High school students battle heat as sports and band practice begins

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - With a new school year right around the corner, fall school activities have begun.  The 90 and 100 degree heat has not stopped students from participating in high school sports or marching band.

Many teams and bands began practice this month.  As of Tuesday, there has been 21 straight days of 90 degrees or higher.

Right now, the one number concern for every coach and teacher is making sure students stay hydrated.

According to Bob Hirschelman, an athletic trainer for Snider High School, kids should take a water break every 10 to 15 minutes.

"We've had to be very careful with our conditioning," he said during Snider football practice.

Hirschelman is an athletic trainer with SportONE, a branch of Ortho NorthEast.  He attends the school's athletic events, and many practices, to help with students with any medical issue, including hydration and nutrition.

Right now, the biggest issue is keeping the kids cool in the heat.

Hirschelman said if the humidity 90 percent or more, trainers will recommend cancelling practice or have it moved indoors.

"We modify practice schedules," Hirschelman said.  "We'll either take them inside, or postpone practice to later in the evening or earlier in the morning, to cool off."

Hirschelman said every high school in the region has an athletic trainer who helps out with athletics.  They all preach the importance of water.

At Snider, the athletic trainers have ice towels and an ice pool to help cool the kids down if heat becomes a problem.

Students participating in sports or band, should drink water slowly during any physical activity, but the key to staying hydrated is to get plenty of water the day before practice.

"Encourage your kids to always be walking around with a water bottle," Hirschelman recommended to parents.  "Take a gallon jug, and have the kids drink it all every day.  It seems like a lot, but it's not."

Hirschelman said he and coaches know to be on the lookout for symptoms of heat exhaustion and other heat-related problems.

"As soon as a kid starts to have signs or symptoms of a heat illness, if they start feeling dizzy or nausea, we take them out of practice,"  he said.  "We take them and cool them off, and they sit out until they can come back in."

According to Hirschelman, who frequently talks with athletic trainers from other schools, there have been no serious medical problems this summer due to the heat.  That's because coaches and teachers know what to look for and are vigilant in taking care of a minor issue before it becomes worse.

During the 2011 high school football season, some games were delayed due to high temperatures.  Coaches and teachers NewsChannel 15 spoke with Tuesday said that could very easily happen again, in sports and marching band competitions, if the heat wave continues into August.