Coaches, athletes make adjustments during heat wave
HALLSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
The recent heat wave has forced high school athletic programs to move practice times to early in the morning or later in the evening to reduce the risk of heat-related illness.
This week, temperatures in Mid-Missouri are expected to reach high 90s and low 100s between Tuesday and Thursday, with heat indexes having the chance to be in the span of 105-116. The ABC 17 News Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day through the end of the week.
Hallsville football was forced to move their practice to 7 p.m. this week. The heat wave is even affecting the start time of games. Columbia Public Schools pushed back Friday night's football game between Rock Bridge and Park Hill South to 8 p.m. because of the heat, as have other area schools such as Capital City and Southern Boone in their respective games.
A softball jamboree in Centralia -- which was set to feature Centralia, North Callaway and more on Tuesday -- was canceled. Centralia on Tuesday is still holding a volleyball jamboree, which is an indoor sport.
Hallsville head football coach Justin Conyers told ABC 17 News that this year has been one of the more unique seasons of summer practice he has had as a coach, because of all the adjustments he has had to make.
"Think about last week we were in the upper 70s low 80s," Conyers said. "I mean, I test that thing we are in the green all week long. And so, you get this great week of practice, really the past two weeks and then all of a sudden game week is when it always seems to hit and here we are sitting with having to make modifications. We don’t practice this late usually normally we are right after school."
Usually, Tuesday is a fully padded practice for the Hallsville Indians. But -- despite the first game of the season fewer than 72 hours away -- the team was in shorts.
“You have to be smart about what you are doing, especially with the way the heat index has been this week," Conyers said. "You can’t come out here and expect to have the same type of tempo practice, physicality at practice, and sometimes length of practice with the type of temperatures we have been seeing.”
The modifications to practice are based on a paid application called Zelus, which measures the heat index on the practice field and gives guidelines for what a practice should look like.
Based on Tuesday's mid-90s temperature, the team practiced in shorts instead and limited its time on the field to two hours.
There are no district guidelines for practice schedules in dangerous heat. That means it is up to the coaches to keep their players safe. But evening practices have brought some extra challenges.
According to MSHSAA, precautionary measures should be taken when the heat index is between 95-105 degrees. If the heat index is more than, 105, plans to postpone or reschedule games should be considered.
“For us, the problem is becoming, our stadium is under renovation right now and we do not have lights. So early in the morning if we get here at 5 am to start it’s going to be dark we are not going to be able to see," Conyers told ABC 17 News. "We are actually going to have to end tonight on the outfield of our baseball field over here because we don’t have any light on our practice field either.“
In response to the heat, Conyers has been placing an extra emphasis on what his players are putting in their bodies.
"Number one is hydrate, number two is nutrition because if you start putting bad things and greasy foods in your body it’s going to create dehydration," Conyers said. "So we have to talk about proper nutrition on days like today as well."
Heat has been a concern for summer football practices for years, but with record-high temperatures being reported across the United States, it has become even more of a focal point as of late.
A 2022 study from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research found that at least 50 football players have died from a heat stroke suffered on the field.
