It’s hot hot hot! An extreme heat advisory has hit students hard at PLHS.
The elevated heat index, with temperatures feeling hotter than 115 degrees, has caused alarm and is affecting afternoon sports and practices. PLHS administration came to the agreement that all afternoon practices for this hot week must be moved to the morning, late evening, or indoors. Senior cross country runner Ella Hansen and Junior left tackle and defensive end Garin Maley are just some of the students who have to practice around the heat.
This is Maley’s third year playing football with PLHS, and over time they have created a routine. Warm up, defense, offense, cool down, and repeat.
“Every day at 3:30 we start with warm-ups on the turf,” Maley said. “After that, we do an hour of defense and an hour of offensive”
With the shockingly high heat waves, Maley’s team was required to rearrange their practice and games. The team modified their drills in order to battle the high temperatures.
“Monday we practiced outside at 7 p.m., Tuesday we practiced inside at the landing and Wednesday we practiced outside at 6:15 p.m.,” Maley said
Dressed in full gear can be overheating even on a breezy day, so when temperatures continued to increase over the week, limitations were put in place.
“While practicing outside this week, we were only required to wear shells, helmets, and shoulder pads,” Maley said.
While some players are staying out late to practice, others are waking up early to beat the heat. Hansen is required to wake up before dawn to complete her run.
“Our practices started at 5:45 in the morning,” Hansen said. “It’s still pitch black outside.”
While it’s been helpful getting the team’s run done in the morning, it’s been hard trying to adjust to the new practice times.
“It’s nice getting it out of the way,” Hansen said. “But it makes me more tired throughout the day.”
On Wednesday, August 24th, the temperature reached a high of 100 degrees. Practicing before school, Hansen doesn’t miss the unbearable afternoon conditions.
“Humidity is so high,” Hansen said. “Outside in the sun with extreme temperatures.”
These are not healthy or safe ways to practice. Which is why PLHS administration and coaches found creative ways for students to continue to practice and beat the heat.
