Heat and HS Football

MagnoliaHunter

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Jan 23, 2007
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Here in Alabama, almost everyone has delayed tonight's games 30 minutes. They would push more, but apparently AHSAA has a mandatory stop time where you can't keep playing past something PM (I think they said 11?), and have to resume on Saturday.
in this heat and humidity, they shouldn't even be starting by 11 pm.
 
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Maroon Eagle

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May 24, 2006
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I graduated in 85, so my memory may be faulty, but I think we didn't return to school to near labor day and we didn't play our first game until after than (so it may have been as late as the second week of Sept before our first game).

You recall correctly. First day of school was Tuesday after Labor Day. First football game that Friday night.

Academies played the week before Labor Day and if I recall correctly typically started school the previous week.
 
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RocketDawg1

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I graduated in 85, so my memory may be faulty, but I think we didn't return to school to near labor day and we didn't play our first game until after than (so it may have been as late as the second week of Sept before our first game).
Something similar is what I remember as well. Definitely didn't start school until after Labor Day. Would it matter if the high school season extended beyond Christmas break? All the same kids will be in school the second semester anyway.
 

The Peeper

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Feb 26, 2008
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Late night vs dead kid...
The difference in 7:00 and 8:00 tonight in Starkville on the hourly forecast is 4 degrees (91' vs 87'). My guess is they have been practicing in the afternoons all along anyway. 4:00 was the standard practice start time when I played
 

horshack.sixpack

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Oct 30, 2012
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The difference in 7:00 and 8:00 tonight in Starkville on the hourly forecast is 4 degrees (91' vs 87'). My guess is they have been practicing in the afternoons all along anyway. 4:00 was the standard practice start time when I played
I was being a little dramatic...I have the same argument with my soccer group. They shift playing time to 5PM in the summer instead of 3PM. Not one single time have I ever walked out at 5PM and thought it was refreshing compared to 3PM.

However, I think that in football, on a Friday night, while it might be close to the same temp at kickoff, it should cool quite a bit more after halftime once the sun sets, so some of the game would be played in more moderate temps.
 

Lettuce

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Oct 16, 2012
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View attachment 390893
People act like it wasn't hot in 1980. Video games and cell phones make kids pussies these days. That water hose water kept us going. Then we walked home after practice.

I believe I saw this same stat applied to Denver, with threshold at 95+.

And the data is similar….with 2023 receiving less +95* days than any year on record.

Kind of bizarre but stats don’t lie
 
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woozman

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Back then a lot of the schools didn't have air conditioning (mine included), which is why they started later. But football always started around labor day as I recall.
Ah, the days of swatting away gnats while sweating balls in a classroom in Lucedale Middle School…
 

kired

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Aug 22, 2008
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Has football been canceling any practices?

My son's school has cancelled them. He doesn't play football so I don't know if they are working in gym - but they are not outside. They may be going out later at 6pm. That's what a lot of the other groups are doing that (soccer, cross country, band)
 

MidsouthDawg

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I'm in Tennessee and I assume it's a mandate, if the heat index is above 104° they can't play, all the local games have been moved back to 8 or 8:30
 

dudehead

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Do high schools still have two-a-days for 2 to 3 weeks preseason? I remember we had at least 2 weeks of two-a-days and then 1 full week with evening practices and then the first game week. That schedule wore my *** out every year - I couldn't wait for the season to start.
 

mstateglfr

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Feb 24, 2008
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All those fossil fuels were reeking havoc in 1902, I see.
Are you denying that fossil fuel usage 17s with our climate? If you are, thats dumb. If you arent, then your comment is dumb. Either way...


And if you dont want responses like this, then dont post stuff like that.
 

The Cooterpoot

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Since 1980 was 43 years ago, perhaps you can forgive the 20 million who are too young to remember that, and forgive the 180 million who werent even born yet.

You gonna break out some comment about the Korean War next?
No but a group of HS kids in CO had to fight off a Russian invasion. God Bless The Wolverines! Handled Soviets, Cubans, and Nicaraguans.
 

IBleedMaroonDawg

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Yep In the 80’s Games would start the Friday after Labor Day. Also we only got hose water during practice, if we got any water at all.
I played from 77 to 79. We always started either Thursday or Friday before Labor Day. I remember because we went dove hunting the day after our first game.
The salt pills were plentiful in one big *** jar.
 
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mcdawg22

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The difference in 7:00 and 8:00 tonight in Starkville on the hourly forecast is 4 degrees (91' vs 87'). My guess is they have been practicing in the afternoons all along anyway. 4:00 was the standard practice start time when I played
Yeah but with practice the exertion can be controlled. They can go no pads. Half lines swapping out, tackling drills you take turns. I played 1a football and literally played every snap of a game. A small school 2 way player only gets a break during timeouts and halves.
 

PhiDawg

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In GA, stoppages come down from GHSAA guidelines. Everyone goes off of wet bulb readings. It’s a better indicator than heat index. All the coaches have to record field level, wet bulb readings before they conduct a practice. To make it worse, we have turf fields. Our fields are awesome but, it’s hotter than the 7th level of hell on them right now. A few weekends ago, some private lacrosse club was practicing in the middle of the day on the fields. They had sprinkler/mister system set up. One of the coaches temped a black line on the field at 138 degrees.


 

PhiDawg

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Aug 2, 2023
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In GA, stoppages come down from GHSAA guidelines. Everyone goes off of wet bulb readings. It’s a better indicator than heat index. All the coaches have to record field level, wet bulb readings before they conduct a practice. To make it worse, we have turf fields. Our fields are awesome but, it’s hotter than the 7th level of hell on them right now. A few weekends ago, some private lacrosse club was practicing in the middle of the day on the fields. They had sprinkler/mister system set up. One of the coaches temped a black line on the field at 138 degrees.


165 degrees on my kid’s school turf this summer. It sucks. I agree with one other that more kids will unfortunately have to die before folks do something.
 

L4Dawg

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Oct 27, 2016
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The thing that's just stupid about the new policy is that it doesn't apply to games. It makes a lot of sense doesn't it? We won't let them get acclimated to the heat in practice, but we expect them to play games in it.
 

Leeshouldveflanked

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Nov 12, 2016
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Are you denying that fossil fuel usage 17s with our climate? If you are, thats dumb. If you arent, then your comment is dumb. Either way...


And if you dont want responses like this, then dont post stuff like that.
I think Volcanoes and other natural occurrences have more to do with the climate than Fossil Fuels, Farming or Cow Flatulence
 

boxmann

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Oct 7, 2013
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There was an old man we called, "Foots" at all the games. He frequented the west end zone and the visitors sideline.
Oh yeah Foots was a mainstay at all Eupora athletics. He passed away a few years back and it ain’t the same 😂. Best memory I have of him was him yelling at Euporas team at baseball game saying “this guy ain’t throwing so why ain’t y’all hitting” and “I could hit this lobbying fella” and “heck I throw harder than him”. But then the other teams pitchers mom had had enough and stood yelling “you better watch your mouth old man that’s my son on the mound”. But Foots immediately yelled back “ hell if that was my son pitching I wouldn’t be bragging and telling everyone in the ball park”
 

greenbean.sixpack

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Oct 6, 2012
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Oh yeah Foots was a mainstay at all Eupora athletics. He passed away a few years back and it ain’t the same 😂. Best memory I have of him was him yelling at Euporas team at baseball game saying “this guy ain’t throwing so why ain’t y’all hitting” and “I could hit this lobbying fella” and “heck I throw harder than him”. But then the other teams pitchers mom had had enough and stood yelling “you better watch your mouth old man that’s my son on the mound”. But Foots immediately yelled back “ hell if that was my son pitching I wouldn’t be bragging and telling everyone in the ball park”
haha, that's awesome! I'm sure we know the same people.
 

drexeldog23

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Dec 2, 2022
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I graduated in 85, so my memory may be faulty, but I think we didn't return to school to near labor day and we didn't play our first game until after than (so it may have been as late as the second week of Sept before our first game).
i started playing HS football in 83 at age 13. this was before Gatorade was out. we had like 3 water hoses on the sidelines. during break everyone would take their helmet off and fill out helmets full of water . you had to drink them fast though because the water would leak out of the holes in the top of the helmet.
 

drexeldog23

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Dec 2, 2022
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I graduated in 85, so my memory may be faulty, but I think we didn't return to school to near labor day and we didn't play our first game until after than (so it may have been as late as the second week of Sept before our first game).
i graduated in 87 and we would come in on the Friday before Labor Day to register and get our class schedule. we would then be off that Monday for Labor Day, start back tuesday and then the 1st game would be played on the 1st Friday of September.
 

Bulldog45

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Oct 2, 2018
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Back then a lot of the schools didn't have air conditioning (mine included), which is why they started later. But football always started around labor day as I recall.
We didn’t have a/c either. Two-a-days always coincided with the Neshoba County Fair for us. That was ‘85-‘90
 

Wesson Bulldog

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Nov 3, 2015
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You guys will love this one. I have a friend that is in the radio business for the last 40 years. For years the MHSAA dictated kickoff times to keep the Jackson TV stations happy. Told him the tv stations wouldn’t have enough time to get highlights on by 10 if we didn’t have 7 pm kickoffs. No organization needs a thorough audit worse than MHSAA. Or course you would have to find out who they answer to first…..
I officiated MHSAA basketball games for seasons in SW Mississippi. The McComb district was ran by some of the most incompetent men that ever walked EARTH. No schedules, they just called the day of the game asking if you could go call a game tonight. Some nights I'd get a call 30 minutes before a 6:00 game at South Pike driving from Wesson. Plus No one ever showed us where our $100 dues were sent at the beginning of the season. I think the assigning secretary kept all the funds.
 

She Mate Me

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Dec 7, 2008
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Starkville HS had Midnight Madness on the 12th, they had a shooting about 12:30 a.m. somewhere on the campus. Nothing good happens after midnight........

A few pretty good things happened for me after midnight (and the next morning) in college.
 

PBRME

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Feb 12, 2004
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Ah, the days of swatting away gnats while sweating balls in a classroom in Lucedale Middle School…
A hot *** room full of preteens covered in cologne and perfume, in September, and open windows led to yellow jackets always in our classroom.
 
Mar 18, 2007
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I thought i read that start times had been pushed back to 8pm? I've heard (2nd reports) the Eupora game started at 7.

Eupora's QB went down during the game, reportedly from the heat.


It was originally thought that it was heat related but it was not. He had a a concussion and jarred spine.

He was transported to Tupelo Thursday night and released Friday morning.

My understanding was this game did not get pushed back due to it being a Thursday night game and school on Friday.
 
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OG Goat Holder

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165 degrees on my kid’s school turf this summer. It sucks. I agree with one other that more kids will unfortunately have to die before folks do something.
No idea why we went turf for football fields. I get it for baseball, as they want to play as many tournaments as possible and not let rain hamper it and gotta make that money. But football doesn't make much sense.

I guess they also have soccer playing on the field and didn't want the maintenance. I'd like to see a true breakdown of the economy of the turf fields. From what I see, they come with a lot of maintenance too, plus you have to clean it.
 

Mobile Bay

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Do high schools still have two-a-days for 2 to 3 weeks preseason? I remember we had at least 2 weeks of two-a-days and then 1 full week with evening practices and then the first game week. That schedule wore my *** out every year - I couldn't wait for the season to start.
Two a days haven't been a thing for a while now.
 

Mobile Bay

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165 degrees on my kid’s school turf this summer. It sucks. I agree with one other that more kids will unfortunately have to die before folks do something.
Two or three kids die playing football every year.
 
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