If you can’t take the heat
Two-a-day football practices have been harsh this week in Texas as temperatures soared into triple digits. Several school district administrators, including those in have chimed in and set parameters for coaches when the Texas sun reaches its peak. One high school player from storied Southlake Carroll was treated for dehyrdation according to the
as have several others from the Houston area, but the one story that caught my eye was the University of Texas’ take on the situation. In this
story, AP writer Jim Vertuno describes how Longhorn players swallow a thimble-sized mechanical device that monitors their body temperature. A hand-held device communicates with the pill telling trainers when players need to be pulled to the sidelines and cooled down. Most at risk for overheating: linemen - the players near and dear to my heart. At a cost of $30 a pill, only 25-30 professional and college teams are able to use the pills - others relying on coaches and trainers to keep a handle on heat exhaustion.
Life in , a small six-man school district in the northeast Texas Panhandle will slow down on Friday nights. The
reported that not enough players came out for two-a-days to field a team. I look at last year’s photo in the
and I see many of the same faces I have watched for years on Friday nights across Texas. I don’t know anything about that team or players from the 2006-07 season, but in a way, I know each and every one of them. Let’s hope the extra time in the gym produces a successful basketball season.
