So far, one thing has been missing from the opening week of practice for the 2008 high school fall sports season.
Oppressive heat.
“I’ve never had this kind of weather in my life,” Fort Osage football coach Ryan Schartz said. “As a coach of more than 10 years or even as a player, I have never had weather this nice. This is crazy.”
Used to heat advisories and constant water breaks, so far temperatures have not risen to more than 90 degrees yet, which have coaches and players rejoicing.
“We’ve just been really lucky,” Blue Springs football coach Kelly Donohoe said. “I can’t ever remember a week like this in August where it hasn’t been in the 90s. We’ve been blessed.”
While the heat often results in multiple water breaks and a constant need for hydration, Schartz said his team is not slacking in that area even with the cooler weathers.
“We still have all the same water breaks,” he said. “We’re just working harder. Sometimes I would back off with the heat. But we can work a lot harder with conditioning.”
One thing both coaches agree on – the weather is better for the athletes, which makes for better practices.
“It gives them more energy,” Schartz said. “And that helps at practice when we’re implementing new plays and things like that. They concentrate better.
While some coaches want the early heat to help acclimate their athletes for warm early-season games, Donohoe said he has no doubt those days are coming. And when they do, it will be in the time when his team is practicing in the hottest part of the day.
“We’re going to be starting afternoon practice soon,” he said. “That will get them acclimated in a hurry. And they’ve had a good summer working out and getting in shape. If all of our players were two-way players, I might be a little concerned. But most of ours our one-way players, which will be easier for them.”
Schartz, who also has his players go one way, said right now his players are loving the practices, and that’s important to him.
“The kids just love it,” he said. “They obviously say they’re tired and hot. But all the guys who have gone through this before, they’re all thinking, ‘This is air conditioning. Someone came and put the air conditioning on.’ ”
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So far, one thing has been missing from the opening week of practice for the 2008 high school fall sports season.
Oppressive heat.
“I’ve never had this kind of weather in my life,” Fort Osage football coach Ryan Schartz said. “As a coach of more than 10 years or even as a player, I have never had weather this nice. This is crazy.”
Used to heat advisories and constant water breaks, so far temperatures have not risen to more than 90 degrees yet, which have coaches and players rejoicing.
“We’ve just been really lucky,” Blue Springs football coach Kelly Donohoe said. “I can’t ever remember a week like this in August where it hasn’t been in the 90s. We’ve been blessed.”
While the heat often results in multiple water breaks and a constant need for hydration, Schartz said his team is not slacking in that area even with the cooler weathers.
“We still have all the same water breaks,” he said. “We’re just working harder. Sometimes I would back off with the heat. But we can work a lot harder with conditioning.”
One thing both coaches agree on – the weather is better for the athletes, which makes for better practices.
“It gives them more energy,” Schartz said. “And that helps at practice when we’re implementing new plays and things like that. They concentrate better.
While some coaches want the early heat to help acclimate their athletes for warm early-season games, Donohoe said he has no doubt those days are coming. And when they do, it will be in the time when his team is practicing in the hottest part of the day.
“We’re going to be starting afternoon practice soon,” he said. “That will get them acclimated in a hurry. And they’ve had a good summer working out and getting in shape. If all of our players were two-way players, I might be a little concerned. But most of ours our one-way players, which will be easier for them.”
Schartz, who also has his players go one way, said right now his players are loving the practices, and that’s important to him.
“The kids just love it,” he said. “They obviously say they’re tired and hot. But all the guys who have gone through this before, they’re all thinking, ‘This is air conditioning. Someone came and put the air conditioning on.’ ”
