Football Teams Battle the Heat

If the football players on Parkview High School’s practice field didn’t know they were supposed to stay hydrated Wednesday, it wasn’t because they weren’t told.

The phrase of the morning for the Panthers’ “two-a-days” practice was “take a water break.” It was said loudly and often by coaches as the morning’s heat began to give way to the hottest day of the summer.

The Panthers were off the field long before the high temp soured to nearly 100 degrees (WeatherBug.com said it was 99.4 in Lilburn just before 5 p.m.), but it was plenty hot by the time practice ended just after noon.

Thankfully, a nice breeze helped, but more important was rest time in the shrinking shade and several gulps of water.

“Get plenty of water, plenty of agua,” defensive backs coach Chris Wagner told a group of players. “This is your time to get the water you need.”

Being safe in the heat while getting needed work done on the practice field is an August challenge for football coaches. And with reports of two Georgia high-school players dying from heat-related injuries this week, the topic is that much more important.

This is the week for “two-a-day” workouts, during which football teams do some of their most important work, including conditioning, in preparation for the season, which begins in about three weeks. It’s also historically one of the hottest weeks of the year.

To lessen the impact, many teams avoid practices during the heat of the day — Parkview has workouts at 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. this week and Berkmar has its first practice at 5:30 a.m. and last practice at 6 p.m., according to coach Jonathan Sanks. They also adhere to procedures required by the county school system and the Georgia High School Association. In a nutshell, teams must have frequent water breaks and rests and go inside if the heat index is dangerous. The policies must in writing and followed to a T.

According to GHSA policy, teams can practice in full pads only three days this first week (Parkview is choosing not to be full pads this week), and no more than two days in a row. Otherwise, practice may be in only shorts, helmets and shoulder pads.

"We tell our coaches safety is priority one," Berkmar Athletics Director Dan Knudsen said earlier this week. "Our coaches are very good about listening to our trainer, and she is very militant that we don't put our kids in position where they can be injured due to the heat."

Parkview coach Cecil Flowe said he keeps track of the heat index himself, as well as inform his players of the importance drinking and eating right. Staying safe in the heat means water breaks, replacing lost electrolytes and eating potassium-rich foods like bananas, oranges and apples.

“It’s all water, there’s no electrolytes,” Flower warned his players at the end of Wednesday’s practice (click on video attached to this article). “If it’s all Gatorade, there’s no water.”

Later, while chomping on an apple inside his office, he added, “You’ve got to watch them. Kids think, ‘a glass of water and I’m hydrated.’”

Flowe keeps a chart of each player’s weight; its fluctuation is a sign of the change in amount of water in the body before and after practices. If a player’s weight does not reach an acceptable level before the next practice, he’s held out. No question about it.

If a player appears to be struggling during a drill, he’ll be sent off the field for water and shade.

“You’ve just got to be more watchful [when it’s so hot],” Flowe said. “These kids lose a lot of water [when they practice]. You’ve got to be careful, because you sure dang don’t want to lose one of them.”