High school football teams practicing despite extreme heat

The Valley is under an extreme heat advisory through Wednesday evening, but that’s not stopping area high school football teams are already out on the field practicing this week.

The coaches are getting teams ready for what they hope will be a winning season, but as Charles Schmidt of the Arizona Interscholastic Association puts it, “Their first priority is the health and safety of the child, be that for boys sports or girls sports.”

Schmidt said that the AIA has several bylaws for coaches to follow to keep kids safe in the heat.

“Two-a-days are no longer part of the practice scenario,” he said.

There are also bylaws as to “how and when kids should return to play after they have experienced a problem.”

The AIA said anyone who suffers heat stroke must be cleared by a doctor before they can return to play.

If you are a parent who has concerns about your son or daughter practicing in the heat, Schmidt said there are a couple of options.

“Talk to their coach or their school athletic director to talk about what steps are in place in case someone becomes overcome by heat,” he said. “Not only football, but cross country, volleyball, if they’re training outside. Any of these fall sports.”