Beating the heat: High school football teams stay hydrated as summer camps kick off
LBJ coach Joseph Rauls had a message for his players last week that every high school football team in Texas should adhere to as summer practices gain steam:
"Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!"
Schools that did not have spring workouts got an early jump on practice by starting last week. The majority, though, began Monday with high school season openers two weeks away. For most, the best way to beat the heat is to start practice before the sun rises. Still, coaches such as Rauls are aware that triple-digit temperatures can be dangerous.
Austin is coming off its hottest July on record. There were 25 days of temperatures at or above 100 degrees in the month. As of Tuesday, there had been 32 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures, smashing the old mark of 27 straight days in 2011.
"This is the hottest I've ever been," LBJ receiver/safety Fatu Mukuba said after a late morning practice. "My cleats are melting. That's how hot it is."
Finding ways to beat the heat
Jaguars linebacker Samuel Crittenden III had an interesting way to prepare for preseason practice. For the past few months he has gone through personal workouts at home in his garage, which has no air conditioning. He estimated the temperature was between 95 and 100 degrees in there.
By the time LBJ opened practice July 31 at Nelson Field, he was already accustomed to the heat.
When Rauls was emphasizing the importance of hydration to his players after a sweltering practice, he added, "Drink water until you are full or you just can't drink anymore."
According to University Interscholastic League policy, all teams must adhere to an acclimatization week to kick off the season. Players are required to wear shorts, T-shirts and helmets only for the first two days of workouts. Shoulder pads are introduced on days three through five. There are no contact drills until the fifth day.
Actions the UIL has taken
The UIL takes the welfare of its athletes seriously. Texas leads the nation with roughly 167,000 high school students participating in football. The same safety policies are shared by cross-country athletes, who also start training in August.
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Schools are required by the UIL to have an emergency action plan in place. That covers a variety of potential emergency situations, including heat-related illness.
"Schools must be prepared to respond to virtually any type of emergency and have these plans in place for each venue in which UIL activities occur," said Julia Zachary, UIL communications coordinator.
Each school has its own game plan
Liberty Hill football coach Kent Walker said keeping his team healthy is just as important as teaching the X's and O's of football. He is among many coaches who said players have access to water or sports drinks such as Gatorade whenever they want it.
"We've been practicing from 6 to 9 in the morning for the past few years," Walker said. "We get more out of them in the morning when it's cooler out. All of our coaches and trainers have been trained and we have an (emergency action plan) that was created by our head trainer (Danny Barringer) for emergencies."
At Glenn High in Leander, football players start practice when the sun is going down to stay safe. Furthermore, Glenn is among many schools that use a wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index to monitor environmental conditions during outside activities. It was recommended recently by the UIL medical advisory committee.
More: Our Statesman Q&A with new UIL athletic director Ray Zepeda
A WBGT device is a tool that uses ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind and radiation from the sun to get a measure that can be used to monitor environmental conditions during exercise.
"Those (WBGT) numbers have held all through the first week of practice," Glenn coach Brandon Krauskopf said. "We are very lucky to have a very breezy practice field in the evenings. If that number would rise, we would stay inside longer, but it hasn't been the case."
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The UIL also suggests that players have their weight checked before and after practice to monitor significant weight loss.
Pflugerville coach Charles Taylor said all football coaches are required to complete training courses each year offered by the UIL before the season starts that cover rules, player safety and heat-related guidelines.
"We practice pretty early before school, which really helps with the current weather patterns," Taylor said. "We are on the turf at 6:30 in the morning and in the weight room and film sessions before the heat hits."
Westwood coach Anthony Wood said coaches in the Round Rock district are trained in first aid, CPR and concussion protocols. They also are trained to use automated external defibrillators to help those who might be suffering cardiac arrest.
As LBJ's Mukuba might say, it's time to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate when their cleats begin to melt.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Brutal heat has area football players searching for water, shade
