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North Texas high schools start holding football practices this week amid heatwave
This week, football practice at North Texas high school campuses was allowed to start with morning and evening practice. Although with the intense heat we've been experiencing, it is a day-by-day decision whether to practice inside or outside.
DALLAS - This week, football practice at North Texas high school campuses was allowed to start with morning and evening practice.
Although with the intense heat we've been experiencing, it is a day-by-day decision whether to practice inside or outside.
Students at Lincoln High School in Dallas ISD did warmups indoors but eventually practiced Tuesday evening outdoors.
While every district is different, many high school football teams across the metroplex are already gearing up for those Friday night games. But coaches have strict protocol to follow under the intense August heat.
Starting this week, high school football teams in North Texas are back on the practice field ahead of the start of the season.
And between the drills and exercises, Lincoln High School coaches are strict about hydration.
And once they get outside, Lincoln High Head Coach Randall Johnson says his trainers are zoned in on how the players are feeling physically.
"Some kids that are dragging a little bit, that maybe something is wrong," he said. "We’ll call them. We’ll check on them."
Lincoln High School senior Jamel Hardy says he starts training weeks ahead of time by eating healthy and drinking four bottles of water a day to avoid the dangers of heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
"That’s very serious. We need all of our players," he said.
And that means keeping an eye on the younger ones with less experience in these conditions.
Ahead of the season, Dallas ISD Sports Medicine Assistant Athletic Director Corey Eaton makes sure parents attend a seminar on preparing their kids for the weather. The players go through a summer conditioning program.
"The first two days, they’re gonna be helmets only. Third and fourth, they’re going to be helmets and shoulder pads. Fifth day, they’re going to be in full gear. Sixth day, full contact," he said.
From 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. is the no-fly zone deemed too hot to practice safely. And after that, coaches monitor a device that measures how the heat can stress out your body in direct sunlight. Any measurement above 90 is dangerous.
‘If it’s 92.1 or above, they are not able to be outside," Eaton said.
Some teams with DISD and all teams with Arlington and Mansfield ISDs are only practicing in the mornings.
Others like Lincoln High are braving in the early evening heat to get ready for what they wait for all summer.
Fort Worth ISD says it’s taking a similar day-to-day approach with outdoor practices.