The Heat is On as High School Football Practice Begins Here

Players Weighed Before and After Practice to Track Hydration Loss

The Fayette County Record

Before you complain about the heat, you ought to walk in the shoes of a high school football player.

The temperature got up to 103 degrees Monday afternoon.

And it was probably even hotter out on the artificial turf atLeopard Stadium.Monday was the first day teams in Texas could hold official high school football practices.

And the La Grange Leopards were out embracing it. After a morning walk through the Leps practiced from 4-7 p.m.

Victoria McGee, La Grange’s athletic trainer, who is beginning her second year here, was pacing the sidelines closelywatching the players.“So far it’s been ok,” McGee said. “But it is the first day, so you never know. We have an emergency ice tub to cool people off, but we’ve never had to use it. The coaches do a really good job of letting the kids knowSeeTrainers,

if they need water to get water, if they need a break to take it.”

The precautions don’t end there.

“We’ve implement a weight chart so they have to weigh-in before practice starts and then after. So they can see how much weight they’ve lost (from sweating),” McGee said.

That’s an effective way to communicate to the kids just how much they need to drink to replenish what they’ve lost.

She added that some of the Leps larger linemen could lose up to 15 pounds of water weight during a practice.

“That’s why it’s so important to start practice hydrated,” Mc-Gee said.

“Coach McGee does a heck of a job letting us know when we need to take breaks.,” La Grange head coach Matt Kates said. “We have water at all stations at all times. Kids have to be honestwith us, let us know if they start feeling funny.”

McGee said she and the coaches preach about the importance of coming to practice prepared.

“We are reminding them constantly to stop drinking the soda and other caffeinated drinks, eat three good meals a day and drink at least five water bottles a day,” McGee said.

And McGee and the coaches aren’t alone in watching out for the players.

McGee oversees a group of nine volunteer student athletic trainers that were out on the field Monday.

“They know basic first aid, basic training, they help with the water, they can take care of a small injury if they talk to me about it, but with anything big, they bring them to me. They have to make sure to keep themselves hydrated also,” McGee said. “They really want to bepart of the program. After football season is over they get their individual sports. Most of them want to be nurses, or athletic trainers or physical therapists, so this is something they can put on their resume or experience they can build upon.”

About 90 minutes into the three-hour practice Monday, the Leps got a nice surprise as they retreated into the shade under the stands, where a bunch of parents had set up a table with popsicles, watermelon and grapes.

Meanwhile, the work continued during the break for the student athletic trainers, who were busy distributing more water.