Football is played mostly in the fall, but the early part of the high school football season plays out in the summer, and this just happens to be one of the hottest summers on record.
That presents challenges for players and coaches as they prepare for the season's opening games — when temperatures are approaching 100 degrees for most of the week.
Normal West head football coach Nathan Fincham said his team was blessed with great weather for first two weeks of practice, but that changed heading into the team's season opener.
“With this week, it’s been a challenge so far. Early in the week, we are going to push our practices back from 6:30 to 8:30 and do evening practices so that we can still properly prepare our players for a football game on Friday,” Fincham said.
Normal West's first game will be played on a synthetic turf in Champaign against Champaign Central High School. Fincham said that surface is hotter than grass. It's possible the game could get delayed until the temperature drops, but there's less you can do during a game when the weather is hot, he said. Players can get regular water breaks, and the game could get postponed or canceled if it's hot enough.
Building flexibility into practice and game prep
Practices offer more flexibility. The players can practice without full pads that can add more heat stress to the body. And they can remove their helmets outside of live action.
All this requires building flexibility into practice and game preparations. Head coach at University High School in Normal, Brody Walworth, admits that doesn't come easy to most coaches.
“Football coaches are creatures of habit, and we do not like it when our very regimented set times for practices gets disrupted,” Walworth said. “I think that’s probably the hardest part for all of us.”
And it's not the coaches' choice. The Illinois High School Association sets clear practice and game guidelines for extreme heat. Fincham said before each practice, the team trainer measures what's called the WetBulb Globe Temperature. It gauges heat stress in direct sunlight.
“What (the trainer) says will dictate what we are able to do,” Fincham explained. “We will have to take more frequent breaks and water breaks and do a little more mental preparation than physical."
When practice time is reduced and Fincham said players have to scale back physical work, they'll spend more time on watching game film to get ready to play.
Walworth said his team has something different planned for each day to account for the high heat.
“We are completely adjusting our normal practice schedule to try to find either spaces that are out of the heat and indoors or times that are in the OK-to-practice zone,” said Walworth, adding Tuesday’s practice will start later in the evening. On Wednesday, the team moves indoors off campus. Illinois State University's new indoor practice bubble isn't quite ready. Thursday's practice will be in the morning.
Fincham said coaches have to make sure the student-athletes are able to manage the intense heat, whether it's in practice or during a game.
“We just need to do a good job of recognizing when guys are starting to get tired and making sure they take extra breaks when they need it. That’s always been our policy. We’re not going to stop you from getting a drink of water,” Fincham said.
Walworth said the rules are there to keep players safe, even it if they are an inconvenience. As much as coaches may not like change from the routine, they do like turning any potential setback into an advantage.
“I don’t know that there’s a way to make up for it other than you try to think about positives. Hey, our kids are getting a little more rest heading into our first week,” Walworth said. Another positive: Temperatures are expected drop after this week. But it's still summer for several more weeks.
Central Illinois could reach record high temperatures Wednesday and Thursday.
