Extreme heat affects high school sports practices ahead of fall season

By Caroline Hecker

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    ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — Extreme heat across the St. Louis region is forcing local high school and middle school sports teams to rethink outdoor workouts, as high temperatures rise about 100 degrees.

The state’s high school sports association regulates how districts go about outdoor workouts, after its Board of Directors approved the use of the Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer several years ago.

“Our main goal is to keep kids safe,” said Michael Roth, Parkway School District’s Director of Athletics. “It’s also a teaching moment for our student athletes, to hydrate throughout the day so if practice is held outside, they’re ready.”

Athletic trainers with Mercy monitor the thermometer throughout outdoor practices, taking measurements every 20 minutes or so. It measures temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and clouds, and factors those measurements into an equation. From there, athletic trainers use guidelines put in place by the athletic association to determine what mitigation strategies need to be taken.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as more water breaks per hour,” said Roth. “Sometimes it means practices are shortened, like they are this week. But there’s also a cutoff, and when we hit that point practices are immediately moved inside.”

With the fall sports season kicking off on Friday, student athletes are eager to get the season started, but coaches and administrators are ensuring they’re safe in doing so.

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