RAMONA, Calif. (KGTV) — This week’s scorching heat is taking a toll on youth sports.
It’s been a year since the state imposed new regulations that stop teams in some of the hottest areas from practicing or playing if the temperature gets too high.
Those concerns are top of mind this week for all student athletes.
But football players face unique challenges, wearing full pads and preparing for the fall season.
Last year, the California Interscholastic Federation changed its rules for school sports.
So now if it’s too hot, teams can’t practice or play.
The rules assign schools a category from one to three, based on how hot their area tends to get.
In San Diego County, inland schools like Ramona High School are in category two.
So teams there can’t start practice or games until the temperature gets below 89.8 degrees.
But they have restrictions on how they can practice, and what gear they wear until it gets below 79.7 degrees.
These rules can force teams in the East County to wait until it cools down, creating long days and big disruptions.
Andrew Finley, one of the football coaches for the Ramona High School Bulldogs, tells ABC 10News the idea is to play around the heat, not through it.
“We're able to design our practices to get away from the heat. We have early morning practices,” said Finley. “During our summer camp, we started at 7 in the morning. When we get pads on, we start as early as 6 in the morning.”
It’s a tough schedule for coaches and students, but Finley says it’s worth it to keep students safe and even have better practices.
When the team dodges the hottest hours of the day, they also sidestep restrictions that prohibit wearing full pads in high temperatures.
“Because of the shift in schedule we’ve adjusted to, we’re now able to go full pads for the entire practice,” said Finley. “It’s looking out for the kids. Our players are our top priority.”
The coach says their schedule is still up in the air for when classes start. But they’ll probably keep avoiding the hottest hours in the middle of the day.
