net minimalist.
I currently own a pair of the Men's Strike Cleats. They are great cleats and I like the way that the straps you lace through provide equal tension from the sole, not just the top like traditional cleats. On the negative side, I had to glue in the insoles, they started slipping, and I would recommend you ignore their 1/2 size too large comment. I had to get the size I wanted the first time which meant shipping shoes back.
If anyone from Gaia reads this, why not find a common cleat that is sized similar, and then let people go to a sporting goods store to try those on to make sure they order the right size the first time?
I also own the Ulti Bag.
This is pretty good. It's large, the shoulder and hand straps are comfortable, and it has held up well over the last 18 months (Ultimate three times a week).
To give you an idea, this is a rough list of what I carry with it:
However, it could be improved some. First, they should have 'shoe pockets' instead of the zipper pocket at the end. You need an open air area to store these stinky things, and that pocket really isn't big enough.
I'd also like to see a larger internal pocket. The one there is big enough for keys, but that's about it. I'd like something that would hold a few Powerbar type things and maybe a wallet?
Overall, I'd like to see some external mesh pockets, likes the ones you see on bags for water bottles. They should be easy to add and could be used for all sorts of stuff (water bottles, cell phones, flashlight, small water buffalo,...) Also, perhaps a few D-rings so that you could attach stuff with carabiners?