When 70% of Practices Are Modified or Canceled Because of Heat, What Do You Do?

For one Florida high school football program, the answer has meant setting some very early alarms.

The Cocoa Beach Minutemen have moved practices to 6 or 6:30 a.m. twice a week as unusually hot conditions continue to affect high school sports across the state.

According to Central Florida Public Media, about 70% of the team's summer practices had previously been modified or canceled because of dangerous heat conditions.

The change gives athletes an opportunity to practice before the day's most intense heat arrives. But it hasn't eliminated the need to constantly monitor conditions and adjust.

That's where Athletic Trainer Johnny Morales comes in.

Making the Call Based on Conditions

Morales monitors heat, humidity, direct sunlight and air movement and advises the coaching staff on practice modifications based on Florida High School Athletic Association regulations.

During multiple "red practices" in August, that meant helmets only, practices limited to one hour and four rest breaks during the session.

Ice tubs and water stations are also kept ready, while Morales plans hydration strategies for athletes during the hottest portion of the season.

The precautions have a very real backdrop.

Earlier this summer, one Cocoa Beach player became ill while attending a separate football camp during a heat wave. After three practices, he experienced full-body cramping, vomiting and feeling faint and ultimately went to the hospital for IV fluids.

His father, Cocoa Beach head football coach Ted Kimmey, called the experience a "wake-up call."

Balancing Preparation With Protection

There's another challenge Athletic Trainers and coaches in hot-weather states know well: avoiding the heat entirely isn't always possible.

Kimmey said the team still practices in afternoon heat twice each week because Florida games themselves can be hot and humid.

That creates a balancing act between preparing athletes for the conditions they'll encounter and recognizing when those conditions require practices to be modified.

And those decisions may be sticking around later into the season.

The team hoped to return to its normal after-school schedule in September, but the article notes forecasts calling for above-normal temperatures into September and October.

For Athletic Trainers, it's another example of how environmental monitoring isn't simply about looking at a temperature and deciding whether practice is on or off.

It can mean changing when athletes practice, how long they practice, what equipment they wear, how often they rest and what emergency resources need to be immediately available.

And sometimes, it means being at school before the sun comes up.