Monday was the first day of practice for freshman football players at MacArthur High School. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) allows them to come in a week early to get acclimated to the heat. But the rules also state there can not be two full practice days in a row, so they held two small practices Monday morning with a break in between to avoid practicing during the dangerous heat of the afternoon.
"I was witnessing today when the coach was giving them plenty of time to drink water instead of rushing them, 'hurry up let's go,'" parent Brenda Worley said. Her 14-year-old son, Nikolas, is a freshman and football player at MacArthur. "Anytime they are under that helmet all day long they get a little tired, and you have to understand they have to drink plenty of water," she said.
"Shoot, I almost passed out a couple of times. I got lightheaded. I was just walking around with my hands on my head," her son Nikolas said.
Ben Cook, the head coach of MacArthur High School football said, "We really have to watch these kids and the Northeast ISD does a great job training us to recognize the warning signs, so it gives us an opportunity to keep our eyes on them and prevent these kind of things before they happen."
Coaches and trainers know that when body temperatures start to rise, time runs out quickly before illnesses start to take place, so they insist on constant hydration.
That hydration has to happen with the right stuff before, during and after practice. "Sodas, sugary drinks, all that stuff that is out of your menu," Coach Cook told his players. "We schedule water breaks every 20 minutes and we will adjust that if it gets hotter."
To maintain a normal body temperature without the help of heating or cooling devices, the surrounding environment needs to be no warmer than about 80 degrees when you factor in the humidity. Once the air around you hits 90 degrees, you can experience heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Once you rise to between 105 degrees and 130 degrees, heat exhaustion is likely. But if the environmental temperature exceeds 130 degrees, that temperature often leads to heat stroke.
During this first week, acclamation to the heat is key. Coach Cook said, "The reality is, there are a lot of fun things to do on your Xbox with your game system, so you do have the kids that might've spent some time indoors but a lot of our guys took advantage of our strength camp this summer."
In addition to the UIL rules about practicing and the heat, there are also new rules about contact. On the first and second days of practice, only helmets are allowed but no contact of any kind with other players is permitted. On the third and fourth days, pads can be added, but it isn't until day five when person-to-person contact is permitted at practice.